Quotes of All Topics . Occasions . Authors
I tried to forget about playing Romeo in 'Romeo and Juliet' and just think about him as a normal guy, as a normal character, and just try and approach him the same I would every other character.
And I just think that to introduce an unknown Shakespeare is thrilling, too - not to do Hamlet or Romeo and Juliet, to do the richer Shakespeare. People will come to this and not know the story.
I feel like every night, when you see a really good production of 'Romeo and Juliet' or something, you should hope that it ends differently. That's why we watch our favorite movies again and again.
When I started dating I had this kind of Romeo and Juliet, fateful romantic idea about love which was almost that you were a victim and there was a lot of pain involved and that was how it should be.
When I found out that I was going be Juliet, it felt much more real than 'Manon,' because 'Manon' is one of those ballets that you probably do after Juliet, so that never really sunk in to be honest.
If Romeo and Juliet make a tragedy of it nowadays, they have only to blame their own mismanagement, for the world is with them as it has never been before, and all sensible fathers and mothers know it.
When I was in England doing Romeo and Juliet as a child star, I was interviewed by the British press, who are even more vicious and cruel than the Americans. So I have been extremely guarded ever since.
Juliet shook her head. The thought of eating anything made her feel nauseous. "No thanks, I'm not hungry." "Oh yeah, the heartbreak diet," nodded Trudy sagely. "Been there, done that, bought the T-shirt.
I personally am a very big fan of 'Romeo + Juliet.' It had a visceral power to it that I thought was just exhilarating. It was a very arresting and very disturbing and deeply compelling version of the play.
I had played the Virgin Mary in 'Jesus of Nazareth,' and I had done 'Juliet' at the age of 15. People said, 'Where do you go from playing Juliet and the Virgin Mary?' And I said, 'Mother Teresa of Calcutta.'
If you look at 'Gnomeo & Juliet,' the movie's message essentially says it doesn't matter if you're a 'red' or a 'blue': at the end of the day, parents should love their children and want what's best for them.
When I was 16 years old, I joined a drama group called North Queensland Academy of Dramatic Art under a woman called Maggie Shephard-King. She inspired me to audition for the role of Romeo in 'Romeo and Juliet.'
All the great Shakespeare plays are about killing. 'Alas, poor Yorick,' that's about death. And in 'Romeo and Juliet' everyone up ends up dying. The greatest dramas in the world are all about sex, violence and death.
There's a definite rift in 'Riverdale.' There's a civil war between the Southside and the Northside. And Jughead being on the Southside and Betty's on the Northside, it becomes a bit of a 'Romeo and Juliet' situation.
With Juliet, if you read the Shake'speare there is quite a clear idea of how she should be, but with the ballet you can get your teeth into her even more because there are loads of moments when you realise she is growing up.
If you actually saw your favorite movie star who is also a great classical actor doing 'Romeo and Juliet,' 'Macbeth' or 'Taming of the Shrew,' it would be a great thing and a great thing for kids to get interested in language.
At drama school, I was told, 'Lay off the chips, or you'll never play Juliet.' Sometimes, in the stock room of the set of 'Dinnerladies,' I'd put away three or four Mars bars while waiting for a scene. Then, at 24, I lost five stone.
The rivalry between the Montague and the Capulet kids seems very modern to me. Juliet is a free spirit, full of untapped love and passion. I think a lot of girls can relate to her. And it's very relevant in terms of kids defying their parents.
Sir Kenneth MacMillan's version of 'Romeo and Juliet' is my favorite full-length ballet, Sergei Prokofiev's breathtaking score a favorite composition of music. As a student of martial arts, I loved drawing my sword in defense of my Capulet kin.
I think by around the time I was about 8 or 9, the idea of filmmaking probably took hold. I made little Super 8 extravaganzas when I was a kid, the first being my own version of 'Romeo and Juliet,' and where I played all the parts except for Juliet.
When I wrote 'Noughts and Crosses', I was halfway through it when I realised this was very like 'Romeo and Juliet'... as long as you make it your own, and put your own spin on it, I think it's brilliant to use other great work to find your own voice.
I take the subway all the time here in New York. I love people watching and trying to figure out everybody's background, especially teenagers - they're so uninhibited when they display puppy love. I concoct stories in my mind: 'Are you guys like Romeo and Juliet?'
I think 'West Side Story' is one of the greatest, if not the greatest, musicals ever put onscreen - or stage, for that matter. I, frankly, like Zeffirelli's 'Romeo and Juliet' very much, too. I grew up with that... I loved it. I loved the score; I loved the acting.
So often in sitcoms, it's like, 'Oh, that husband of mine. He just screwed up again.' They just have to tolerate each other. It's not the most fun to play from my perspective. But by the same token, you can't be like, 'We're just like Romeo and Juliet, always in love.'
I was in Siena and decided I wanted to write a story set there. Then I discovered that the original story of Romeo and Juliet was set in Siena. It occurred to me that this was too much of a gift - I had to do it. That's how I ended up writing a parallel story to Romeo and Juliet.
I've always found it funny when people call 'Romeo and Juliet' 'the greatest love story ever told' because - man - it does not work out well for those kids, you know? I'd like to think the greatest love story ever told would at least let them be together for more than a few hours.
I thought back to my middle-school experience of having slumber parties and watching Romeo + Juliet and staring at Leo and thinking about my first kiss and what I wanted it to be like. And when you have your first real love, it's an epiphany, you know? It's like a whole new world.
A lot of people say to me, 'Is this good, to do to a Shakespeare piece?' And I think, 'You know, 'West Side Story' did it very cleverly, in a different way.' But if you look at 'Bonnie and Clyde,' 'Titanic,' 'Avatar,' 'Grease,' 'Brokeback Mountain'... they're all 'Romeo and Juliet' stories.
In Shakespeare's world, characters cannot trust their senses. Is the ghost in Hamlet true and truthful, or is it a demon, tempting young Hamlet into murderous sin? Is Juliet dead or merely sleeping? Does Lear really stand at the edge of a great cliff? Or has the Fool deceived him to save his life?
When I was doing 'Tales from Hollywood' at the National, I was invited to dinner by the choreographer, Kenneth MacMillan. He told me I had the heart of a dancer and asked me if I'd like to come on at the end of 'Romeo and Juliet' as a friar. I said I'd love to, but sadly, MacMillan died shortly after.
Look, three love affairs in history, are Abelard and Eloise, Romeo and Juliet and the American media and this President at the moment. But this doesn't matter over time. Reality will impinge. If his programs work, he's fine. If it doesn't work, all of the adulation of journalists in the world won't matter.
I don't know if anyone knows if they're ever any good, but I went to drama school in Scotland, in a classical acting course, and my first year, I remember one of my tutors telling me that I couldn't act, and I should give up and all this sort of thing, and then, they cast me as Romeo in 'Romeo and Juliet.'
I spent two years at the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis, and then some New York types saw me there as Benvolio in 'Romeo and Juliet.' They sent me some enticing letters - about why didn't I come to New York? - and since it was well below zero that winter in Minneapolis, it didn't take much to get me to leave.
Sometimes the parallels that are brought in can make the play seem less relevant; you can deny a play's application to the universal by making it too specific. Sometimes having a modern context does make things easier to grasp; sometimes, you go, "Why have they got swords?" "Why didn't Juliet just text Romeo? Why did she bother posting a letter? Why was the Milan post service so bad?" It throws up irrelevant questions that don't help.
