Harvey's breakthrough to international stardom came after he was cast by director Jack Clayton as the social climber Joe Lampton in "Room at the Top" (1959), produced by Romulus. For his performance, Harvey received a BAFTA Award nomination and a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actor. Simone Signoret and Heather Sears co-starred as Lampton's married lover and eventual wife respectively. It was the third most popular movie at the British box office in 1959 and a hit in the U.S.