David Warner was my very first actor role model. I saw him in 1965 at the Aldwych, the Royal Shakespeare Company’s London home, playing Hamlet in a production directed by Peter Hall. I had never seen the play in performance but I knew the script very well and had learned some of the speeches for auditions.
I had never conceived or imagined a performance like David’s. He was so human, so sensitive, yet impetuous. Even when speaking the speeches I knew by heart I felt he was improvising them, simply responding to his feelings and circumstances. I was dazzled as the production also included Brewster Mason and Tony Church.
