Samuel Barnett
Samuel Barnett
Samuel Barnettis an English actor. He has performed on stage, film, television and radio, and achieved recognition for his work on the stage and film versions of The History Boys by Alan Bennett. His television performances include roles in the BBC comedy Twenty Twelve and in the Showtime drama Penny Dreadful. On 29 March 2016 it was announced that he had been cast in the lead role of Dirk Gently in BBC America's adaptation of BBC's Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective...
NationalityEnglish
ProfessionStage Actor
Date of Birth25 April 1980
It's like saying French shouldn't be taught because you don't understand it because it's new. Shakespeare is just like learning a new, exciting language.
I like all sorts of art, that's why I love wandering around The National Gallery.
I love just walking around New York. It's like a whole world in one place.
I want to be engaged and moved by theatre, there's nothing more disappointing than being left cold. After 'The Author,' I felt wrung out emotionally, like a used tissue.
I've definitely learned that if you want to have power as a woman in Shakespeare's time, and it's still relevant today, that you have to play a different game than men play, and you have to be a lot cleverer.
This industry isn't fair. It doesn't owe anybody a career. It's just about luck, determination, and showing up and being professional. The rest is out of your hands.
Acting is a sport - especially working with Mark Rylance. There is competition involved. I have to be muscular, challenging, get audiences on side. It's extraordinary how Globe audiences join in - it's like competing at an event - I love it.
Are men and women different creatures? Do we feel things differently? Being a man, I can't know what a woman feels.
I have been out of drama school for 13 years, so there are 13 years' worth of graduates behind me.
My life, my family and my friends are back in the U.K., so ideally I would love the kind of career that is split between London and New York.
Obviously we had to study Shakespeare at school, but to be honest, I was not a fan. I found the language very difficult, and I didn't enjoy watching it or studying it. I auditioned five times for the Royal Shakespeare Company early on in my career, and I didn't even get past the first rounds.
I have my own faith which I've developed. It's non-denominational. I don't even know if it's about God.
I feel like I've gotten more than a lot of people will ever get. I feel very fortunate.
I hope it's always going to be a mix between theatre, film and radio. I've been very lucky living in London that you can do all that - in New York and L.A., there's more of a structure for film in L.A. and theatre in New York. In London, our industry is smaller, but it produces brilliant work all in one place.