"Romeo and Juliet" (1968): actors, roles, interesting facts

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

The story of Romeo and Juliet is as old as time. She was repeatedly sung in poetry, songs and, of course, in the cinema. The cinematographer remembers several versions of this sentimental story, presented in the film format. But the very first, touching and close to the ideal is the film "Romeo and Juliet", filmed in 1968.

About the film

The story of two loving hearts begins with a meeting at a ball at the Capulet's house. But unfortunately, their love is not destined to be happy. It turns out that they are children of warring births. Theoretically, the Montagues cannot be together with the Capulets, but the power of love resists this enmity. In the film, all actions take place according to the play by William Shakespeare. Love, passion, drama, disappointment - the picture conveys so many different feelings that it is simply impossible not to get carried away. After viewing, a certain sediment and a feeling of injustice remain in the soul. In Romeo and Juliet (1968), the actors played their roles when they were young, but despite their small age, they managed to convey all the sensuality and tragedy of the moment inexcellence.

Cast

There were not too many main actors in the film, thanks to which the viewer was able to fully immerse himself in the story of the main characters. The cast of Romeo and Juliet (1968) are as follows:

1. Romeo by Leonard Whiting.
2. Juliet - actress Olivia Hussey.
3. Mercutio - performed by John McEnery.
4. Monk Lorenzo - accurately played by Milo O'Shea.
5. Duke of Verona – starring Robert Stevens.
6. Juliet's nurse - played by the sweetest Pat Haywood.
7. Tyb alt - performed by the magnificent Michael York.

Also featured in the film are Bruce Robinson as Benvolio, Paul Hardwick as Signor Capulet, and Signora Capulet as Natasha Perry. Signor and signora Montecchi in the film are played by Antonio Pierfederici and Esmeralda Ruspoli. Roberto Bissaco was lucky enough to play Count Paris, and Laurence Olivier acted as the narrator. The talented actors of "Romeo and Juliet" (1968) perfectly performed the declared characters and gave the viewer the fullness of feelings and emotions.

Olivia Hussey

Before filming Romeo and Juliet, Olivia Hussey was an unremarkable actress. In her arsenal there was only participation in a couple of episodic roles. After filming Romeo and Juliet (1968), her career took off. Throughout her film career, she managed to star in more than thirty films. One of the last works of the actress was the film"Social Suicide", released in 2015. Here she also played the mother of modern Juliet. By the way, the last one in this picture was performed by Olivia's daughter India.

The film "Romeo and Juliet" (1968) for the actress was not only a ticket to the world of cinema, but also the reason for receiving the "Golden Globe". As for her personal life, Olivia had a stormy one. First, she married the famous actor Dean Martin, from whom she soon gave birth to a son, Alexander. This was followed by a marriage with Japanese-born singer Akira Fuse. This marriage gave the actress another son, Maximillian. And finally, Olivia Hussey completed her marriage marathon, linking herself with family ties to American actor and singer David Glen Eisley. The fruit of love from this marriage was the daughter of India.

Leonard Whiting

Leonard Whiting's filmography isn't all that great. He received his portion of fame thanks to his participation in the film Romeo and Juliet (1968). Getting the lead role was a great success for him. The actor for the excellent performance of the role of Romeo was awarded the Golden Globe Award. In Romeo and Juliet, Leonard Whiting played so convincingly that the image of Romeo is still associated with him. After starring in a dozen films, Leonard ended his acting career. But he did not leave creativity and set about producing various children's projects. He also writes literature and writes music. Leonard Whiting is also a professor, in connection with which he actively lectures and gives master classes on Shakespeare's drama. WhatAs for his personal life, the actor married twice. He lived with his first wife for 6 years, which led to the birth of his daughter Sarah. The second marriage with manager Lynn Pesser exists to this day. The daughter from the second marriage passed away due to illness, she had cancer. As a consolation to the father, three grandchildren remained.

Interesting facts

1. At first, the director did not want to cast Olivia Hussey as Juliet, as he considered her to be overweight.
2. In Romeo and Juliet (1968), the actors were very close in age to their characters.
3. Lawrence Olivier did not take his fee, as his participation in the project was based only on his great love for Shakespeare.
4. Some costumes were so heavy that they weighed 25 kilograms.
5. In one of the episodes in the film you can see the shadow of Mercutio. In fact, this is the shadow of the film director Franco Zeffirelli. That day, he was filling in for an actor on set.
6. In the Soviet box office in the category "Foreign films" "Romeo and Juliet" takes 79th place.
7. Olivia Hussey was banned from attending the film's premiere screening in London. The reason was the scenes of an erotic nature, in which she herself starred.