Who are your favorite Shakespearean actors?

(I think I'm posting this in the right forum.)

My ultimate top would have to be Laurence Olivier. I absolutely adore his production of Richard III. I thought his Hamlet was good but not as good, and I'm anxious to watch his Othello.

I also really like Derek Jacobi's performance in BBC's Richard II, though I haven't seen any other performances of his (except as Senator Gracchus in Gladiator).

Richard Burton's gruff laugh in The Taming of the Shrew is classic, and Elizabeth Taylor does a great job in it too. Haven't seen any of their other work, though.

Who are other people's favorite Shakespearean actors? It will be especially interesting to hear about those who have performed on film, so that I can check out those videos on your recommendations =)

Ooh where do I start? I have so many.

I absolutely adore Olivier, but I love many others too. His Henry V and Hamlet are superb. I'm a bit of an anorak on Shakespeare, I have so many versions on video and dvd. I love Kenneth Branagh, (you might want to join the group on here, there are quite a few of us who love him :nod:). His Henry V is just wonderful, as is his Hamlet, Much Ado About Nothing and his performance as Iago in Othello is brilliant, although the rest of the production is so-so. The man was born to play Shakespeare. Going back a few years, I seem to remember liking the Jon Finch Macbeth a lot, but I haven't watched it in years, so it may not have stood the test of time. I think it's directed by Polanski, a filmed version with the bleak landscapes etc. but you can't beat Ian McKellan and Judi Dench's version which is very dark, literally, and is a taped stage version. Her cry at one point is such a powerful piece of theatre. Moving and chilling. Paul Schofield's Lear is just unbeatable, in the Peter Brook film, in black and white, and very, very bleak etc. But that man had the most perfect voice for the Bard. Absolutely wonderful. I did see Olivier as Lear too, years ago on tv, if you can get that it would be worth your while. I collect as much Shakespeare as I can, trying to get everything that is brought out on dvd. The Leonard Whiting/Olivia Hussey version of Romeo and Juliet is the best version, in my opinion to get of that. The leads are very young, as they should be. I think she was only about 14 or 15 when she made it, but they are surrounded by the cream of British acting talent. I don't think I appreciated that play as much when I was younger as I do now. I've always preferred the history plays. I think I would like to get (when I can afford it), the BBC collection. They aimed to do every play some time ago, and I don't know if they completed it, but there is a boxed set available of what they finished, but it costs well over a hundred pounds!

There is so much out there for you that you'll be spoiled for choice, but I would say get all the Olivier's, the Branagh's, the Schofield's, the Mckellen's and you can't go wrong, (even his updated Richard 111 is good, although I don't usually like altered versions). Oh and I forgot Jacobi, he's fantastic too. He's part of Branagh's Renaissance company, so he's in all the films. I've seen him on stage as Richard 111, and he's wonderful, not least because there was a heatwave going on at the time, and we were all melting in the audience, so I don't know how actors cope with it, and continue to give a great performance! I saw him as Beckett too, outstanding.

Welcome to the Bard's Appreciation Society, :lol: and enjoy the magic.

Kevin Spacey was King Richard in 'Richard II' when I saw it in London a few years ago, he was amazing, love him. but there are usually good actors in Shakespeare, I really like Al Pacino in 'the merchant from Venice' but I usually don't like him. calista flockhart was good as Helena in 'midsummer night's dream' most of the plays and movies I have seen based on his plays are good, except the ones that are set in our time, I hate that. like 'romeo and juliet' with dicaprio and 'O' a basketball film. I lik'em the way Shakespeare wrot'em

Do John Heminges & Henry Condell count, as actors in the "Kings Men", the playing company for which Shakespeare wrote?

The Hobart Shakespeareans!

You shall know a word by the company it keeps.

Richard Burton had a great voice

There are several notables that come to mind, many already listed above, but I have to say that the first actor that popped into my head was Kevin Kline's portrayal of Nick Bottom in A Midsummer Night's Dream, he so captured the humor and the dedication without over doing it. I still chuckle remembering him...

~L

Innokentiy Smoktunovskiy as Hamlet
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J1SnT...eature=related

me,myself

I've seen a lot of Shakespeare on film and no one delivers the lines better than Sir John Gielgud in Julius Caesar. He somehow manages to upstage James Mason and make Marlon Brando look like a rank amateur.

My favorite character is Falstaff and I cannot imagine any living actor portraying him better than John Goodman. I hear that he performed Henry IV part I out in California several years ago and I wish I could have seen it.

Drkshadow's mention of the Hobart Shakespeare reminds me of a particularly memorable version of the Tempest I once saw. It was from a documentary called Shakespeare Behind Bars. The players were all amateurs but some of them had been there reciting Shakespeare for years and were not half bad. The whole thing is playing on Youtube right now with a few commercials if anyone wants to check it out. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PneqA...rom=PL&index=1 Anyway, I thought it was better than Al Pacino's Looking For Richard.

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Originally Posted by MANICHAEAN

Do John Heminges & Henry Condell count, as actors in the "Kings Men", the playing company for which Shakespeare wrote?

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Would there be a video of them we could watch to see if we agree with you? :)

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Originally Posted by kasie

Would there be a video of them we could watch to see if we agree with you? :)

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I wondered that too Kasie :lol:.

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Originally Posted by My name is red

me,myself

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:lol: I played Titania when I was 10, at primary school. :)

Wow! Thanks for all the recommendations =) I would love to discuss some of these productions in either in this thread or others, especially the acting involved.