Ralph Richardson

Birthday: 19 December 1902, Tivoli Road, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England, UK

Birth Name: Ralph David Richardson

Height: 183 cm

Sir Ralph Richardson was one of the greatest actors of the 20th Century English-language theater, ascending to the height of his profession in the mid-1930s when he became a star in London's West End. He became the first actor of his generation to be knighted. He became Sir Ralph in 1947, and was quickly followed Laurence Olivier in 1948, and then by John Gielgud in 1953. Co-stars and friends, the three theatrical knights were considered the greatest English actors of their generation, primarily for their mastery of the Shakespearean canon. They occupied the height of the British acting pantheon in the post-World War II years. Show less «

You've got to perform in a role hundreds of times. In keeping it fresh one can become a large, madly...Show more »

You've got to perform in a role hundreds of times. In keeping it fresh one can become a large, madly humming, demented refrigerator. Show less «

My idea of a director is a chap who puts me in the middle of a stage and shines a bright light on me...Show more »

My idea of a director is a chap who puts me in the middle of a stage and shines a bright light on me. Show less «

I've never been one of those stage chaps who scoff at films. I think they're a marvellous medium, an...Show more »

I've never been one of those stage chaps who scoff at films. I think they're a marvellous medium, and are to the stage what engravings are to paintings. Show less «

The art of acting lies in keeping people from coughing.

Did you ever have a vision of the place we came from before we were born? I did, when I was about th...Show more »

Did you ever have a vision of the place we came from before we were born? I did, when I was about three years old. I used to dream about it. I even drew pictures of it. It looked rather like Mexico. Show less «

Acting on the screen is like acting under a microscope. The slightest movement becomes a gesture and...Show more »

Acting on the screen is like acting under a microscope. The slightest movement becomes a gesture and therefore the discipline has to be very severe. Show less «

Acting is the ability to dream on cue.

I have put on so many make-ups that sometimes I have feared that when I go to wipe it off there will...Show more »

I have put on so many make-ups that sometimes I have feared that when I go to wipe it off there will be nobody left underneath. Show less «

Film is a wonderful medium and I love it, but I find that I cannot increase my talent by working in ...Show more »

Film is a wonderful medium and I love it, but I find that I cannot increase my talent by working in pictures, any more than a painter can do so by increasing the size of his brush. Show less «

I don't like my face at all. It's always been a great drawback to me.

Actors never retire; they just get offered fewer parts.

Ralph Richardson

Ralph Richardson's FILMOGRAPHY

Ralph Richardson'S roles

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