Clifford Samuel
Encyclopedia
Clifford Samuel is a British
actor.
Clifford Samuel began acting at the Anna Scher Theatre
. He is from North London
and born of Nigerian heritage. Clifford trained at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama, and graduated early to make his debut at the Royal Shakespeare Company, in Julius Caesar
and The Two Gentlemen of Verona
, in Stratford-upon-Avon
and also toured in the United States
.
Clifford played Octavius Caesar at the Lyric theatre Hammersmith, in London in 2005. He then went on to work for the Cheek by Jowl
theatre company, in the classical play, The Changeling
at the Barbican theatre in London. Clifford toured with The Changeling on an extensive European tour in 2006, where it was awarded Best Foreign Play 2006 in Spain. From that period onwards, he worked periodically with the English theatre and film director and innovator, Peter Brook
. Clifford portrayed Tony Anderson, opposite actor Jack Shepherd
, in the play Chasing the Moment at the Arcola Theatre
.
He later appeared as the co-lead in the much anticipated two-part special of The Bill
, which went on to win the Best Diversity In Drama Production at the Screen Nation
Awards 2007, best continuing drama at the Royal Television Society
Awards and nominated for Best Continuing Drama at the 2008 BAFTA TV Awards.
Clifford recently finished performing at The National Theatre
as the co-lead in a new play by the actor/playwright Kwame Kwei-Armah
called Statement of Regret
.
Clifford was also in the recently released feature film Shoot on Sight
, directed by Jag Mundhra
.
He can be seen playing Charly Charles the 1970s drummer in the film biopic, Sex and Drugs and Rock and Roll
about rock star Ian Dury and the Blockheads which is being shown in cinemas across the UK. He has recently finished playing 'Eilif' in Mother Courage and Her Children
at the National Theatre opposite Fiona Shaw
directed by Deborah Warner
. Currently at the Finborough theatre in the American play, In the Blood
by Pulitzer prize-winning playwright Suzan-Lori Parks
. This show has been nominated for 3 off-west end awards.
2008, Statement of Regret, National Theatre as Adrian Mackenzie
2007, Shoot on Sight, as Elijah, Film
2007, The Bill, as Tyrone Brooks, TV Drama
2007, Roman’s Empire, as Frobisher, BBC TV series
Chasing the Moment, 2007, Arcola theatre as Tony Anderson, Best Play Timeout Critics Choice Award
The Changeling, 2006, Cheek by Jowl stage play, Barbican/European Tour as Tomazo, Best International play El Mundo & El Pais Awards Spain
Julius Caesar, 2005, Royal Shakespeare Company, as Octavius Caesar
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
actor.
Clifford Samuel began acting at the Anna Scher Theatre
Anna Scher Theatre
The Anna Scher Theatre is a community-based theatre school based in Islington, North London. The school turns out some of London's best child and adult actors.-Anna Scher:...
. He is from North London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
and born of Nigerian heritage. Clifford trained at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama, and graduated early to make his debut at the Royal Shakespeare Company, in Julius Caesar
Julius Caesar (play)
The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, also known simply as Julius Caesar, is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in 1599. It portrays the 44 BC conspiracy against...
and The Two Gentlemen of Verona
The Two Gentlemen of Verona
The Two Gentlemen of Verona is a comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in 1590 or 1591. It is considered by some to be Shakespeare's first play, and is often seen as his first tentative steps in laying out some of the themes and tropes with which he would later deal in more...
, in Stratford-upon-Avon
Stratford-upon-Avon
Stratford-upon-Avon is a market town and civil parish in south Warwickshire, England. It lies on the River Avon, south east of Birmingham and south west of Warwick. It is the largest and most populous town of the District of Stratford-on-Avon, which uses the term "on" to indicate that it covers...
and also toured in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
Clifford played Octavius Caesar at the Lyric theatre Hammersmith, in London in 2005. He then went on to work for the Cheek by Jowl
Cheek by Jowl
Cheek By Jowl is a theatre company founded by Declan Donnellan and Nick Ormerod in 1981. The company has performed across the world and, with their 1986 production of Twelfth Night, were the first to bring a Shakespearean play to The Swan....
theatre company, in the classical play, The Changeling
The Changeling (play)
The Changeling is a Jacobean tragedy written by Thomas Middleton and William Rowley. Widely regarded as "among the best" tragedies of the English Renaissance, the play has accumulated a significant body of critical commentary....
at the Barbican theatre in London. Clifford toured with The Changeling on an extensive European tour in 2006, where it was awarded Best Foreign Play 2006 in Spain. From that period onwards, he worked periodically with the English theatre and film director and innovator, Peter Brook
Peter Brook
Peter Stephen Paul Brook CH, CBE is an English theatre and film director and innovator, who has been based in France since the early 1970s.-Life:...
. Clifford portrayed Tony Anderson, opposite actor Jack Shepherd
Jack Shepherd
Jack Shepherd is an English actor, playwright, theatre director, saxophone player and jazz pianist, who made his film debut in 1969 with All Neat in Black Stockings and The Virgin Soldiers. He is perhaps best known for his television roles, most notably the title role in detective drama Wycliffe...
