What black actors played Othello?

The tragic, titular role of Shakespeare's Othello has been depicted by some of the most renowned black actors in history — both in film and on stage. James Earl Jones. Laurence Fishburne. Chiwetel Ejiofor.

Who was the first black actor to play Othello?

African-American actor Paul Robeson (1898-1976) was the first black actor since 1860 to perform the role of Othello in a major production. Robeson was a remarkably talented man; a student sports star who played in the precursor to the NFL, an accomplished bass-baritone, and a fine actor on film and stage.

Who are some of the actors that have played Othello?

Who played Othello in blackface?

Reception. Olivier played Othello in blackface. He also adopted an exotic accent of his own invention, developed a special walk, and learned how to speak in a voice considerably deeper than his normal one.

Who is the black character in Othello?

Understanding why Shakespeare made his tortured, tragic hero a Moor. Actor James Earl Jones as Othello in 1981.

Tribute To First Black Actor To Play Othello On British Stage

Who was the first African American to play Othello with an all white cast?

His replacement; Ira Aldridge, a 26-year-old African American who broke the colour barrier for actors in early 19th century Britain.

Are any Shakespeare characters black?

Although he admitted that there are obvious black characters in plays such as “Antony and Cleopatra” (1606),“Othello” (1604) and “The Merchant of Venice” (1605), it doesn't mean that other plays don't have aspects of race people tend to overlook due to “racial blind spots,” as he put it.

When did Robeson play Othello?

The American actor Paul Robeson (1898–1976) played the title role of Othello, with Uta Hagen as Desdemona, in the Theatre Guild production in New York in 1943–44. It became the longest running Shakespeare play in the history of Broadway.

Did Sidney Poitier ever play Othello?

Sidney Poitier, who has died aged 94, once turned down the role of Othello because he did not want to be typecast as a black actor. It underlined the dilemma faced by a man who broke down many of Hollywood's racial barriers.

Why is Othello called the Moor?

Othello is referred to as the Moor because of his dark skin color. The term was initially used to describe people from the ancient Roman province, which is now North Africa, but over time the word "Moor" became an ambiguous term used to describe anyone who had dark skin.

How many versions of Othello are there?

Shakespeare's Play

Orson Welles (1952) and Oliver Parker (1995) directed two of the twelve film versions of Othello. The former starred by Orson Welles himself, and the latter, by Laurence Fishburne.

Can a white man play Othello?

Racial prejudice has allowed white actors to play Othello well into the 20th century.

What race was Othello?

Iago makes several references to Othello's race as well, referring to him as an "old black ram" (1.1. 88-89), a "devil" (1.1. 91), and a " Barbary horse" (1.1. 111-12).

Who first played Othello?

The first actor to play the title role in Othello was Richard Burbage, who along with William Shakespeare, was a leading member of the King's Men theatre company.

Why is Ira Aldridge famous?

Ira Frederick Aldridge was the first African American actor to achieve success on the international stage. He also pushed social boundaries by playing opposite white actresses in England and becoming known as the preeminent Shakespearean actor and tragedian of the 19th Century.

What Shakespeare play is The Lion King based on?

The similarities between The Lion King and The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, one of Shakespeare's best-known plays, are absolutely intentional—and it's not the only work it draws inspiration from, either.

When did Ira Aldridge first play Othello?

The first black actor to play many of William Shakespeare's leading roles, Ira Aldridge took 19th-century London by storm when in 1825 he performed Othello in the city's docklands.

Did Paul Robeson ever play Othello?

Under the direction of Margaret Webster, Robeson became the first African American to be cast as Othello in a major production in the United States, and the first Black actor to perform the role since Ira Aldridge in the 19th century.

Is Paul Robeson African American?

In 1933, Robeson made film history by becoming the first African American to star in a major studio production, The Emperor Jones.

When did Paul Robeson play Othello at Stratford?

It's 60 years ago, in April 1959, that one of the most important events in the history of the theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon took place. Paul Robeson, the great American singer and actor, became the first black Othello in Shakespeare's town in the twentieth century.

Is Othello black or Middle Eastern?

There is no final consensus over Othello's ethnicity; whether of Maghrebi origin as in the generally accepted definition of "Moor", or of Sub-Saharan African. E. A. J. Honigmann, the editor of the Arden Shakespeare edition concluded that Othello's ethnic background is ambiguous.

How many black characters did Shakespeare have?

17 Ania Loomba writes in Shakespeare, Race, and Colonialism that 'Apart from Morocco, one of Portia's suitors in The Merchant of Venice, there are only two black men in Shakespeare's plays: Aaron, the evil Moor of Titus Andronicus, and the valiant, Moorish hero of Othello',18 but she is mistaken, and like most scholars ...

What race was Macbeth?

A Scottish noble and an initially valiant military man, Macbeth, after a supernatural prophecy and the urging of his wife, Lady Macbeth, commits regicide, usurping the kingship of Scotland.