british actor Archives

Look Up “Talent” And”Versatility” And You’ll Find Anthony Hopkins

January 7, 2022

There are ways of saying how old you are without saying how old you are. For instance, if you were to say that the first Doctor Who you remember watching is William Hartnell, then you’re of a significantly more mature vintage than if you remember, say, David Tennant. I was thinking there’d be a similar […]

Of Wizards and Mutants – A Look at Ian McKellen

June 21, 2021

Who’s the last actor to create a character written by Shakespeare? By that I mean who was the last person to get a part written by Shakespeare and be the first one to actually perform it. Edward Alleyn? David Garrick? William Kempe? You might be surprised to hear that it is none other than Magneto/Gandalf […]

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The Unusual, Odd-looking, Versatile Dobby — AKA, Toby Jones

February 21, 2021

Last year I wrote an article about Timothy Spall; one of those actors who you see in lots of character roles. Here’s another such actor. Sometimes small roles, sometimes big roles; always noticeable because he doesn’t look like your stereotypical leading man. In fact, he is what you might think of as — and I’m […]

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Dame Maggie Smith – Harry Potter’s Minerva McGonagal, Dowager Countess of Downton Abbey, and so much more…

February 16, 2021

(Don’t Panic: Maggie isn’t dead. I just wanted to write a bit about one of my favorite actresses.) Dame Margaret Natalie Smith, CH DBE, or Maggie Smith as she’s more commonly known, has been acting for very nearly seventy years. She started out as a student with the Oxford Playhouse in 1952 and made her […]

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More than Snape: Remembering Alan Rickman

August 14, 2020

One of the big things that actors worry about is being typecast. No matter what, they are always worrying that they might become “That guy off Star Trek” or “Oh look! Now we know who the baddie is.” They might be a very believable alien or a credibly naughty person, but they’ll never be taken […]

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Oh Look! It’s Him Again! – Recognizing Actor Timothy Spall

August 11, 2020

“There’s the funny-looking character actor who plays the same role every time. But I’m the funny-looking character actor who plays many different kinds.” – Timothy Spall Tim Spall is one of those brilliant, chameleonic actors who can turn his hand to any role but — probably because he isn’t classically handsome — isn’t a top […]

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