This is a weekly
feature on BroadwayLiving.com. It’s
just like the game “Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon”. You
know how it goes…someone throws out an actor’s
name and you have to try to connect them to Kevin Bacon
in six steps or less.
I thought it might
be fun to do the same thing with the theater’s luminaries. I
will be trying to connect them to the longest running
show in Broadway history, The Phantom of the Opera and
its very first “Phantom”, Michael Crawford.
Jeremy Irons turned 59 this week. The celebrated
actor was born in Cowes, England, on the Isle of Wight
in 1948. Growing up, Irons had no clear picture
of what he wanted to do with his life. He’s
recorded as saying, “A career seemed to me something
rather like a prison sentence. That was how I
viewed a career, that I would start at the bottom and
I’d work my way up the ladder and then I’d
retire, and after a little bit I’d die. And
I thought there’s nothing I want to do like that
really.”
After failing entry into veterinary
school, he answered a “help wanted”ad for an assistant stage
manager for a small theater in Canterbury. The
picture of Jeremy’s future suddenly became much
clearer. He enrolled in the two-year program
of the Bristol Old Vic Theater.
In 1971 he move to London and won the role of John
the Baptist in a production of the musical Godspell. The
role brought him to the attention of the casting community. Several
roles in British television and films followed. While
doing the play The Rear Column he was recommended
to film director Karel Reisz by the play’s director,
playwright Harold Pinter. Reisz cast Irons in The
French Lieutenant’s Woman opposite Meryl
Streep.
1981 was a big year for Irons. The
year saw the release of The French Lieutenant’s
Woman. It
was also the year that Evelyn Waugh’s Brideshead
Revisited, and Irons in the leading role of Charles
Ryder, gained worldwide recognition and success. Irons
instantly became an international star. Other
notable screen appearances include: Dead Ringers (1988), Reversal
of Fortune (1990), The House of the Spirits (1993)
and the voice of Scar in The Lion King(1994).
Irons made his one and only Broadway
appearance in 1984. He starred opposite Glenn Close in Tom
Stoppard’s The Real Thing. He
earned a Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play for his
performance.
1) Jeremy Irons starred
in The Real Thing with
Christine Baranski
2) Christine Baranski was in Nick and Nora with John Jellison
3) John Jellison did Sunday in the Park with George with
Cris Groenendaal
4) Cris Groenendaal was the original Monsieur André in Phantom
of the Opera with Michael Crawford
So that’s the game. Join
me each week as I try to come up with new ways of connecting
Michael Crawford to the entire theater community.
