John Gielgud: photo, filmography, personal life, biography

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:44

Sir Arthur John Gielgud is known throughout the world as a talented and self-critical actor who at one time best performed the roles of the stage Hamlets and Romeo. In addition to acting, John was engaged in theater directing. However, we will learn about how the great artist managed to achieve such success from our article.

Birth and childhood

John Gielgud was born on April 14, 1904 in London (England). The parents of the future actor had nothing to do with theater and cinema. Artur's father was a Catholic, descended from the Lithuanian gentry family of the Gelguls of the Dzyalos coat of arms. The mother is known as the niece of the brilliant Ellen Terry and the cousin of Gordon Craig, the great actor, opera singer and theater director of the modernist era.

Youth

The boy from early childhood dreamed of playing on the stage of the theater. While still very young, Arthur spoke to the whole family, reciting famous works by heart. Even then it was clear that the boy would become an artist. After leaving school, John enters the drama school LadyBenson. After studying there for only a year, the future actor is transferred to the Academy of Theater Arts on Gower Street.

Debut

John Gielgud first appeared on stage in 1921. Herald (W. Shakespeare) becomes the debut role of a talented boy. After this performance at the Old Vic, Arthur will never leave the big stage.

Tall, rich in intonations voice, noble smile, charming appearance, endless talent, sparkling energy - all these qualities made John spectacular and memorable on stage. It should be noted that Gielgud more than once shone on the big screen. As the actor later admits, cinema was a secondary occupation for him, since his main life path is theater.

Fame

After his first role in the theater, John Gielgud will play the main characters of William Shakespeare for 50 years.

The talented actor got used to the role so much that sometimes he remained an artist outside the theater. It should be noted that Arthur is the only one of his kind who managed to convey the whole atmosphere that reigned in the works written by William Shakespeare. This, of course, amazed both the audience and theatrical critics. No one at that time was able to bring to life the characters of the famous English playwright so talentedly and effectively.

Among Arthur's best and most memorable performances are Hamlet, Romeo and Richard II. Played by John Gielgud, whose photo is available in our article, in variousLondon theatres. Among them is the Shakespeare Memorial Theater in Stratford-upon-Avon.

John's performance of roles in the plays by A. P. Chekhov was crowned with unprecedented success. So, in 1924, on the stage of the Oxford Playhouse Theater, Arthur played Petya Trofimov in the work The Cherry Orchard. This role was not easy for the artist, but this did not stop the audience from applauding at the end of the Chekhov play. After this performance, a role in The Seagull followed. In this play, John Gielgud, whose filmography is described in our article, performed on the stage of the New Tietre Theater and played Trepelev. Further, the talented artist was invited to the stage of the Royal Theater in the play "Three Sisters", where he was given the role of Vershinin perfectly.

Direction

In 1932, John made his directorial debut at the New Tietre Theater with Daviot's Richard Bordeaux. Not without the help of good friends, everything went just fine: people applauded standing. This was followed by an independent production - "Romeo and Juliet". In this sensational play at that time, John Gielgud himself (actor) played several roles at once. The artist alternated his performances with the young and talented Laurence Olivier, who, by the way, in the future will become Arthur's main competitor for the main roles in Shakespeare's theatrical productions.

Someday they will say unpleasant words about each other. Gielgud will note that Olivier has no poetry. In turn, Lawrence will say that John is too busy being graceful.

After the war, Gielgud will increasingly engage in theaterperformances. So, in 1954, he will stage the play "The Cherry Orchard", and also stage Dostoevsky's novel "Crime and Punishment", in which he will play the role of Raskolnikov.

In 1968, John played Oedipus Rex in a play directed by Peter Brook. Gielgud toured the USSR with the production.

Movie roles

John Gielgud (the biography is described in detail in our article) was self-critical and dismissive of his film roles. He considered the most successful performance of the dying writer in the 1977 film "Providence" directed by Alain Resnais. Nevertheless, he has many roles in big films. Among them: the tape of Alfred Hitchcock's "Secret Agent", in which John played the main character, "Murder on the Orient Express" in 1974 directed by Sidney Lumet, the comedy "Arthur" in 1981, for which Gielgud received an Oscar for Best Actor in a Second plan, The Elephant Man, Glitter, Prospero's Books, etc.

It should be noted that for "Murder on the Orient Express" John was awarded the BAFTA award. It is also noteworthy that Gielgud received his first Oscar at the age of 78.

Death of a great artist

Gilgud published 4 books of memoirs en titled "I can only write about the theater, I don't know anything about the rest." John was awarded the Order of Merit by Queen Elizabeth II in 1996.

The talented actor died at the age of 97, on May 21, 2000. A year after his death, his things were sold at one of the auctions. The most expensive was the collection of paintings by the greatartist, which he collected throughout his life, a bust of John, as well as a copy of "Hamlet" with Gielgud's note "Departed to me by the will of Lawrence."

John was cremated at the Oxford Crematorium.

John Gielgud. Personal life

John lived at a time when the topic of homosexuality was not discussed, especially within the theater life.

So, in 1953, John was arrested for inappropriate behavior in a public place. Gielgud tried to molest one of the men in the toilet. After such an act, the career of a famous artist could be under attack. But the management of the theaters in which John played tried not to take this incident out of the theater walls.

As one of the biographers wrote, Gielgud never denied his belonging to homosexuals, but at the same time he felt insulted and humiliated.

The only love partner in life was Martin Hensler, with whom Gielgud lived for about 30 years. Publicly, John announced this only in 1988 after the death of his beloved.

Rumors

There are rumors that John started acting in films precisely because the public found out about his homosexuality. Then the actor had to move permanently to Hollywood. Many argue that in this regard, Gielgud almost fell into a depression, but work in the cinema again allowed him to show his immense acting talent.