Do You Know The Unusual Story Behind Katharine Hepburn & Peter O’Toole’s Lifelong Friendship? (Photo Credit – Prime Video/Wikipedia)
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Katharine Hepburn had zero tolerance for stupid behavior. If someone came off to her as unprepared or unworthy, she let them know it. It was said at that time that Hepburn’s sharp tongue could cut through ego without hesitation and that fierce clarity made her a legend, especially when she stood firm against old Hollywood standards or wore pants like it was no one’s business but her own. It also meant she wasn’t the easiest person to work with unless you had a thick skin and confidence to spare.
An Awkward First Meeting Between Katharine Hepburn & Peter O’Toole
Through most of her career, Hepburn matched energies only with actors who could hold their own. She fiercely respected Spencer Tracy and worked best with performers with their own sense of control. Later, when she crossed paths with younger talent, it wasn’t guaranteed that things would go smoothly.
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Peter O’Toole met her under odd circumstances. Before Hollywood noticed him, Hepburn had already started watching his stage work, and when she finally came backstage to introduce herself, she walked in on something awkward. With no toilets in the theater, O’Toole had resorted to relieving himself in the sink.
“There were no lavatories in the theatre, and I was peeing in the sink,” he explained, according to Far Out Magazine. “And a voice said, ‘Hello, my name is Kate Hepburn,’ and I had to withdraw and pretend that I was washing my hands.” Well! One would have thought that moment could have been the end of it, but instead, it was the start of something strange and lasting.
How The Lion In Winter Reunited Katharine Hepburn & Peter O’Toole
After several years, when The Lion in Winter came to O’Toole, he immediately thought of Hepburn for the role of Eleanor of Aquitaine. Tracy had recently died, and there was hesitation about whether she would want to return.
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Nevertheless, he reached out to her but didn’t get any reply. But after two weeks, she called back and gave him a typical Hepburn greeting before agreeing to do it. “The phone rang. ‘Hello pig—’ she calls me the pig ‘—Hello pig. Do it before I die,” he remembered.
The Story Behind Katharine Hepburn’s Nickname For Peter O’Toole
Katharine Hepburn had her own way of dealing with people. She called him “the pig,” but he never quite explained it. Maybe it had something to do with that sink moment, or perhaps it was the way she liked to keep him slightly off balance. Either way, their working relationship turned into a deep and unusual friendship. Hepburn’s toughness didn’t scare O’Toole.
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In fact, he welcomed it as he knew she had a way of making you feel smaller, not in a cruel way, but more like a reminder of the standard she expected. He once said she tormented him, and he loved it. The dynamic worked because Hepburn was never one for softness unless you had earned it. O’Toole had, and they stayed close until she was gone.
