This week Sir Patrick Stewart delivered the Shakespeare Birthday Lecture in Stratford, England. The actor spoke about his Shakespearean experiences, his upcoming performance in “The Merchant of Venice,” his recent trip to the Middle East and his time on Star Trek. Stewart is also being awarded with a Shakespeare Prize tonight. Report and details below.
Patrick Stewart’s Shakespeare Birthday Lecture
Report by Marty Fields
This year’s Shakespeare Birthday Lecture (sponsored by the Shakespeare Birthday Trust) was delivered by Sir Patrick on Tuesday (04/26/11). The title of the lecture was “Playing Shakespeare; Playing Shylock” and was a precursor to his playing the role (for the third time) in “The Merchant of Venice” in May. This was therefore the main focus of a discussion led by chairman of the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust and eminent author, Sir Stanley Wells. Stewart joked about one of the advantages of doing a role he has done before is that there was no need to learn the lines, but immediately admitted to still being a human being after recently discovering that he had been misquoting a segment of text for years.
Sir Patrick felt he had missed out on witnessing first-hand the revolutions of recent times: the fall of the Berlin Wall and apartheid etc. so he travelled to Egypt to experience the dramatic political change it was undergoing. As he was near to Israel, Stewart decided it would be a good idea to visit in order to research the role of Shylock as well as Jewish feeling on the play’s anti-Semitism. His first thought was to drive across the Sinai Desert, but his son pointed out that passing through Gaza might no be the best idea so he flew to Jerusalem instead. The conclusion was that, although there were clearly anti-Semitic elements, it was not itself a racist play and, ironically, it remains the most often performed Shakespeare play in Israel. Stewart tantalizingly promised that this new “Merchant of Venice” will be controversial and has hinted at an unusual ending.
On discussing the differences between film and stage, Stewart remarked how, in 1986, he complained to his theatrical agent: “I had done something that had embarrassed me” and that he could never improve as film actor unless he spent many hours in front of the camera. He quickly followed with “Be careful what you wish for…!” referring to the 178 hours of Star Trek: The Next Generation he did over seven years.
He then briefly recounted some of his experiences filming The Next Generation: “Most directors know nothing about acting” he stated. “It is rare for a director to see you act” he followed, but added “they let me play with the camera sometimes.” The one person’s opinion Stewart did trust on set was that of camera operator Lowell Peterson, ASC, more recently employed as camera operator for Desperate Housewives. According to Stewart, Lowell has “knowledge of what he is looking at” and impressed on Stewart that “the camera is your friend”. On the director calling “Cut”, Stewart would look at Lowell for an opinion and receive a slow subtle nod of approval or shake of disapproval. If the latter occurred, Stewart would make some excuse to ask the director to reshoot the scene.
When it was time for questions from the audience, Stewart was asked if his work on science fiction had been problematic for his career, being seen as a “lower order” by some. Stewart replied that Star Trek had not hurt his stage career, but he had expected Hollywood to provide a “level society” only to find that this was not the case. Being on a TV show, and a syndicated one at that, meant that it was difficult to cross over into films. Stewart did stress that things have begun to change on this front, though he did imply prejudice against the science fiction genre may have been responsible for The Next Generation never obtaining an Emmy nomination over its seven year run.
Patrick Stewart Gives Shakespeare Birthday Lecture – April 26, 2011
The Merchant of Venice starring Sir Patrick Stewart runs from the 13th May to the 4th October at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon.
Stewart Honored With Shakespeare Award
Today (Saturday April 30th) Sir Patrick Stewart is being awarded the George Pragnell Shakespeare Birthday Prize for “outstanding achievement in extending the appreciation and enjoyment of the works of William Shakespeare and in the general advancement of Shakespearian knowledge and understanding.” He has certainly done that. Past winners of the award include Dame Judi Dench and Stewart;s close friend (and X-Men costar) Sir Ian McKellen.
Sir Patrick Stewart is at the top of his game!
that is so awesome!! as is Sir Stewart! :)
I think he should shave off that stupid beard!
3. Now to me, he looks even more distinguished. Like in TNG “Future Imperfect” where he’s an Admiral. They ought to have allowed him a beard for Trek films.
If you believe in such things… I bet a lot of fans probably picture heaven as a place run by a some guy who looks a lot like Patrick Stewart, with a long white beard.
Congrats for this award, Sir Patrick!
:-) :-)
There must be a portrait somewhere of Sir Patrick getting older. The man hasn’t aged for about 15 years!
@5: He and Morgan Freeman work in shifts.
