Outsider wins battle of the anti-heroes

Ο Chiwetel Ejiofor τον "έφαγε" τον Ian McKellen κι έτσι η ερμηνεία του στον Οθέλλο του απέδωσε ένα "Βραβείο Ολίβιε". Σχετικές πληροφορίες από το άρθρο του Mark Brown, στην εφημερίδα The Guardian (10/3/2008):

Acclaimed Othello ... Ejiofor. Photograph: Yui Mok/PA

Two of Britain's most respected thespians went head to head - Ian McKellen as King Lear, and Patrick Stewart as Macbeth. But neither won: they were pipped by Othello in the shape of an actor half their age, Chiwetel Ejiofor. The actor, born in Forest Gate, east London, won at the Olivier awards for his unforgettable performance at London's Donmar Warehouse, where he played the Moor to Ewan McGregor's Iago. The Guardian's reviewer Michael Billington said Ejiofor had put himself in the top rank of modern Othellos, embodying nobility as well as flaws.

McKellen and Stewart were playing men with more fractured psyches. Stewart's portrayal of Macbeth's descent into crazed tyranny has gripped audiences in Chichester, the West End and now Broadway. McKellen has spent much of last year mesmerising audiences across the world and now London with his version of Lear's tragic fall into madness.Ejiofor, 33, is building a reputation as one of the most exciting actors of his generation on stage and in movies, from Dirty Pretty Things to memorable gangsters in Four Brothers and American Gangster. Last night he dedicated his award to Ed Wilson who was artistic director of the National Youth Theatre for 16 years and who died last month. As he received it he said: "Wow. Thank you so much for this award. It's really incredible. I am honoured and humbled to stand before you and receive this."...