1. What were your first professional acting roles?

Young Scrooge in A Christmas Carol, Claudio in Measure For Measure, and Benvolio in Romeo and Juliet.

2. What has it been like at the RSC so far?

It's been rewarding, challenging, and overwhelming, all in equal measure. I was born in the UK, in Bath, but left for Canada before I was three years old, then on to the United States. My journey to become an actor might be considered strange and unusual as it came about by being stood up on a date. So I could never imagine I'd be so fortunate as to play Othello on the stage of the Royal Shakespeare Theatre, given my corporate salesperson beginnings. But from the earliest moments in drama school that Shakespeare's words ignited my body and soul, I dreamed of working at the RSC. So to be here now is a pinnacle and profound moment in my odyssey.

3. What was your first experience of Shakespeare?

When I was a little boy, my mother would recite a passage or two from Mark Antony's speeches from Julius Caesar. My parents are of Jamaican descent, and of the Windrush generation. My mother studied some Shakespeare as part of her English classes in Jamaica in her youth and she still remembered swatches of it. When we were noisy as kids she would say, “Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears,” to get our attention.

My second experience was when I went to audition for drama school and was told, "You have to memorise a classical monologue to present at the audition,” and instructed me to get a book called Shakespeare's Monologues. Flipping through the book, I decided to memorise Mark Antony's speech in Julius Caesar, at the point where he is with Caesar's dead body, “O, pardon me, thou bleeding piece of earth / That I am meek and gentle with these butchers!"  Though unintended, my mother’s seeds had come to harvest.

4. What is the best piece of advice so far that you've received?

An actor told me once, “On stage, live through your kindness and generosity." I know it sounds weird, almost trite, but it was about the importance of developing a certain amount of kindness and generosity as an actor on and off the stage, and I believe it's true. It keeps you away from yourself and allows you to focus on others. I think that's a good skill to have - to focus on your partner, the people you're in the scene with and the audience.

5. Tell us about the character that you're playing – Othello.

Othello is a character who comes to us by way of the mythic, like Alexander or Beowulf, plucked from the world of Greek myth and set down in Venice as the General of their army. He is a Moor, an outsider, a foreigner. Of the noble class, spiritual, kind and generous, and born into a life of royal distinction.

Othello’s extraordinary life experiences have led him to Venice where he has found love for the first time, and as such, transitioning from the martial to the marital world and all that it implies. He is a poet warrior with an elemental connection to the universe that is essential to his being and self expression. That’s what Shakespeare has given me so far, more to come.

As to the significance to the character in the play, Othello is black and obviously of a different race than the Venetians. This is a point of real distinction and brings into sharp focus themes of racism and prejudice. However, I feel the most significant aspect of Othello’s character is not his race, but his outsider status. The politics of the outsider, the foreigner; that is where I feel Shakespeare’s themes speak to the universal as we all have, at one time or another, or currently, occupied the role of an outsider and experienced its impact. So in that sense, Othello is yet another of Shakespeare’s uniquely human characters sometimes winning, sometimes failing, experiencing the highest highs and darkest depths in the struggle of life; the human condition. Othello’s story as metaphor, and Shakespeare our contemporary, yet again.

6. You’ve played Othello twice before. What drew you to the role, and what keeps you coming back to it?

Well first off, it is a flat out great role. I’m fascinated by its ritual and spiritual nature. As such, multiple opportunities to play it can only be a good and evolving proposition for me.

The role remains a mystery and extremely challenging but my experiences have been cumulative and what I learn from one I bring to next with hope of deeper understanding, and a better measure of the man. Each time I come to it I’m in a different place in my life’s journey and the play beckons me to evolve with it. There is also something elemental I find in the character of Othello that seems to be aligned with the architecture of other great protagonists in drama; he is a forerunner, if you will. I’ve met Othello on several occasions outside of Shakespeare’s rendering. 

And lastly, but certainly not least, the opportunity to speak Othello’s amazing poetry again, but this time on the stage of the Royal Shakespeare Theatre, is priceless.

7. How is your character different this time around?

Well obviously I'm a different person than I was during the last production of Othello which was 16 years ago. The design and style elements of this production are entirely new and original to me. Those two elements alone have made my approach unlike past productions, and have opened up a deeper spiritual and mature sense of the character and play. And as I said earlier the transition for Othello from the martial to the marital has changed my idea of the character's thoughts and perspectives. So all in all, I am in uncharted waters in comparison to my work in previous productions.

8. You and Juliet Rylance played Othello and Desdemona together in 2009 – why did you decide to return to the play together?

Once I knew I was going to be in this production, I asked Tim Carroll [Director] if he would consider casting Juliet - I asked Juliet if she would join me and she said yes.

She was extraordinary in the production 16 years ago and the only actor I’d want to go on this journey again with. We have a certain familiarity, trust, and chemistry with one another. We both care deeply about Shakespeare and his story of Desdemona and Othello.

Our previous Othello in NYC was wonderful, but we knew we could explore more given our maturity and distance from that production. It’s incredibly fortunate that we get to work on the play again, quite rare I’d say for two actors to revisit the same roles 16 years apart. For me the attempt is worth it alone.

9. How does Othello play out in 2024?

To be honest with you I'm not quite sure. I feel the world has certainly grown more sensitive regarding race, equality, gender dynamics, patriarchy, misogyny, immigration, domestic violence etc. Audiences will bring these issues to the play and perhaps there will be quite a bit of resonance and relevance. Shakespeare always seems to meet the moment. So I hope our production of Othello even in its classical context will resonate with the contemporary audience and generate debate and discourse about our shared humanity and its condition.

10. Can you tell us what you’re excited about for the future?

I'm going to continue with this Shakespeare exploration of the outsider, with Shylock in The Merchant of Venice at the Royal Lyceum Theatre in Edinburgh - that'll be mid-January through February. Also, continuing my role of Arthur Scott on HBO’s The Gilded Age. Perhaps most important would be more travel.  Being here in the UK for this journey with Othello has put me in close proximity to the rest of Europe. For the first time in my life I was able to go to Amsterdam and Paris and explore those cultures for relatively little cost and short travel time.

In America I'd have to travel many hours to get out of the country to see another culture. So more travel is definitely on the agenda.

11. Who inspires you and why?

The incredible life of James Earl Jones and his long and prestigious career. He is certainly an icon of film and television, but his stage work  has been a major inspirational force to me. I’ve witnessed his powerful performances in August Wilson and Shakespeare. His journey with Othello is of particular note since he has played the role six times, and documented his experiences in an Actors On Shakespeare book. That book has served as my blueprint and guide book for all my journeys with Othello. James Earl Jones’s understanding and spiritual approach to Othello have had the greatest single influence on my acting career.