, in the play Chasing the Moment at the Arcola Theatre
Arcola Theatre
Arcola Theatre is a studio theatre in Dalston, in the London Borough of Hackney. The theatre's ambition is to create and present high-quality theatre with a social and political relevance to its multicultural local community as well as a wider audience....
.
He later appeared as the co-lead in the much anticipated two-part special of The Bill
The Bill
The Bill is a police procedural television series that ran from October 1984 to August 2010. It focused on the lives and work of one shift of police officers, rather than on any particular aspect of police work...
, which went on to win the Best Diversity In Drama Production at the Screen Nation
Screen Nation
The Screen Nation Film & TV Awards was founded in 2003 by , as a platform to raise the profile of black British and international film and television talent....
Awards 2007, best continuing drama at the Royal Television Society
Royal Television Society
The Royal Television Society is a British-based educational charity for the discussion, and analysis of television in all its forms, past, present and future. It is the oldest television society in the world...
Awards and nominated for Best Continuing Drama at the 2008 BAFTA TV Awards.
Clifford recently finished performing at The National Theatre
Royal National Theatre
The Royal National Theatre in London is one of the United Kingdom's two most prominent publicly funded theatre companies, alongside the Royal Shakespeare Company...
as the co-lead in a new play by the actor/playwright Kwame Kwei-Armah
Kwame Kwei-Armah
Kwame Kwei-Armah, is a British actor, playwright, singer and broadcaster. In 2005 he became the second black Briton to have a play staged in the West End...
called Statement of Regret
Statement of Regret
Statement of Regret is the title of a play by black British actor and playwright, Kwame Kwei-Armah. The play premiered in the National Theatre's Cottesloe Theatre, London, in 2007, directed by Jeremy Herrin.-Synopsis:...
.
Clifford was also in the recently released feature film Shoot on Sight
Shoot on Sight
Shoot on Sight is a 2007 film directed by Jag Mundhra and produced by Aron Govil. The film was marketed and distributed globally by Aron Govil Productions Inc...
, directed by Jag Mundhra
Jag Mundhra
Jagmohan "Jag" Mundhra was an Indian filmmaker best known for his early career as an American exploitation film writer-director and his later career as maker of such issue-oriented films as Bawandar and Provoked.-Early life:Mundhra was born at Nagpur, and grew up in a Marwari locality in Calcutta,...
.
He can be seen playing Charly Charles the 1970s drummer in the film biopic, Sex and Drugs and Rock and Roll
Sex and Drugs and Rock and Roll
"Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll" is a song and single by Ian Dury. It was originally released as the Stiff Records single BUY 17 with "Razzle In My Pocket" as the B-side, on 26 August 1977...
about rock star Ian Dury and the Blockheads which is being shown in cinemas across the UK. He has recently finished playing 'Eilif' in Mother Courage and Her Children
Mother Courage and Her Children
Mother Courage and Her Children is a play written in 1939 by the German dramatist and poet Bertolt Brecht with significant contributions from Margarete Steffin...
at the National Theatre opposite Fiona Shaw
Fiona Shaw
Fiona Shaw, CBE is an Irish actress and theatre director. Although to international audiences she is probably most familiar for her minor role as Petunia Dursley in the Harry Potter films, she is an accomplished classical actress...
directed by Deborah Warner
Deborah Warner
Deborah Warner CBE is a British director of theatre and opera known for her interpretations of the works of Shakespeare, Bertolt Brecht, Georg Büchner, and Henrik Ibsen, and for her long-term working relationship with the Irish actress Fiona Shaw.-Early years:Warner was born in Oxfordshire,...
. Currently at the Finborough theatre in the American play, In the Blood
In The Blood
In The Blood is a play written by Suzan-Lori Parks which first premiered at The Joseph Papp Public Theatre on November 1999. Parks borrowed many aspects from Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter, and wanted to create a play based on the novel. She originally wanted to call the play Fucking A,...
by Pulitzer prize-winning playwright Suzan-Lori Parks
Suzan-Lori Parks
Suzan-Lori Parks is an African American playwright and screenwriter. She received the MacArthur Foundation "Genius" Grant in 2001, and the 2002 Pulitzer Prize for Drama for her play, Topdog/Underdog.-Early years:...
. This show has been nominated for 3 off-west end awards.
Credits
2010, Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll, (Upcoming Film)2008, Statement of Regret, National Theatre as Adrian Mackenzie
2007, Shoot on Sight, as Elijah, Film
2007, The Bill, as Tyrone Brooks, TV Drama
2007, Roman’s Empire, as Frobisher, BBC TV series
Chasing the Moment, 2007, Arcola theatre as Tony Anderson, Best Play Timeout Critics Choice Award
The Changeling, 2006, Cheek by Jowl stage play, Barbican/European Tour as Tomazo, Best International play El Mundo & El Pais Awards Spain
Julius Caesar, 2005, Royal Shakespeare Company, as Octavius Caesar
External links
- Interview with Natasha Tripney - MusicOMH - http://www.musicomh.com/theatre/features/clifford-samuel_0708.htm
- Interview with Davina Morris - The Voice - http://www.voice-online.co.uk/content.php?show=10835
- IMDB - http://www.imdb.com/name/nm2666885/