source: BBC
Oscar-tipped film Elsinore centres on the Chariots of Fire star’s final acting feat before his death aged 40.
Those closest to him then recall his extraordinary swansong.
Shakespeare’s Hamlet famously stands as one of the most, if not the most, challenging theatrical parts in the English language.
The play of the same name is Shakespeare’s longest and the eponymous character has more lines than any other Shakespearean character by a considerable margin. But while countless illustrious actors have committed to playing the Prince of Denmark over the centuries, no one has done it in such extraordinary circumstances as Ian Charleson.
In 1989, he played the role at London’s National Theatre to rave reviews as he was dying of Aids.
It was an incredible feat of resilience that is now being retold in the biographical film Elsinore, named after the castle in which Hamlet is set.
It has left critics and early viewers deeply moved – in particular by the performance as Charleson of Andrew Scott, who is now favourite to win next year’s best actor Oscar.
Charleson was most famous for playing Eric Liddell, the devout Christian athlete who refused to race on Sundays, in the Oscar-winning 1981 hit Chariots of Fire. He was in another Oscar-winner, Gandhi, the following year.
