Derek Jacobi
CBE | |
---|---|
Born | Leytonstone, Essex, England | 22 October 1938
Alma mater | St John's College, Cambridge |
Occupation | Actor |
Years active | 1959–present |
Works | Full list |
Partner | Richard Clifford (1979–present) |
Awards | Full list |
Sir Derek George Jacobi
Jacobi started his professional acting career with
Jacobi has also made numerous television appearances including starring as
Though principally a stage actor, Jacobi has appeared in a number of films, including
Early life
Derek George Jacobi was born on 22 October 1938 in
While in the sixth form, he starred in a production of Hamlet, which was taken to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and very well regarded.[2][11] At 18 he won a scholarship to the University of Cambridge, where he read history at St John's College and earned his degree. Younger members of the university at the time included Ian McKellen[2] (who had a crush on him—"a passion that was undeclared and unrequited", as McKellen relates it)[12] and Trevor Nunn. During his studies at Cambridge, Jacobi played many parts including Hamlet, which was taken on a tour to Switzerland, where he met Richard Burton. As a result of his performance of Edward II at Cambridge, Jacobi was invited to become a member of the Birmingham Repertory Theatre immediately upon his graduation in 1960.
Career
Early work
Jacobi's talent was recognised by Laurence Olivier, who invited the young actor back to London to become one of the founding members of the new National Theatre, even though at the time Jacobi was relatively unknown.[2] He played Laertes in the National Theatre's inaugural production of Hamlet opposite Peter O'Toole in 1963.[2] Olivier cast him as Cassio in the successful National Theatre stage production of Othello, a role that Jacobi repeated in the 1965 film version. He played Andrei in the NT production and film of Three Sisters (1970), both featuring Olivier. On 27 July 1965, Jacobi played Brindsley Miller in the first production of Peter Shaffer's Black Comedy. It was presented by the National Theatre at Chichester and subsequently in London.
After eight years at the National Theatre, Jacobi left in 1971 to pursue different roles. In 1972, he starred in the BBC serial Man of Straw, an adaptation of Heinrich Mann's book Der Untertan, directed by Herbert Wise. Jacobi appeared in a somewhat comical role, as Lord Fawn, in eight episodes of the 26-episode mini-series The Pallisers for BBC Two in 1974. Most of his theatrical work in the 1970s was with the touring classical Prospect Theatre Company, with which he undertook many roles, including Ivanov, Pericles, Prince of Tyre and A Month in the Country opposite Dorothy Tutin (1976).
Jacobi was increasingly busy with stage and screen acting, but his big breakthrough came in 1976 when he played the title role in the BBC's series
Later career
In 1980, Jacobi took the leading role in the BBC's Hamlet, made his Broadway debut in The Suicide (a run shortened by Jacobi's return home to England due to the death of his mother), and joined the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC). From 1982 to 1985, he played four demanding roles simultaneously: Benedick in Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing, for which he won a Tony for its Broadway run (1984–1985); Prospero in The Tempest; Peer Gynt; and Cyrano de Bergerac which he brought to the US and played in repertory with Much Ado About Nothing on Broadway and in Washington DC (1984–1985). In 1986, he made his West End debut in Breaking the Code by Hugh Whitemore, starring in the role of Alan Turing, which was written with Jacobi specifically in mind. The play was taken to Broadway. In 1988, Jacobi alternated in West End the title roles of Shakespeare's Richard II and Richard III in repertoire.
He appeared in the television dramas
Jacobi continued to play Shakespeare roles, notably in
He was appointed the joint
In 2001, Jacobi won an
2000–present
Jacobi has narrated audio book versions of the Iliad, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader by C. S. Lewis, Farmer Giles of Ham by J. R. R. Tolkien, and two abridged versions of I, Claudius by Robert Graves. In 2001, he provided the voice of "Duke Theseus" in The Children's Midsummer Night's Dream film. In 2002, Jacobi toured Australia in The Hollow Crown with Sir Donald Sinden, Ian Richardson and Dame Diana Rigg. Jacobi also played the role of Senator Gracchus in Gladiator and starred in the 2002 miniseries The Jury. He is also the narrator for the BBC children's series In the Night Garden....
