Great Britons of Stage and Screen : In Conversation

Featuring intimate interviews--many published for the first time--this book takes readers on a journey through the professional and personal lives of more than twenty British actors. Each interview is preceded by a short introduction and is followed by a list of the performer’s major credits on stage, in film, and on television.

Although there are encyclopedias and biographical dictionaries of contemporary British film and theatre actors, most lack the intimacy of face-to-face interviews. Typically drawn from secondary sources, collections of interviews often repeat tired anecdotes about an actor’s film or stage roles, with very little nuance or fresh insights. Great Britons of Stage and Screen: In Conversation features interviews with some of the leading actors of the last fifty years and more. In this collection, Barbara Roisman Cooper presents interviews she personally conducted with more than twenty stars of film, television, and theatre. Held in intimate surroundings—including the actors’ private homes and theatre dressing rooms between performances—these interviews provide readers with a rounded understanding of the creative process and the dedication required to develop a performance. Including many well-known Oscar, Tony, Olivier, and BAFTA winners, each interview is preceded by a short introduction and followed by the performer’s most significant credits, both on the stage and screen. The actors and actresses who shared their stories in this volume include·Dame Eileen Atkins·Isla Blair·Simon Callow·Dame Joan Collins·Peggy Cummins·Sinéad Cusack·Samantha Eggar·Stephen Fry·Julian Glover·Stephen Greif·Jeremy Irons·Sir Derek Jacobi·Felicity Kendal·Sir Ben Kingsley·Dame Angela Lansbury·Sir John Mills·Alfred Molina·Lynn Redgrave·Jean Simmons·David Suchet·Richard Todd·Michael YorkDesigned to serve as a resource for those studying or writing about the worlds of theatre and film in general—and the art and craft of acting, specifically—Great Britons of Stage and Screen will also appeal to the many fans of the artists who have entertained audiences for decades.