In the trailer for the biographical drama Elsinore, Andrew Scott plays gay actor Ian Charleson, who fought to play the role of Hamlet while battling complications from HIV/AIDS.
Ian Charleson’s lifelong dream was to play Hamlet.
In 1989, the Chariots of Fire and Gandhi star fought to play the role while battling complications from HIV/AIDS.
Directed by Simon Stone and written by Stephen Beresford, Focus Features has released the trailer for Elsinore. The film is “a powerful, deeply moving, and inspiring true story,” the synopsis says.
It tells the fact-based story of Charleson, “who faced incredible odds while preparing to give the performance of his life”. Andrew Scott leads the film as Charleson.
The cast also includes Olivia Colman, Billie Piper, Joe Locke, Monica Dolan, Sadie Soverall and more.
Andrew Scott and Olivia Coleman in ‘Elsinore’Source: Focus Features
‘This is the role of Scott’s career’
Elsinore first debuted at the Telluride Film Festival before winning the International People’s Choice Award at the Toronto International Film Festival.
Reviewing the film, Deadline’s Pete Hammond said Scott’s performance was “heartbreakingly great” and a “performance for the ages.
The movie is also a love letter to Britain’s National Theatre, a sprawling monument to the power of art and artists, an “Elsinore” unto itself.”
Variety’s Clayton Davis said, Scott “gives an astonishingly layered and moving performance.”
“Make no mistake, this is the role of Scott’s career, and it lands him toward the forefront of a best actor conversation he has been circling for years.”
Andrew Scott in ‘Elsinore’ Source: Focus Features‘The perfect Hamlet’
The film tells the story of “a gifted actor whose greatest challenge becomes his greatest triumph, facing his own mortality with unflinching honesty, wit, and grace.”
“Charleson delivers a courageous performance that becomes a source of healing and inspiration for those around him.”
Charleson was diagnosed with HIV in 1986, and died in 1990 at the age of 40.
He requested that it be announced after his death that he had died of AIDS. He was the first celebrity death in the United Kingdom openly attributed to HIV/AIDS.
In 1989, Sir Ian McKellen was given the Evening Standard Award for Best Actor for Iago in Othello. He recieved this the night following Charleson’s final Hamlet performance.
McKellen said he saw “the perfect Hamlet” at the National Theatre the previous night. He thought Charleson was truly the Best Actor of 1989 and gave him his statuette.
Elsinore is set for release in November.
For the latest LGBTIQA+ Sister Girl and Brother Boy news, entertainment, and community stories in Australia, visit qnews.com.au. Find us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.