In 2003, he was involved with
In 2004, Jacobi starred in
In March 2006,
In February 2007, The Riddle, directed by Brendan Foley and starring Jacobi, Vinnie Jones, and Vanessa Redgrave, was screened at Berlin EFM. Jacobi plays twin roles: first a present-day London tramp and then the ghost of Charles Dickens. In March 2007, the BBC's children's programme In the Night Garden... started its run of one hundred episodes, with Jacobi as the narrator. He played Nell's grandfather in ITV's Christmas 2007 adaptation of The Old Curiosity Shop, and returned to the stage to play Malvolio in Shakespeare's Twelfth Night (2009) for the Donmar Warehouse at Wyndham's Theatre in London.[15] The role won him the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor.[16] He appears in five 2009 films: Morris: A Life with Bells On, Hippie Hippie Shake, Endgame, Adam Resurrected and Charles Dickens's England. In 2010, he returned to I, Claudius, as Augustus in a radio adaptation. In 2011, he was part of a medieval epic, Ironclad, which also starred James Purefoy and Paul Giamatti, as the ineffectual Reginald de Cornhill, castellan of Rochester castle.
Jacobi starred in Michael Grandage's production of King Lear (London, 2010), giving what The New Yorker called "one of the finest performances of his distinguished career".[17][2] In May 2011, he reprised this role at the Brooklyn Academy of Music.[18]
In April 2012, he appeared in Titanic: Blood and Steel and in November 2012, he starred in the BBC series Last Tango in Halifax. In 2013, he starred in the second series of Last Tango, and in 2014, the third series.
In 2013, Jacobi starred alongside Ian McKellen in the ITV sitcom Vicious as Stuart Bixby, the partner to Freddie Thornhill, played by McKellen. On 23 August 2013, the show was renewed for a six-episode second series which began airing in June 2015.[19] The show ended in December 2016, with a Christmas special.
Since 2017, Jacobi has again portrayed The Master in several box set series for Big Finish Productions, collectively entitled The War Master.
In 2018, he played the Bishop of Digne in the BBC miniseries Les Misérables.[20]
In 2018, Jacobi received the World United Creator – Platinum Demiurge Award for his tremendous contribution to uniting and promoting world literature based on his efforts to introduce William Shakespeare into modern cinema.
In 2019 he reprised the role of the emperor Claudius in Horrible Histories: The Movie – Rotten Romans.[21]
In 2022 Jacobi appeared in Allelujah, a film adaptation of Alan Bennett's play of the same name directed by Richard Eyre, which also starred Jennifer Saunders, Bally Gill, Russell Tovey, David Bradley, and Judi Dench.[2]
Shakespeare authorship involvement
Jacobi has been publicly involved in the Shakespeare authorship question. He supports the Oxfordian theory of Shakespeare authorship, according to which Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford wrote the works of Shakespeare.[22][23] Jacobi has given an address to the Shakespeare Authorship Research Centre promoting de Vere as the Shakespeare author[24] and wrote forewords to two books on the subject in 2004 and 2005.[25][26]
In 2007, Jacobi and fellow Shakespearean actor and director Mark Rylance initiated a "Declaration of Reasonable Doubt" on the authorship of Shakespeare's work, to encourage new research into the question.
In 2011, Jacobi accepted a role in the film
Personal life
In March 2006, four months after
Along with his Vicious co-star
Jacobi is an
Awards and honours
Jacobi has received various awards including two
.- 1985: Commander of the Order of the British Empire (United Kingdom)[31]
- 1989: Knight 1st class of the Order of the Dannebrog (Denmark)[32]
- 1994: Knight Bachelor, for services to Drama (United Kingdom)[33]
See also
References
- ^ Sarah Stanton, Martin Banham, The Cambridge Paperback Guide to Theatre (1996), p. 181
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Gilbey, Ryan (17 October 2022). "'I've got a feeling I won't be on stage again': Derek Jacobi on age, ego, Igglepiggle and unrequited love: Interview". The Guardian. Retrieved 20 October 2022.
- ^ Wheatley, Jane (18 December 2008). "First knight of nerves for Derek Jacobi and A Bunch of Amateurs". The Times. London. Retrieved 1 May 2010.
