 The third , and final , London season under the triumvirate was in 1946 – 47 . Olivier played King Lear , and Richardson took the title role in <unk> de <unk> . Olivier would have preferred the roles to be reversed , but Richardson did not wish to attempt Lear . Olivier 's Lear received good but not outstanding reviews . In his scenes of decline and madness towards the end of the play some critics found him less moving than his finest predecessors in the role . The influential critic James Agate suggested that Olivier used his dazzling stage technique to disguise a lack of feeling , a charge that the actor strongly rejected , but which was often made throughout his later career . During the run of <unk> , Richardson was knighted , to Olivier 's <unk> envy . The younger man received the accolade six months later , by which time the days of the triumvirate were numbered . The high profile of the two star actors did not <unk> them to the new chairman of the Old Vic governors , Lord Esher . He had ambitions to be the first head of the National Theatre and had no intention of letting actors run it . He was encouraged by Guthrie , who , having instigated the appointment of Richardson and Olivier , had come to resent their <unk> and international fame . 
