O’Toole will take that Oscar after all

Peter O’Toole has agreed to accept an honorary Academy Award after politely balking because he thought the honor meant his career was over, an Oscar official said.

The 70-year-old Irish actor, who has never won an Oscar despite being nominated seven times, will appear at the March 23 ceremony, according to Frank Pierson, president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

O’Toole initially mistook the offer as a sign that his peers thought he could no longer win a competitive award. He sent a handwritten letter last month asking if it were possible for the academy to “please defer the honor until I am 80?”

O’Toole has earned best-actor nominations for “Lawrence of Arabia,” “Becket,” “The Lion in Winter,” “Goodbye, Mr. Chips,” “The Ruling Class,” “The Stunt Man” and “My Favorite Year.”