On April 28th PBS stations nationwide present Hamlet starring Sir Patrick Stewart as Claudius and the Ghost with David Tennant as Hamlet.
The following panel interview with Sir Patrick Stewart was one of the best I’ve ever attended, primarily because of Stewart’s fascinating answers and his obvious passion for acting — no matter if it’s Star Trek or Shakespeare.
PART 1
QUESTION: Since you and David Tennant have so many genre fans do you get any of these fans coming to see your Shakespeare? And second of all, just tell us about David Tennant in general?
SIR PATRICK STEWART: One of the great delights for me of the past 25 years has been unexpectedly to find a commercial success in Star Trek: The Next Generation. And then to find that because of that success, when I was able to return to classical theater and modern theater, that a percentage of that science fiction fan base, probably only out of curiosity or a feeling that they were going to see Captain Jean-Luc Picard, came to see me in the theater. There has hardly been a performance when I have not met someone afterwards who has said, “I had never seen a play before. I have never seen Shakespeare before, but I’m coming back.” I said to David, “You know, you and I really ought to be given some kind of accolade because, between the two of us, we have significantly brought a new audience into the theater.”
I don’t care why people go to the theater, just get them in, get their bums in the seats, and then leave the rest to us. We can make darn sure they come back again and again and again and discover that live theater can give them experiences which they can never hope to emulate or replicate on television or on film. So it’s great. It’s terrific that this kind of commercial success has had these knock-on effects. David Tennant is an outstanding stage actor and was before Doctor Who. It has been rather unfortunate that he has somehow, in parts of the media, been cast as the television actor who got lucky. Nothing could be further from the truth. David Tennant was an important stage actor, had worked with the Royal Shakespeare Company in leading roles long before he was cast as Doctor Who. And in that respect, our careers were very parallel.
What can I say? There’s not an actor in this production that wasn’t a joy to work with, but an added responsibility lies on the shoulders of the actor playing Hamlet. For one thing, you are playing Hamlet, and there’s no other role that carries that responsibility.
I never had it. It’s one of the real sadnesses in my life, that I don’t know what it feels like to be standing there, waiting to say “a little more than kin and less than kind,” but you carry such a weight, not only of playing the Prince of Denmark, but also leading the company, and in this respect — and this is something that I’ve always enjoyed.
I love being at the top of the company and being the guy who sets the standard, sets the benchmark, speaks for everybody. And David Tennant was absolutely brilliant at that. He led that Hamlet company from the front and was always accessible, committed, pleasant, and utterly delightful. As you can see, I’m a fan.
QUESTION: Sir Patrick, 30 years ago you played Claudius opposite Derek Jacobi, and I would imagine it’s a fairly unique opportunity to have a chance to return to a role after that length of time. So what was easier about approaching Claudius after all that time and what was more difficult as far as your approach to the role went?
STEWART: I had wanted to play Claudius on stage ever since I was first in Hamlet. I was lucky enough to have a very small role in the famous David Warner/Peter Hall production in 1966 in my first season with the Royal Shakespeare Company. And in that production, the ghost and Claudius were doubled by a brilliant actor, who is now gone, called Brewster Mason. It was then that I was convinced that there was no other way to do this play but to have the same actor play both roles. I set about trying to get myself cast in a stage production of Claudius and, for 25 years, failed miserably. My dear friend and colleague Trevor Nunn, who directed it at The Old Vic a few years ago, I campaigned actively to be cast as Claudius in Trevor’s production but was finally told, “Patrick, you’re too old to play it.” And that was a bitter blow. I thought the gates had come down on my Claudius. But then I just worked with Greg Doran on Antony and Cleopatra, and I was able to twist his arm and persuade him that you didn’t have to be 45 in order to play Claudius. And so he let me have my last final shot at it and also was bold enough to let me play the ghost as well, which I sort of made part of the deal. And it anyway makes for a much more interesting evening if you’re that busy playing both roles. Claudius is a great role, an underestimated role, a role of huge complexity and fascination for a classical actor.
QUESTION: You probably don’t have much chance to watch American TV, but have you come across Sons of Anarchy on FX? It’s sort of a Shakespearean play about a motorcycle gang and Kurt Sutter who created it said he was using Hamlet as part of the structure for the series. But I just mentioned it because you were talking about Claudius, and there’s a character played by Ron Perlman who is meant to be a Claudius type.
STEWART: Oh yes? Ron Perlman is figured hugely in my life. I was having dinner with Ron Perlman the day that I was offered Jean-Luc Picard in Star Trek: The Next Generation. So I have always looked on Ron as being a lucky omen. (Laughing.) So you mentioning his name today, I hope, means that the rest of the day is going to be brighter than it begin. (NOTE: It was a bleak and rainy morning in normally sunny Pasadena, California.)
Sir Patrick Stewart is an interviewer’s dream, answering questions intelligently and with great sentence structure. You can understand why this interview WILL BE CONTINUED!
