ACTOR Joseph Marcell has called on fans to remember his former co-star Will Smith’s acting instead of his Oscars slap.
Marcell, who played much-loved butler Geoffrey in Smith’s Nineties sitcom The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, told The Londoner at yesterday’s Critics’ Circle theatre awards: “The most important thing about that night was the fact that Will won the best actor Oscar, and not many people talk about that.” He added: “I know Will Smith and I love him.”
“You have to remember it’s Hollywood, that’s all I can say” he said. “Hollywood is about showbiz”. Marcell said there were no fisticuffs on the The Fresh Prince set: “Because we were all newcomers to an American television audience we supported each other”.
Marcell was the special guest of Cush Jumbo, who dedicated her award for best Shakespearean performance to him. He played Polonius to her Hamlet in the Young Vic’s production last year.
The awards, held at Soho’s Ham Yard Hotel, were a cheerful celebration of the return of theatre after lockdowns. Host Kate Maltby said Smith gags were banned, although sponsor Anthony Pins got a laugh for saying he had removed all the jokes from his speech “as a precaution”.
A Playhouse Theatre revival of Cabaret won the most awards, with three, including for Best Actor Jessie Buckley. Fellow musical Spring Awakening won two awards, while Ben Daniels won Best Actor for The Normal Heart. Best New Play went to James Graham for Best of Enemies. Actors Tom Felton, Lizzie Annis, Kerry Fox and Ben Daniels made the do alongside super-producer Nica Burns.
Novelist Zadie Smith won most promising playwright for her first play, The Wife of Willesden, based on Chaucer’s Wife of Bath. “It’s a long time since I’ve been called promising, it’s very rejuvenating,” she joked. The other best newcomer, Igor Memic, won for his first play drawing on his experiences as a Bosnian refugee. He urged the theatre world to look after future refugee writers from Ukraine, because “theatre saves lives”.
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