Simon Russell Beale
Desert Island Discs: Archive 2005-2010
BBC
4.4 • 804 Ratings
🗓️ 8 July 2007
⏱️ 38 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Kirsty Young's castaway this week is the actor Simon Russell Beale. Critics are torn over their descriptions of him: to some, he's the greatest stage actor in Britain today. To others, merely the greatest Shakespearean actor of his generation. Whichever it is, when he's cast in a play, it invariably sells out, the audience is spellbound and the reviewers smitten.
Yet initially it seemed as if music was his calling; he was a choirboy at St Paul's, won a singing scholarship to Cambridge and went on to study at the Guildhall School of Music. An unorthodox approach to the drama department saw him change direction and he has gone on to win huge acclaim and many awards for his work. Unusually for a modern actor, he has only dabbled lightly in film and television work - he says when faced with the choice between a play and a film he always picks the play.
[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]
Favourite track: First Movement of 4th Symphony by Ludwig van Beethoven Book: Book on medieval history Luxury: Daily Araucaria crossword.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | You're about to listen to a BBC podcast, but this is about something else you might enjoy. |
| 0:05.4 | My name's Katie Lecky and I'm an assistant commissioner for on demand music on BBC Sounds. |
| 0:10.7 | The BBC has an incredible musical heritage and culture and as a music lover, I love being part of that. |
| 0:17.4 | With music on sounds, we offer collections and mixes for everything, from workouts to helping |
| 0:22.7 | you nod off, boogie in your kitchen, or even just a moment of calm. And they're all put together |
| 0:28.7 | by people who know their stuff. So if you want some expertly curated music in your life, |
| 0:34.9 | check out BBC Sounds. Hello, I'm Krista Young, and this is a podcast from the Desert Island Discs Archive. |
| 0:41.8 | For rights reasons, we've had to shorten the music. |
| 0:44.9 | The program was originally broadcast in 2007. |
| 1:07.9 | Music My castaway this week is the actor Simon Russell Beale. |
| 1:27.5 | Critics are torn over their descriptions of him. To some, he is the greatest stage actor in Britain today. To others, merely the greatest Shakespearean actor of his generation, whichever it is, when he's cast in a play, it invariably sells out, the audience is spellbound and the reviewers smitten. Yet, it initially seemed as if music was his calling. |
| 1:31.4 | A choir boy at St. Paul's, he won a singing scholarship to Cambridge and went on to study at the Guildhall School of Music. |
| 1:34.9 | A collaborator by nature, he seems happiest when pushed to new heights by others |
| 1:38.8 | who are already confident of his talents. |
| 1:41.1 | Sam Mendes is his great stage mentor. |
| 1:44.1 | So Simon Russell Beale initially it was an |
| 1:45.9 | English teacher who spotted your talent for acting. What happened? Brian Worthington, who was a great |
| 1:51.8 | teacher and a very strict teacher and a very puritanical intellect. And in fact not a great |
| 1:57.6 | level of the theatre, actually, a professional theatre. I think he'd forgive me for saying that. |
| 2:02.2 | I met him when I went to senior school when I was 13, |
| 2:04.5 | and he cast me as Desdemona, |
| 2:07.3 | and started the whole thing of, |
... |
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