John
Gielgud's (1904-2000) long association with Julius Caesar
began when he was a twelve year old schoolboy in 1916 and played Mark Antony
in scenes from the play with such conviction that his performance reportedly
reduced at least one parent to tears. He played Antony again in 1931 at the
Old Vic Theatre, and returned to the play in the title role of the lackluster
1970 film version and in the 1977 National Theatre staging, which proved to
be his final Shakespearean performance in live theatre. His most famous association
with the play, of course, was for his performance as Cassius which he first
played at the Memorial Theatre at Stratford-Upon-Avon in 1950 and immortalized
in the 1953 MGM film. He
was initially offered the role of Brutus in the Stratford production (along
with Angelo in Measure for Measure, Benedick in Much Ado About Nothing,
and King Lear) but opted for the more soldierly Cassius, feeling at the time
that it was the strongest role in the play. He later came to regret the decision,
being at odds with director Anthony Quayle's approach to the part and ultimately
deciding that the production was the lone unenjoyable experience of his triumphant
Stratford season. Critics and audiences disagreed, as the staging was the greatest
popular success of the four he appeared in and critics lauded his Cassius as
one of his finest creations, with the Times gushing "Gielgud's burning
sincerity makes Brutus and even Mark Antony seem puny by comparison."
Among
the audience members for that 1950 Stratford season was director Joseph L. Mankiewicz,
who came to see Paul Scofield play Don Pedro in Gielgud's production of Much
Ado with an idea of casting him as Mark Antony in his planned film of Julius
Caesar in case Marlon Brando's screen test was not successful. Scofield's
services were ultimately not required for the film, but Mankiewicz was so impressed
with Gielgud's Benedick that he offered him the role of Cassius. Gielgud disliked
filming in the past and had appeared in only one in the past decade (as Disraeli
in 1941's The Prime Minister), but the salary he was offered was too
attractive to pass up and Gielgud agreed to appear in his first Hollywood super-production.
Brando especially benefited from Gielgud's presence, asking the great Shakespearean
to coach him in the role and delivering a surprisingly powerful and effective
performance (Gielgud was, in turn, so impressed by Brando that he offered to
direct him in a theatre production of Hamlet, a proposal that was sadly
turned down), winning an Academy Award nomination. James Mason was even more
impressive as Brutus, winning the Best Actor Award from the National Board of
Review, but the outstanding performance of the film is Gielgud's Cassius. Variety
wrote "John Gielgud, as the 'lean and hungry' Cassius is superb. The English
actor portrays the chief conspirator with sympathetic understanding," and
Gielgud went on to win a BAFTA Award for his performance.
Even with his success as Cassius, Gielgud ultimately decided that the role he really coveted was Brutus. He made several attempts to launch a production of the play with himself in the role in the 1960s, at one point writing to Laurence Olivier suggesting a staging at the Royal National Theatre with Gielgud as Brutus, Ralph Richardson as Cassius, and Olivier in the title role. It proved to be just wishful thinking on Gielgud's part, but an intriguing idea that regretably never came to pass.