There are few actors in England who were twice awarded the Laurence Olivier Award for two different roles, like the English actor Derek Jacoby. In addition to this award, he has the BAFTA TV Award, Tony and Emmy Awards. However, the main award is the love of the audience who applauded him in the theater, saw him in the cinema and on television.
Biography
Derek Jacoby was born in London in 1938. His father traded tobacco, and his mother was a secretary in a family company. Back in the 19th century, the ancestors of the father came from Germany to England, so there is German blood in him.
Derek’s childhood was overshadowed by a terrible war, but then the child did not understand what kind of threat hung over the world - he simply did not have enough experience for this. He just went to school and enjoyed studying in drama circles. Already then it became clear what roles Jacoby would get: already in the sixth grade, he played Hamlet.
With higher education, he was also lucky - he graduated from Cambridge, where he also took part in theatrical productions: he played mainly the main roles. While still a student, he was accepted into the troupe of the Birmingham Theater. However, he did not go to the actors, but became a history teacher at one of the colleges.
When he once entered the stage of the theater, his play was appreciated by the famous Lawrence Olivier himself, and soon the young actor was invited to London. Then the National English Theater was just being created - we can say that Jacobi was at its very origins. In this theater, he played his first serious role - Laertes in Hamlet. Then there were roles - the actor gave this theater about ten years.
Movie career
In 1972, Derek learned what shooting in a movie is - he tried himself as a movie actor. Prior to that, he starred in short films, in television projects, but it was a bit wrong. Very soon, in the movie, the talented actor achieved success - after he played the main role in the series "I, Claudius" (1976).
Along with filming in the cinema, he managed to tour: with the Prospect Theater he traveled to many cities in Japan, Africa, Sweden, China and Australia. In the eighties, he began to play on Broadway, but personal circumstances forced him to return to England.
The actor crowned with laurels, of course, was accepted into the Royal Shakespeare campaign. Here he played mainly the classical repertoire, and for every role he received some prestigious award. Well, talent always speaks for itself.
In the nineties, Derek was a very sought-after actor: he starred in television series, played in the theater. And also during these years he became the artistic director of the Chichester Theater Festival.
The beginning of the new century brought him a new job: filming in documentaries, where he created images of historical figures, full-length paintings, which were a huge success with the audience. And in 2010, he received recognition from viewers and critics for playing the role of King Lear at the Crucible Theater.
The best films in the actor’s portfolio are Hamlet (1996), Basil (1998), Henry V (1989), Another World (2005), Gladiator (2000).
