Before Becoming Famous Alec Guinness Ate This Humble Meal Nearly Every Day Just To Survive Acting School

English actor Alec Guinness became a legend in the theater and was forever immortalized for his roles in the original "Star Wars" trilogy (he played Obi-Wan Kenobi), "The Bridge on the River Kwai," and "Lawrence of Arabia." He was also knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 1959 and was awarded the Academy Award for lifetime achievement in 1980. With such an incredible career, it's difficult to imagine him as anything but at the top of his game, but like so many other successful actors, Guinness once struggled financially when he first pursued his passion. In fact, at one point, he could only afford to eat one meal per day: the classic British comfort food, baked beans on toast.

When he was around 20 years old, Guinness was accepted into the Fay Compton Studio of Dramatic Art in London, having won a two-year scholarship which paid him 25 shillings per week, or about $6.25 at the time. He made this amount stretch by eating one meal per day, which was often baked beans on toast. He had a little money left over, which he usually spent on a movie on the weekend. Today, his stipend would be the equivalent of about $151 per week, or just over $21 per day.

Beans on toast would have been a smart choice if he were only eating one meal a day, as it is high in carbohydrates and fiber to help him feel full. We don't know if Guinness appreciated this meal later in life as he became more and more successful. In 1982, though, while on the set of "Smiley's People," the actor told a reporter that some of his favorite foods included Japanese strawberries and quail eggs.

Many people know what it's like to live on an extreme budget. Whether you were in college on a limited income or moved into your first apartment at the beginning of a career, many of us remember subsisting on cheap ingredients like boxed mac and cheese, ramen, and beans and rice. All of these dishes have been jazzed up over time so that they are anything but boring, and the same can be true for beans on toast. The traditional entree consists of toasted bread topped with warmed canned beans (Heinz brand is extremely popular in Britain). You can probably already imagine the possibilities of improving the dish.

For starters, you could top this with fried eggs or caramelized onions, which are both very budget-friendly. Adding cheese to the mix is flavorful and punches up the comfort factor. It's sort of a combination of beans on toast and Welsh rarebit, another U.K. favorite. Just sprinkle a sharp English cheddar on top and broil until bubbly. If you really want to elevate the dish that kept Alec Guinness alive, follow Yotam Ottolenghi's method in creating his ultimate lunch: Prepare butter beans with cream, lots of spices, and cheese, use sourdough bread, and top the dish with pickled onions.