London-born David Courtney Suchet [SOO-shay], son of South African and
English parents, of Russian Soviet Lithuanian heritage, is “widely regarded as
one of the greatest stage and screen actors” in England and internationally,
with an “undisputed reputation enhanced by his unparalleled interpretation,” in
scores of 1980s and 1990s films, as Agatha Christie’s “suave Belgian super-sleuth
‘Hercule Poirot.’”
“I’m three-quarters Russian,” the actor is reported to have said, “So I’ve always felt an outsider.”
A
|
cting and the Actor’s Task, comments attributed to Suchet
- The actor’s “responsibility (when doing characters from famous novels) is “to make it what the writer intended. Then “add and expand from there to create a three-dimensional performance.”
- “That’s my reason for acting: to get that character as right as possible for my writer. I have never changed my philosophy.”
- “I’m really not interested in showing me or playing me. My gift as an actor, given to me, is to be able to become other people.”
S
|
uchet recalls Rosalind and Anthony Hicks, daughter of Agatha Christie,
husband of Rosalind, presenting Poirot
- “Anthony Hicks leant across the table, looked me straight in the eye and said ‘I want you to remember that we, the audience, can and will smile with Poirot. But we must never, ever, laugh at him.’ After another pause, he continued, ‘and I am most certainly not joking.’”
- Rosalind joined, “‘and that is why we want you to play him’” [Poirot].
S
|
uchet’s attributed outlook on entertainment, theater
The idea of “celebrity”: “I think it’s very dangerous …, you have to be
constantly controversial to maintain the status of celebrity.
- “Reality TV is the death of entertainment— it’s just mindless TV, but popular because of its voyeuristic nature; people are very voyeuristic.”
- “… [L]iberal society,” in some ways, limits … art. That’s why people don’t like doing ‘The Merchant of Venice’ anymore”
The 16th-century play by William Shakespeare in which a merchant in
Venice named Antonio defaults on a large loan provided by a Jewish moneylender,
Shylock, has been subjected to “anti-semitism” debate by modern audiences. “Critics today still continue to argue over
the play’s stance on the Jews and Judaism.” Shylock is a “miserly Jew; moneylender;
and father of Jessica, who “falls in love with Antonio’s friend, Lorenzo, converts
to Christianity, leaves Shylock’s house; and further enrages and hardens the
moneylender’s vengefulness, by stealing “vast riches from him.”
S
|
uchet on Sachet
- “Although I’m a very emotional man, I just can’t have blind faith. I have to find out for myself.”
- “I’m never bored, never ever bored. If I’ve got a day off I’ll sit in a café and watch and observe. I’m a great observer.
- “People ask me if I tried to make my Poirot popular. I didn’t. All I did was to start to read Agatha Christie’s novels.”
- “I’d love to be remembered as a character actor who brought illumination to roles in wonderful plays and who delivered performances that made people think and rethink those roles.”
C
|
haracter of Hercule Poirot’s investigations
- “They reveal a world where manners and morals are quite different from today.
- There are no overt and unnecessary sex scenes, no alcoholic, haunted detectives in Poirot’s world.
- He lives in a simpler …, more human era: a lost England seen through the admiring eyes of this foreigner, this little Belgian detective.”
Sources
Internet Movie Database (IMDb) https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0837064/?ref_=fn_al_nm_1
Wikipedia
David Courtney Suchet CBE (SOO-shay) is an English actor, known for his
work on British stage and television; active years 1970–present https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Suchet
Father of David Suchet, Jack Suchet https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Suchet
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shylock
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Merchant_of_Venice
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Merchant_of_Venice
The Guardian Obituaries https://www.theguardian.com/news/2004/nov/20/guardianobituaries.booksobituaries
Insight Beyond Today’s News, CLB - © All Rights
Reserved
No comments:
Post a Comment