Rosalie Craig has called her fellow nominee Katherine Kingsley’s Olivier Award nomination for a Shakespearean role “very important” for the industry, revealing at this week’s Nominees Lunch it was an inspiration for other actors attempting to forge a career in both musical theatre and drama.
Earning a nod for her acclaimed performance in Michael Grandage’s production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, following previous nominations for her musical talents in Singin’ In The Rain and Piaf, Kingsley said the nomination has “cemented” her career in theatre, explaining, “It means the world to be recognised in a different way.”
Speaking alongside her fellow Olivier Award nominee The Light Princess star Craig, the pair revealed they shared a common interest in “mixing it up” and building careers that straddled both art forms.
While Kingsley, who most recently earned rave reviews for her performance in musical Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, joked her third nominations made her “always the bridesmaid, never the bride,” Craig was quick to jump to her defence. The actress praised Kingley’s cross genre nominations, saying: “It is such a great thing for other people in this industry to see because it is so hard to break into both worlds… it’s very important.”
Many of Kingsley’s fellow Best Performance in a Supporting Role nominees were also present at the celebration lunch held at the glamorous Haymarket Hotel earlier this week. Stand-up and The Weir star Ardal O’Hanlon, who like Kingsley proves it’s possible to have a successful career in more than one strand of performance, described himself as “smitten with theatre”, but was quick to turn the praise to his fellow cast members when discussing the possibility of taking home a prize on 13 April.
“I’d be delighted, but I don’t think actors can take that much credit for their own performance,” the actor explained. “You’re only as good as the cast around you. There’s an awful amount of people that deserve the award just as much as an actor in question.”
O’Hanlon’s humble opinion casts an interesting light on Sharon D Clarke and Cecilia Noble, both of whom are nominated in the category for their performances in the National Theatre’s The Amen Corner.
“We were there together,” Clarke exclaimed when asked how it felt to be pitched against a co-star. “I watched Cecilia’s work every night and I think she’s absolutely brilliant.” Noble was equally complimentary about Clarke, adding: “Someone said ‘Oh you’re up against Sharon’, but I don’t really see it like that. I just see it that we’re representing our play and it would be great if one of us wins.”
For Clarke, the fact the nomination comes for The Amen Corner, a show the actor describes as “seminal” for her, is particularly special. “I saw it about seven times in 1987 when it was on at the Tricycle,” she explained. “There weren’t any parts around like that for black actresses at the time and there still aren’t many roles like that for black actresses, or female actors, now. It was a joy to watch then and to be a part of the cast now.”
Noble, like many of the stars in attendance, revealed she had long been a fan of the awards, telling us excitedly: “I remember as a child looking at pictures [of the Olivier Awards] in magazines and now it’s me! Everyone wants to be nominated for an Olivier in their career.”
Two actors nominated for their roles supporting Hollywood leading men – Best actor nominees Jude Law (Henry V) and Tom Hiddleston (Coriolanus) – were also in attendance and full of praise for their co-stars.
“It was one of the happiest companies, I’ve ever worked with. Jude Law is a great leading man,” Ron Cook, nominated for his comic role as Pistol in the Grandage-directed Henry V, said. “I feel very honoured [to be nominated]. I was pruning my roses at the time and suddenly my phone went berserk with all these people congratulating me and I had no idea why. I had to text them back to ask!”
Gatiss, who described it as “wonderful” for both himself and Hiddleston to be in the running for an award – “especially as this is the first Shakespeare I’ve done since college, so an Olivier nomination is not bad” he joked – commented on behalf of them both, saying: “We’re very proud of this show and it was quite something to do. It was a very affecting show; I was very moved doing it every night. It was quite a physical effort – for Tom it was an extraordinary physical effect – eight shows a week. I’m very, very proud that we’ve got the nominations.”
Many of the nominees gathered at this week’s event will all be in attendance at the Royal Opera House on 13 April to find out first hand if they will earn one of theatre’s most coveted awards. The star-studded ceremony will be streamed live in Covent Garden, and a fantastic highlights show will be screened on ITV at 22:15.
[quote-block]
