Richard III, The Actor

Richard III, the Actor.

As an experienced actor, one of the most difficult things that I had to do was to become the character that I was playing. I have to say that one of the greatest and most difficult characters to play would be Richard, the main character in Richard III.

Richard’s appearance and actions change throughout the play, the actor who takes on this role must be able to use the script and the words to his advantage to make the audience sympathize with him when it comes to Lady Anne as well as his deformity, but he also must make the audience realize, eventually, that Richard is power hungry and he sees nothing but the crown. This comes when the audience watches Clarence die and Richard become king. It is very important that the actor that takes on this role knows exactly what Richard wants to convey with each monologue and speech that he gives. Many of this monologues are very in depth and they could have different meanings if words are said differently and in different tones and with different inflections. This is another important thing to practice multiple times as an actor.

Most characters are easier to become than Richard because he is so different as compared to many other characters in theatre. He doesn’t care about anyone else besides himself. He is only out for himself and no one else. There is also no real history behind Richard to build a character with. Many other plays have a historical basis or a basis of a love story which makes the creation of a character easier. In this play, Richard is not historically based and he is not a character that fits in the norm which gives the actor who takes on the role an entirely new degree of difficulty.

All of these reasons are why many people want to play Richard and this is also why many people don’t want to play him. However, if an actor can walk away from the part of Richard and have done it well, that shows how truly great that individual is and this is also why many famous people have done the role, because of they can do it well, they will be held in higher esteem than they were before.

--Michael Breeden