- ^ "Derek Jacobi Credits, Broadway". Internet Broadway Database. Retrieved 8 July 2015.
- ^ a b Farndale, Nigel (2 July 2012). "Derek Jacobi: 'I don't mind people having faith. But it ain't for me'". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 24 August 2015.
- ^ Framke, Caroline (4 November 2019). "TV Review: The Crown Season 3 Starring Olivia Colman".
- ^ "Derek Jacobi Biography (1938–)". filmreference. 2008. Retrieved 4 April 2008.
- Who Do You Think You Are Magazine. 27 August 2015. Archived from the originalon 7 November 2017. Retrieved 7 November 2017.
- ^ Rees, Jasper (15 July 2002). "Crown him with many crowns". The Daily Telegraph. London. Archived from the original on 2 November 2007. Retrieved 4 April 2008.
- ^ Vincent, Sally (19 September 2006). "I already knew I was a tetchy beast". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 4 April 2008.
- ^ Wheatley, Jane (18 December 2008). "First knight of nerves for Derek Jacobi and A Bunch of Amateurs". The Times.
- The Advocate. pp. 36–38, 40–45.
- ^ Campbell, Duncan (6 November 2001). "TV stars dress down for the Emmy awards". The Guardian. Retrieved 11 January 2019.
- ^ "'Ello, 'Ello, 'Ello". Doctor Who. Season 3. Episode 40. BBC.
- Oxonian Review. 8 (3). Archived from the original on 12 September 2009.)
{{cite journal}}
: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link - ^ "Olivier awards 2009: the winners". WhatsonStage.com. 9 March 2009. Retrieved 8 July 2015.
- ^ Lahr, John (3 January 2011). "Crazy Love". The New Yorker. pp. 74–75. Retrieved 8 May 2011.
- ^ Brantley, Ben (5 May 2011). "Fantasies Aside, Life's Tough At the Top". The New York Times. Retrieved 7 May 2011.
- ^ "'Vicious' renewed for second series by ITV, 'Job Lot' moving to ITV2". Digital Spy. 23 August 2013. Retrieved 7 September 2013.
- ^ Les Misérables (TV Mini Series 2018–2019) - IMDb, retrieved 11 January 2022
- ^ Brigstocke, Dominic (26 July 2019), Horrible Histories: The Movie - Rotten Romans (Comedy, Family, History), Altitude Film Entertainment, BBC Films, Citrus Films, retrieved 11 January 2022
- ^ Thorpe, Vanessa (9 September 2007). "Who Was Shakespeare? That Is (Still) the Question: Campaign Revives Controversy of Bard's Identity". The Observer.
- ^ Horwitz, Jane (9 June 2010). "Backstage: What the Stars Had to Get Over to Get their 'Goat' on at Rep Stage". The Washington Post.
- ^ Jacobi, Derek. "Address to the Shakespeare Authorship Research Centre at Concordia University". Concordia University (Oregon). Archived from the original on 10 July 2015. Retrieved 8 July 2015.
- ISBN 978-1898594796.
- ISBN 978-1592401031.
- ^ Horwitz 2010.
- Pink News. 3 July 2012. Retrieved 8 July 2015.
- ^ "Sir Derek Jacobi urges landlords to help save famous French's Theatre Bookshop". Camden New Journal. 23 February 2017.
- ^ Itzkoff, Dave (26 June 2015). "Ian McKellen and Derek Jacobi in a Gay Pride March Debut". The New York Times. Retrieved 8 July 2015.
- ^ "No. 50154". The London Gazette (Supplement). 15 June 1985. p. 8.
- ^ "Jacobi, Sir Derek". Encyclopædia Britannica's Guide to Shakespeare. Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. 2008. Retrieved 4 April 2008.
- ^ "No. 53527". The London Gazette. 30 December 1993. p. 2.
External links
- Derek Jacobi at the Internet Broadway Database
- Derek Jacobi at IMDb
- Derek Jacobi at the BFI's Screenonline
- "Jacobi, Sir Derek (George)", Who's Who 2008, A & C Black, 2008; online edition, Oxford University Press, December 2007. Retrieved 22 October 2008.