When people think of actors, they often think of performers who are easily identified in real life, reel life, or stage life. Some of these performers include Brad Pitt, who keeps his personna throughout each of his characterizations.
Other actors are mecuricural, changing faces, mannerisms, speech patterns, and appearances with each characterization. Sir Laurence Olivier was one of these types of actors, who could look different in each role he played. Another actor is Anton Lesser.
This actor, born on Valentine's Day, 1952, celebrates his birthday, and can celebrate his thriving career. Known for work on stage, television, and screen, Lesser keeps busy with classical drama, popular movies, and recording literature such as Milton's Paradise Lost.
Many American viewers may be familiar with Lesser's work without being familiar with the actor. An example is the 1997 film
Fairy Tale: A True Story. Starring Peter O'Toole and Harvey Keitel, with a brief appearance by Mel Gibson, the film follows the true story of two English girls during the First World War, and their claim that they could see fairies. The claim resonated with the war-weary British, and attracted attention of spiritualist Arthur Conan Doyle and empiricist magician Harry Houdini.
The film is appropriate for tweens, teens, and adults. Yet, with all the great talent, the film is almost upstaged by a wounded corporal, played by Anton Lesser. A soldier returning with a terrible face wound, one of the girls accepts his disfigurement as she plays a game on the train filled with wounded soldiers. Lesser shows the shock of a man whom war has changed forever, as he is transformed by the girls' belief in fairy creatures.
That same year, Lesser appeared in
The Moonstone, a tv production of Wilkie Collin's thriller. This time Lesser portrays Ezra Jennings, the humble assistant to Dr. Candy, who sets the action in motion by secretly giving a draught of opium to a young man who doesn't believe in the power of medicine.
In 2001, Lesser creates the role of Counsellor Doone in the production of
Lorna Doone, R.D. Blackmore's story of Exmoor. In an entirely different direction, Counsellor Doone as shown by Lesser is a complicated mix of pragmitism and legal corruption, a sort of Iago with a glimmer of a conscience. As noted on the "Anton Lesser Junkie Quick Fix Web Site," the site describes Lesser's performance: "Counsellor Doone, complete with GUNS again.
Excellent!"
Audiences who viewed the 4th
Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, may or may not recognize Lesser as Lord John Carteret. Next up is a long-awaited adaptation of Daphne du Maurier's
The Scapegoat, with Lesser taking the part of Father McReady.
Whatever the role, watching Lesser inhabit a character is a fascinating theatrical experience.
For more information, visit
The Anton Lesser Junkie Quick Fix Web Site
"A safe haven for Lesserites of all ages."
http://www.burninggold.net/antonlesser/antonlesser/tv.html
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