Actor Praised for Versatility, Antony Sher dies at 72


In 1968 Mr. Sher flew with his family to London and auditioned for both the Central School of Speech and Drama and the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts. Both turned him down. He remembered that the Royal Academy’s letter was particularly hurtful. “We strongly encourage you to seek a different career,” he said.

He found a place at Webber Douglas Academy, with Steven Berkoff among his teachers, and then performed with the Gay Sweatshop theater group and took on the role of Ringo Starr in Willy Russell’s Beatles musical “John, Paul, George, Ringo … and Bert.” which transferred to West End. While streaming the show, Mr. Sher met Jim Hooper, an actor with whom he would live for the next 18 years.

It took a long time for Mr. Sher to openly admit that he was gay; He had two affairs with women after drama school and had a brief marriage in 1989 before publicly admitting to his homosexuality. Rather disappointingly, he wrote that this explanation “made no effect.”

He also worked hard early on to trace his South African identity by telling people he was British. “It wasn’t just because I was ashamed of apartheid,” he wrote. “I was also embarrassed to come from a cultural wasteland. How could you be a famous actor if you were a white South African?”

After “The History Man,” Mr. Sher said, “Mrs. Brown” and “Shakespeare in Love”, but his career remained firmly in the theater. He overcame a cocaine addiction in the mid-1990s and later stated that he was able to use this experience while playing Falstaff.

“For an actor,” he said, “nothing goes to waste.”



Source link

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *