Simon Callow

Simon Callow
CBE

Callow in London, October 2009
Born Simon Phillip Hugh Callow
(1949-06-15) 15 June 1949
Streatham, London, England
Occupation Actor, director, writer, musician
Years active 1975–present

Simon Phillip Hugh Callow, CBE[1] (born 15 June 1949) is an English actor, musician, writer, and theatre director.

Early years

Callow was born in Streatham, London, the son of Yvonne Mary (née Guise), a secretary, and Neil Francis Callow, a businessman.[2] His father was of English and French descent and his mother was of Danish and German ancestry.[3][4] He was brought up Roman Catholic.[3] Callow attended the London Oratory School and then went on to study at Queen's University Belfast ('Queen's') in Northern Ireland where he was active in the Northern Ireland civil-rights movement, before giving up his degree course to go into acting at the Drama Centre London.[5]

Career

Callow's immersion in the theatre began after he wrote a fan letter to Sir Laurence Olivier, the Artistic Director of the National Theatre, and received a response suggesting he join their box office staff. It was while watching actors rehearse that he realised he wanted to act.[6]

Callow made his stage debut in 1973, appearing in The Thrie Estates at the Assembly Rooms Theatre, Edinburgh. In the early 1970s he joined the Gay Sweatshop theatre company and performed in Martin Sherman's critically acclaimed Passing By.[7][8] In 1977 he took various parts in the Joint Stock Theatre Company's production of Epsom Downs and in 1979 he starred in Snoo Wilson's The Soul of the White Ant at the Soho Poly.[9]

He made his first film appearance, as Schikaneder, in Amadeus in 1984 (having played Mozart in the original stage production at the Royal National Theatre in 1979). His first television role was in Carry On Laughing episode "Orgy and Bess", in 1975, but it was apparently cut from the final print. He starred in several series of the Channel 4 situation comedy Chance in a Million, as Tom Chance, an eccentric individual to whom coincidences happened regularly. Roles like this and his part in Four Weddings and a Funeral brought him a wider audience than his many critically acclaimed stage appearances.

At the same time, Callow was successful both as a director and as a writer. His Being An Actor (1984) was a critique of 'director dominated' theatre, in addition to containing autobiographical sections relating to his early career as an actor. At a time when subsidised theatre in the United Kingdom was under severe pressure from the Thatcher government, the work's original appearance caused a minor controversy. In 1992, he directed the play Shades by Sharman MacDonald and the musical My Fair Lady featuring costumes designed by Jasper Conran.[10] In 1995, he directed a stage version of the classic French film Les Enfants du Paradis for the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC). The production was not a success. Callow has also directed opera productions.

One of Callow's best-known books is Love Is Where It Falls, a poignant analysis of his eleven-year relationship with Peggy Ramsay (1980–91), a prominent British theatrical agent from the 1960s to the 1980s. He has also written extensively about Charles Dickens, whom he has played several times: in a one-man show, The Mystery of Charles Dickens by Peter Ackroyd; in the films Hans Christian Andersen: My Life as a Fairytale and Christmas Carol: The Movie; and on television several times including An Audience with Charles Dickens (BBC, 1996) and in "The Unquiet Dead", a 2005 episode of the BBC science-fiction series Doctor Who. He returned to Doctor Who for the 2011 season finale, again taking the role of Dickens.[11]

Callow appeared with Saeed Jaffrey in 1994 British television series Little Napoleons. In 1996 Callow directed Cantabile in three musical pieces (Commuting, The Waiter's Revenge, Ricercare No. 4) composed by his friend Stephen Oliver. Ricercare No. 4 was commissioned by Callow especially for Cantabile. He voice-acted the sly and traitorous Wolfgang in Shoebox Zoo. In 2004, he appeared on a Comic Relief episode of Little Britain for charity causes. In 2006, he wrote a piece for the BBC1 programme This Week bemoaning the lack of characters in modern politics. He has starred as Count Fosco, the villain of Wilkie Collins's novel The Woman in White, in film (1997) and on stage (2005, in the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical in the West End).

In December 2004, he hosted the London Gay Men's Chorus Christmas Show, Make the Yuletide Gay at the Barbican Centre in London. He is currently one of the patrons of the Michael Chekhov Studio London. Callow narrated the audiobook of Robert Fagles' 2006 translation of Virgil's The Aeneid.

In July 2006, the London Oratory School Schola announced Callow as one of their new patrons. In November 2007 he threatened to resign the post over controversy surrounding the Terrence Higgins Trust (an AIDS charity of which Callow is also a patron). Other patrons of the Catholic choir are Princess Michael of Kent and the leading Scottish composer James MacMillan. He reprised his role as Wolfgang in Shoebox Zoo and voice-acted the wild and action-seeking Hunter as well.

From 11 July to 3 August 2008, Callow appeared at the Stratford Shakespeare Festival in Canada in There Reigns Love, a performance of the sonnets of William Shakespeare[12] and also in 2008, he appeared at the Edinburgh Festival performing "Dr Marigold" and "Mr Chops" by Charles Dickens, adapted and directed by Patrick Garland; repeating them from December 2009 to January 2010 at the Riverside Studios and on tour in 2011.

In February 2008, he played the psychiatrist in Chichester Festival Theatre's production of Peter Shaffer's Equus.

Between March and August 2009, he starred as Pozzo in Sean Mathias's production of Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett opposite Sir Ian McKellen (Estragon), Sir Patrick Stewart (Vladimir) and also Ronald Pickup (Lucky). The tour opened in Malvern before travelling to Milton Keynes, Brighton, Bath, Norwich, Edinburgh and Newcastle; its run at the Theatre Royal, Haymarket was extended due to demand.

From June to November 2010, he appeared in a national tour of a new one-man play, Shakespeare: the Man from Stratford, written by Jonathan Bate, directed by Tom Cairns and produced by the Ambassador Theatre Group. The play was renamed Being Shakespeare for its West End debut at the Trafalgar Studios where it opened on 15 June 2011. It was revived at the same theatre in March 2012, prior to a run in New York City and Chicago. In March 2014, it returned to the West End, this time at the Harold Pinter Theatre.[13]

In October 2014, Callow appeared in a comedy sketch made for Channel 4's The Feeling Nuts Comedy Night to raise awareness of testicular cancer.[14] The same year he played the recurring role of the fictional Duke of Sandringham in the Starz period TV series, Outlander.[15]

Callow has also written biographies of Oscar Wilde, Charles Laughton and Orson Welles. He is currently at work on the third volume of his life of Welles. He has also written an anthology of Shakespeare passages, Shakespeare on Love, and contributed to Cambridge's Actors on Shakespeare series. Callow was also the reader of The Twits and The Witches in the Puffin Roald Dahl Audio Books Collection (ISBN 978-0-140-92255-4) and has done audio versions of several abridged P.G. Wodehouse books that feature, among others, the fictional character Jeeves. They include Very Good, Jeeves and Aunts Aren't Gentlemen. A devotee of classical music, he has contributed articles to Gramophone magazine.

Personal life

Callow was listed 28th in The Independent's 2007 listing of the most influential gay men and women in the UK.[16] In 1999, he was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) for his services to acting. Callow lived with director Daniel Kramer. They shared a house in Camden, North London,[17] but have now ended their relationship.[18][19] He was one of the first actors to declare his homosexuality publicly, doing so in his 1984 book Being An Actor.

In an interview, Callow stated: "I'm not really an activist, although I am aware that there are some political acts one can do that actually make a difference and I think my coming out as a gay man was probably one of the most valuable things I've done in my life. I don't think any actor had done so voluntarily and I think it helped to change the culture."[20]

In August 2014, Callow was one of 200 public figures who were signatories to a letter to The Guardian opposing Scottish independence in the run-up to September's referendum on that issue.[21]

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role Notes
1984 Amadeus Emanuel Schikaneder / Papageno
1985 The Good Father Mark Varda
1985 A Room with a View The Reverend Mr. Beebe Nominated – BAFTA Film Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role
1987 Maurice Mr. Ducie
1988 Manifesto Police Chief Hunt
1990 Postcards from the Edge Simon Asquith
1990 Mr. & Mrs. Bridge Dr. Alex Sauer
1991 The Ballad of the Sad Cafe Director
Nominated – Golden Berlin Bear
1991 Howards End Music and Meaning Lecturer Cameo
1992 Soft Top Hard Shoulder Eddie Cherdowski
1994 Four Weddings and a Funeral Gareth Nominated – BAFTA Film Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role
1994 Street Fighter A.N. Official
1995 England, My England Charles II
1995 Victory Zangiacomo
1995 Jefferson in Paris Richard Cosway
1995 Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls Vincent Cadby
1996 James and the Giant Peach Grasshopper Voice
1998 The Scarlet Tunic Captain Fairfax
1998 Bedrooms and Hallways Keith
1998 Shakespeare in Love Sir Edmund Tilney Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture
1999 Around the World in 80 Days Phileas Fogg Voice
1999 Junk
2000 The Mystery of Charles Dickens Television film
2001 No Man's Land Colonel Soft
2001 Christmas Carol: The Movie Ebenezer Scrooge
2002 Thunderpants Sir John Osgood
2002 Merci Docteur Rey Bob
2003 Bright Young Things King of Anatolia
2004 George and the Dragon King Edgar
2004 The Phantom of the Opera Andre
2005 Rag Tale Fat Boy Rourke
2005 The Civilization of Maxwell Bright Mr. Wroth
2005 Bob the Butler Mr. Butler
2006 Sabina Eugene Bleuler
2007 Chemical Wedding Professor Haddo / Aleister Crowley
2007 Arn - The Knight Templar Father Henry
2011 No Ordinary Trifle Guy Witherspoon
2012 Acts of Godfrey Godfrey
2014 Magician: The Astonishing Life and Work of Orson Welles Himself
2016 Golden Years Royston
2016 Viceroy's House Filming

