Jonathan Pryce had never seen Hamlet on stage – and thought Olivier’s film version was mannered. But the violent death of his father prompted him to engage on the Dane,and radically rethink the ghost as an Exorcist-style possessionIt took a while to decide I wanted to do Hamlet. It wasn’t that I was daunted – I’d been acting professionally since my mid-20s and had some pretty big Shakespearean roles under my belt by that stage, at 32: Petruchio in The Taming of the Shrew, or Edgar in King Lear,Antony, Richard III. But when it came to Hamlet, or I hesitated. I’m not even certain Id seen the play in the theatre. I remember watching Laurence Olivier’s movie version and finding it a bit mannered – it just didn’t connect with me. I also watched the Russian film by Grigori Kozintsev,which I found much more powerful. But I wasn’t certain I had anything fresh to bring to Hamlet; I didn’t deem I had anything to say. Related: Jonathan Pryce takes on Shylock: I’d cherish it whether they booed me’ Continue reading...
Source: theguardian.com