“Stewart was asked if his work on science fiction had been problematic for his career, being seen as a “lower order” by some. Stewart replied that Star Trek had not hurt his stage career, but he had expected Hollywood to provide a “level society” only to find that this was not the case. Being on a TV show, and a syndicated one at that, meant that it was difficult to cross over into films. Stewart did stress that things have begun to change on this front, though he did imply prejudice against the science fiction genre may have been responsible for The Next Generation never obtaining an Emmy nomination over its seven year run.”
I think a lot of ignorance and snobbery/jealousy exist in Hollywood. Stewart is right. I cannot understand how Star Trek-TNG never received any Emmy nominations. Star Trek has been Hollywood’s golden goose for 45 years and not just in monetary returns, but in other more important ways.
And this, a quote from ZQ fan from the IMDb board, as in his/her take as to how TPTB in Hollywood see different actors and acting genres:
“While I would agree that Chris Pine’s career is in fairly decent shape, a Los Angeles Theater Award is pretty much the least meaningful award you can win outside of MTV Movie Awards and other stuff that idiots can vote for on the internet. lol”
This poster also makes the assumption that everyone who votes for something on the Internet is an idiot and clearly sees someone who does theatrical stage work as not being as skilled and as credible an actor as someone who works on film. Of course, as regards The Lieutenant of Inishmore, Chris Pine as lead actor had to deliver those lines well each and every night for a new audience on 40 separate occasions. If he screws up, then that audience will know and talk… If he screws up a scene in a film however, then it is shot again and quite likely no one will ever know…
“There are two types of successful actors in Hollywood, IMO. Chris Pine, Channing Tatum, Chris Evans, Sam Worthington, etc. are the guys that the studios are putting their full weights behind and they get cast in lots of big blockbusters. Their films do pretty well at the box office and they are often generically good-looking (you’ll notice that the names I mentioned all kind of look alike) but they’re almost never seriously considered for prestige films.
The other type is the versatile indie-blockbuster actor that includes Andrew Garfield, Michael Fassbender, James McAvoy, Ryan Gosling, Jeremy Renner, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Christian Bale, Daniel Craig, etc. These actors have a strong indie background, are very respected by critics and were eventually noticed by the studios and got cast in high profile blockbusters. However, they are still mostly known for being serious actors who occasionally take a fun role.
If ZQ was going to make it in Hollywood, he should definitely try to take the second route and start building up a strong resume of critical hits.”
And this:
“NY Theater is respected because it’s a career destination. Lots of people aim to make it on Broadway and that’s all. But L.A. Theater is a means to an end (aka Hollywood stardom) and doesn’t have much respect because people who do it are usually waiting for a bigger gig to show up.
Mark Ruffalo said that when he was struggling to make it in Hollywood and was doing L.A. Theater, people just assumed that when he told them he was doing theater in L.A., that he was kind of a loser. lol.”
I don’t agree with all of this. Chris Pine has done a couple of good Indie movies – Bottle Shock with Bill Pullman and Alan Rickman and Carriers. I do NOT see Chris as a loser because he has performed at least three times on the LA theatre and hopes to do so again. The fact is that he (and Zachary Quinto) would not be seen as losers if they were doing what they do in England, which, of course, is also the birthplace of the world’s greatest playwright, William Shakespeare himself.
There appears to be no “level society” or “playing field” in Hollywood, LA, from what I can gather, which is a great pity.
@3 “I think he should shave off that stupid beard!”
Perhaps you don’t realise that Stewart is about to open in the Merchant of Venice as Shylock. The “stupid beard” has been grown for the purpose of the character. It’s like the mustache he sported for about two years (on and off) when playing a Stalinist Macbeth.
I’m afraid you are stuck with the beard until the end of the MoV’s run in Stratford in September – possibly longer, if it transfers.
Wasn’t TNG nominated for a Best Drama Emmy in its last season?
I think the nominations (and occasional wins) are often in the technical areas. Same with the Oscars actually. Not to say, Star Trek doesn’t that recognition… but frequently the acting has reached levels that should get the shows an award, if the characters were contemporary or historically based.
edit – Not to say, Star Trek doesn’t DESERVE that recognition… IT DOES.
another edit – (Not really my day, is it?)
but frequently the acting has reached levels that WOULD get the shows an award, AND IT WOULD if the characters were contemporary or historically based.
I would love to see Stewart in the role of Shylock. I saw Pacino last year. I feel fans are also fortunate to have wonderful stage actors in the Trek world. Quinto’s performance in Angels last year was inspirational and jaw-dropping. I’d like to see him cast as Puck. I’d like to see Pine as Macbeth.
Gillian Anderson and Lindsay Wagner are the only two Emmy winners for acting lead roles that happened to be sci-fi. There is an obvious institutional bias against the genre.
Correction: TNG was nominated for an Outstanding Drama Series Emmy in its final season. Over the course of its entire run and across all categories, TNG was nominated for 58 Emmys and won 18.