Line #7 Trivia/RichardIII


1	!!The play
2	* ActorInspiredElement: In the celebrated 1984 RSC production, Antony Sher played Richard on crutches, using them to move very quickly all over the stage (his black costume was also given long dangling cuffs, so he [[https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/ea885049c13cb76991f0623771fd3b72ead936d2/0_0_1863_2698/master/1863.jpg?width=300&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=9c3b12b7dfd1d3fd67d9354fe080c7b2 looked like]] a menacing, muscular spider.) These were Sher's idea: in a 1983 production of ''Theatre/KingLear'', in which he'd played the Fool to Creator/MichaelGambon's Lear, he'd torn a ligament onstage one night and had been on crutches for months while it healed. After playing around and discarding various ways of conveying Richard's deformity, he started fooling about with his NHS crutches, and...
3	* BeamMeUpScotty: "Off with his head! So much for Buckingham." For many years one of Richard's most iconic lines and a TropeNamer -- but not part of Shakespeare's play. It was added in 1700 by leading-man Creator/ColleyCibber.
4	* DawsonCasting: Frequently with this play, since the actual Richard died at 32 with one of the most notable examples being 64-year-old Creator/ColmFeore (Literally twice the age of the actual Richard when he died) in the Stratford Festival's 2022 production.
5
6	!!1955 film
7	* BillingDisplacement: Creator/JohnGielgud has only a single significant scene in the film as Clarence (where he recounts his nightmare to the jailer shortly before his murder), yet he's billed second after Olivier in the opening film credits, ahead of other actors with far more lines and screen time (including Creator/RalphRichardson as Buckingham).
8	* DawsonCasting: Although Creator/LaurenceOlivier was 47 when the film was made, the real King Richard III was only 32 when he died. King Edward IV was 40 when he died but was played by 61-year-old Cedric Hardwicke.
9	* DirectedByCastmember
10	* ProductionPosse: Creator/LaurenceOlivier reassembled the production team from his other Shakespeare films, including production designer Roger Furse, art director Carmen Dillon, composer William Walton and associate director Anthony Bushell. As with ''Henry V'', they modeled the film's look on the illustrations in the medieval Book of the Hours.
11	* RomanceOnTheSet: Creator/LaurenceOlivier was having an extra-marital affair with Claire Bloom during filming.
12	* ThrowItIn: In the opening of the film, Richard accidentally drops the Duke's coronet after the royal party leaves. It was a mistake that Creator/LaurenceOlivier made, but left in. However, it became a running joke throughout the film and later, you can see the same gag again.
13	* WhatCouldHaveBeen:
14	** Creator/LaurenceOlivier asked Creator/CarolReed to direct.
15	** Olivier wanted to cast Creator/OrsonWelles in the role of Buckingham, but life-long friend Sir Creator/RalphRichardson wanted the role, and Olivier gave it to him. In his autobiography, Olivier says he wishes he had disappointed Richardson and cast Welles instead as he would have brought an extra element to the screen, an intelligence that would have gone well with the plot element of conspiracy.
16	** Olivier originally wanted Creator/JohnMills and Creator/RichardAttenborough to play the murderers. However, Mills thought the idea might be regarded as StuntCasting, and Attenborough had to pull out due to a scheduling conflict.
17	** Creator/VivienLeigh wanted to play Lady Anne, but Olivier chose the younger Claire Bloom instead. Alexander Korda then suggested he cast Leigh in a silent cameo, a role specially created for the film version, but instead Olivier convinced the producer to cast her in another of his films, ''The Deep Blue Sea'' (1955), a leading role he felt better suited to her talents.
18	** Olivier approached Creator/RichardBurton about playing Henry VII.
19	** Creator/RobertDonat was offered a role.
20
21	!!1995 film
22	* AwesomeDearBoy: Creator/IanMcKellen enjoyed acting with Creator/RobertDowneyJr in ''Restoration'' (1995), and asked him to play the part of Rivers, expecting him to turn the role down as too small. To [=McKellen=]'s surprise, Downey immediately cleared his schedule and took the part.
23	* DawsonCasting: Creator/IanMcKellen was in his fifties when he played King Richard III, who only lived to be thirty-two.
24	* LifeImitatesArt: In the theatre production when Richard III ruffles the hair of the princes, Ian [=McKellen=] was accused of cribbing from UsefulNotes/SaddamHussein trying to pat Stuart Lockwood's head. In truth the script had been written long before.
25	* WhatCouldHaveBeen: As a twelve-year-old, Creator/EddieRedmayne auditioned for a part as one of the princes in the tower, but was turned down by Sir Creator/IanMcKellen as being unsuitable.
26	* One of the tanks used for the movie, [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mandela_Way_T-34_Tank the Mandela Way T-34]], was taken to a lot after the filming was done, where it is often repainted by graffiti artists.

Context Trivia / RichardIII