A series of images capturing the late actor Peter O ’ Toole on set for the last time have been released in conjunction with today ’ s release of Fall of an Empire : The Story of Katherine of Alexandria . In the pictures O ’ Toole , the star of 1962 classic film Lawrence of Arabia , can be seen laughing and joking with fellow cast members despite suffering from a long-term illness that would eventually prove fatal . Fall of an Empire : The Story of Katherine of Alexandria has been dubbed one of the biggest independent films for decades and features Steven Berkoff , Edward Fox , Joss Ackland and Nicole Keniheart alongside O ’ Toole . Scroll down for video . According to Michael Redwood , inevitable wind-ups surfaced 'whenever the devil inside ' Peter O'Toole needed entertaining . Fall of an Empire : The Story of Katherine of Alexandria attempts to pay homage to Saint Katherine . Director Michael Redwood paid tribute to O ’ Toole . He said : ‘ Peter was certainly not the type to let illness decide over his career , and despite his being poorly at the time of filming , he remained full-on 10 hours a day , showing great interest in the storylines , angles of shots and the lighting. ’ He added : ‘ Of course , the inevitable wind-ups surfaced whenever the devil inside him needed entertaining . Fall of an Empire : The Story of Katherine of Alexandria attempts to pay homage to Saint Katherine by portraying her as a real women who experiences fear and torment while remaining steadfast in her beliefs regarding the denouncement of Rome ’ s enforced pagan worship upon the masses . Director Michael Redwood said Peter O ’ Toole was certainly not the type to let illness interrupt his career . Redwood said : ‘ My agenda was simple : painstaking research , to create an intelligent screenplay and to seek out Britain ’ s best performers for their unrivalled ability to help portray the story of this religious icon . ‘ The dialogue demanded some of the world ’ s most recognisable voices such as Peter O ’ Toole and Edward Fox , who were an inspiration to work with . Katherine ’ s voice had to be most haunting in its delivery. ’ The director also paid tribute to the late actor ’ s sense of humour and noted that his onscreen chemistry was quickly established with Keniheart on account of the pair discovering that they had both had similar , difficult pasts . Michael Redwood stated that on screen chemistry was quickly established between Peter O'Toole and Nicole Keniheart . Director Michael Redwood has a word with Peter O ’ Toole on the set of Fall of an Empire : The Story of Katherine of Alexandria . Redwood said : ‘ Peter managed to politely subdue his mischievousness with Keniheart , but not for long , as she well found out when filming an intimate library scene together . ‘ I 'd asked Peter to perhaps whisper something to make Ms Keniheart smile after about 30 seconds of a long tracking shot that contained no dialogue , and what he said did indeed make her burst into a grin , but , what he said could never be printed. ’ O ’ Toole enjoyed a long and decorated career and was nominated for a total of eight Academy Awards , received an honorary Oscar , and won four Golden Globes . Fall of an Empire : The Story of Katherine of Alexandria is available in cinemas and can be purchased on DVD starting today . Dudley Sutton , Peter O ’ Toole and Steven Berkoff enjoy a joke together while reading a magazine on set . Fall of an Empire : The Story of Katherine of Alexandria is available in cinemas and on DVD from April 6 .
Pictures show the late lamented actor laughing and joking while on set . Michael Redwood continued filming despite suffering from a long-term illness . Director Peter O'Toole paid tribute to actor 's unique sense of humour . Fall of an Empire : The Story of Katherine of Alexandria hits cinemas today .