biography
pronunciation:
[sher]
| sex:
| male
|
| lived:
| (1949– )
|
| biography:
| Actor, writer, and painter, born in Cape Town, SW South Africa. He moved to England in 1968 and studied at the Webber-Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art. He appeared in plays at the Royal Court Theatre, including David Hare's Teeth 'n' Smiles in 1975, and joined the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1982. His Fool in King Lear was the first of his innovative creations of Shakespearian characters. An exciting actor to watch, in his role as Richard III (1984) he used crutches, and as Shylock in The Merchant of Venice (1987) and as Macbeth (1999) he was an immensely powerful stage presence. Later theatre productions include The Winter's Tale (1999), Mahler's Conversion (2001), and The Roman Actor (2002). He has appeared occasionally in television drama, notably in The History Man (1981), and his films include Mrs Brown (1997) and Shakespeare in Love (1998). His books include The Year of the King (1985), an account of his work on Richard III, Woza Shakespeare! (1996, with Gregory Doran), and the novels The Indoor Boy (1991) and Cheap Lives (1995). He received a knighthood in 2000. An autobiography, Beside Myself, appeared in 2001. |
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