Television

Year Title Role Notes
1975 Get Some In! Wally
1976 The Sweeney Detective Sergeant
1981 The Man of Destiny Napoleon
1984 Chance in a Million Tom Chance
1986 Dead Head Hugo Silver
1986 David Copperfield Mr Micawber
1987 Inspector Morse Theodore Kemp Episode: "The Wolvercote Tongue"
1990 Old Flames Nathaniel Quass
1993 Femme Fatale Vicar Ronnie
1994 Little Napoleons Edward Feathers
1996 An Audience With Charles Dickens Charles Dickens
1995 El pasajero clandestino Major Owens
1998 Trial & Retribution II Rupert Halliday
2001 Don't Eat The Neighbours Fox & Bear
2002 NOVA: Galileo's Battle for the Heavens Galileo documentary
2003 Angels in America Prior Walter Ancestor 2 Miniseries
2004 Shoebox Zoo Wolfgang the Wolf
Hunter the Horse
2004 Agatha Christie's Marple Colonel Terence Melchett Episode: "The Body in the Library"
2005 Rome Publius Servilius
2005, 2011 Doctor Who Charles Dickens Episodes: "The Unquiet Dead", "The Wedding of River Song"
2006 Midsomer Murders Dr. Richard Wellow Episode: "Dead Letters"
2006 Classical Destinations Narrator[22]
2007 The Company Elihu
2007 How Gay Sex Changed the World Himself[23]
2007 Trick or Treat Himself 1 episode
2008 The Mr. Men Show Narrator
2009 Lewis Vernon Oxe Episode: "Counter Culture Blues"
2009 The Sarah Jane Adventures Tree Blathereen Voice
Episode: "The Gift"
2011 This is Jinsy Threcker Episode: "Nameworm"
2011 Popstar to Operastar Himself
2011 Jamie's Dream School Himself
2013 Agatha Christie's Poirot Dr. Heinrich Lutz Episode: "The Labours of Hercules"
2014 Outlander The Duke of Sandringham
2014 The Feeling Nuts Comedy Night Himself
2015 Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway Guest in The End of The Show Show Season 12 Episode 2
2016 Galavant Edwin the Fortuneteller Episode "World's Best Kiss"

Bibliography

References

  1. ↑ "Queen's Birthday Honours: The Full List". The Independent. 12 June 1999.
  2. ↑ "Simon Callow Biography". filmreference. 2008. Retrieved 1 September 2008.
  3. 1 2 Lee, Luaine (30 October 2002). "Spending time in Africa shaped who Simon Callow is today". Star News (Wilmington, North Carolina: Google Newspapers). p. 9.
  4. ↑ "Checking In: Simon Callow on the many joys of Edinburgh and his dread of air travel". Daily Mail (Associated Newspapers). 25 September 2010.
  5. ↑ Jonathan Jones (30 September 2011). Saint Martins emerges blinking in bright new home. But is it art?: King's Cross premises a far cry from Soho 'hell', but some students fear college will have lost its charm. The Guardian. Accessed August 2013.
  6. ↑ Fryer, Jonathan (24 March 2010). "Simon Callow Laid Bare". Jonathan Fryer. WordPress.
  7. ↑ Church, Michael (20 June 1975). "Passing By". The Times. p. 13.
  8. ↑ Callow, Simon (31 October 2008). "Sexual healing: From The Boys in the Band to Brokeback Mountain, gay roles in cinema have come a long way from their tortured beginnings.". The Observer.
  9. ↑ Snoo Wilson, Plays 1, Methuen 1999
  10. ↑ "My Fair Lady – Performing Arts". Jasper Conran. Archived from the original on 20 March 2013.
  11. ↑ "Doctor Who: Series 6 – 13. The Wedding of River Song". Radio Times. BBC Magazines.
  12. ↑ "Stratford Shakespeare Festival – There Reigns Love". Stratford Festival. Retrieved 5 February 2008.
  13. ↑ "Being Shakespeare Official Website". Retrieved 27 May 2011.
  14. ↑ "IMDB".
  15. ↑ "Scots-based Outlander TV show casts Simon Callow". The Scotsman. 7 December 2013. Retrieved 26 April 2015.
  16. ↑ "Gay Power: The pink list". The Independent. 2 July 2006.
  17. ↑ Wolf, Matt (21 November 2006). "An American's bravura on the London stage". Herald Tribune. Archived from the original on 24 November 2006. Retrieved 26 January 2008.
  18. ↑ Devine, Rachel (10 August 2008). "Callow brings Dickens to the Festival". The Sunday Times.
  19. ↑ Christiansen, Rupert (6 May 2009). "Daniel Kramer: 'I want to explore the dark side'". The Telegraph.
  20. ↑ Byrnes, Sholto (26 April 2004). "Simon Callow: Laughter in the dark". The Independent. Archived from the original on 27 May 2015.
  21. ↑ "Celebrities' open letter to Scotland – full text and list of signatories | Politics". theguardian.com. 2014-08-07. Retrieved 2014-08-26.
  22. ↑ "Simon Callow's Classical Destinations: Part 1 – Salzburg". Sky Arts.
  23. ↑ "40 Years On". Channel 4. Retrieved 26 January 2008.

External links


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