Rufus Sewell was a pin-up in the 1990s, then his career stalled. He tells us about moving to La, giving up drinking and why he can't wait to lose his looks
There was a moment in the mid-1990s when Rufus Sewell's international stardom was assured. Before his 30th birthday, he had starred in two hugely successful TV adaptations, of Middlemarch and Cold Comfort Farm, and taken a lead role in the original production of Tom Stoppard's Arcadia, alongside Felicity Kendal and Bill Nighy. He would clearly become stupidly famous. But then he… didn't.
"People talk about opportunity knocking," he says, "but the gate was always swinging in the breeze before I got to the door. I was the lead in Interview With The Vampire, until Tom Cruise decided he was interested. I was in The Wings Of The Dove with Uma Thurman, until that got cancelled. I...
There was a moment in the mid-1990s when Rufus Sewell's international stardom was assured. Before his 30th birthday, he had starred in two hugely successful TV adaptations, of Middlemarch and Cold Comfort Farm, and taken a lead role in the original production of Tom Stoppard's Arcadia, alongside Felicity Kendal and Bill Nighy. He would clearly become stupidly famous. But then he… didn't.
"People talk about opportunity knocking," he says, "but the gate was always swinging in the breeze before I got to the door. I was the lead in Interview With The Vampire, until Tom Cruise decided he was interested. I was in The Wings Of The Dove with Uma Thurman, until that got cancelled. I...
- 3/30/2013
- by Liese Spencer
- The Guardian - Film News
A striking stage presence for more than 60 years and a familiar face on TV
Sheila Burrell, who has died aged 89 after a long illness, was a cousin of Laurence Olivier, and a similarly distinctive and fiery actor with a broad, open face, high cheekbones and expressive eyes. She stood at only 5ft 5ins but could fill the widest stage and hold the largest audience. Her voice was a mezzo marvel, kittenish or growling and, in later life, acquired the viscosity and vintage of an old ruby port, matured after years of experience.
In a career spanning more than 60 years, she made her name as a wild, red-headed Barbara Allen (subject of the famous ballad) in Peter Brook's 1949 production of Dark of the Moon (Ambassadors theatre), an American pot-boiler about the seduction of a lusty girl by a witch boy and the hysterical reaction of her local community.
The role remained one of her favourites,...
Sheila Burrell, who has died aged 89 after a long illness, was a cousin of Laurence Olivier, and a similarly distinctive and fiery actor with a broad, open face, high cheekbones and expressive eyes. She stood at only 5ft 5ins but could fill the widest stage and hold the largest audience. Her voice was a mezzo marvel, kittenish or growling and, in later life, acquired the viscosity and vintage of an old ruby port, matured after years of experience.
In a career spanning more than 60 years, she made her name as a wild, red-headed Barbara Allen (subject of the famous ballad) in Peter Brook's 1949 production of Dark of the Moon (Ambassadors theatre), an American pot-boiler about the seduction of a lusty girl by a witch boy and the hysterical reaction of her local community.
The role remained one of her favourites,...
- 7/27/2011
- by Michael Coveney
- The Guardian - Film News
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