Okay, it’s still 6:54 AM here, but, damn, I feel a hell of a lot better after just a few hours sleep. As such, let’s go ahead and take a look at those HBO panels from yesterday:
As You Like It, Kenneth Branaugh’s latest Shakespearean adaptation:
Branaugh found it very easy to cast Kevin Kline in the role of Jacques, it seems. “(He has) vast Shakespearean experience, as you know, a brilliant dramatic actor, a very, very funny man, and is, in life, intellectually curious. And as with all funny men, I would say – without trying to tell my friend who he is – a kind of disposition to a certain kind of melancholy and philosophical introspection. But I just thought he was a great actor.”
Kline’s response? “I disagree.”
Kline isn’t the only American in the production; he shares that honor with Bryce Dallas Howard…even if she doesn’t see it that way. “I would have to say that Kevin Kline is almost like an honorary Brit when it comes to Shakespeare, (whereas) I felt like a little bit of a cowboy,” said Howard. “Like, it’s, you know, a little rough with the language, and I didn’t really have a lot of confidence with it, initially. But under the guidance of Ken, and everyone else that was involved, I allowed myself to just enjoy the experience and do my best. But it was definitely initially intimidating, perhaps being an American, but even more than that, just being someone who is literally at the start of my career. I haven’t had as much experience as I would like to.”
The role of Orlando is taken by relative newcomer David Oyelowo, who had a serious attack of nerves when he discovered that A) he had to go to Branaugh’s house to audition, and B) he had to audition with Branaugh. “You were reading the other lines,” he said, turning to Branaugh, “and my saliva just turned to sand. I mean, there I was, auditioning with Henry V, Iago, Benedict, Coriolanus…and it just…I mean, you probably won’t remember this, but the lines…they just completely went out of my head. You were so gracious; you just went, ‘Okay, let’s do that again…'”
Continue reading »
