Antony Sher by Michael Leonard after Antonello da Messina

Antony Sher was born on 14th June 1949 in South Africa. He is one of England's leading classical actors and an affirmed writer. Mr Sher worked with all the major theare companies in England, including the Royal National Theatre, and the Royal Court Theatre. He is an associate artist of the Royal Shakespeare Company, where he played a legendary Richard III in 1983, Shylock, Leontes, Tamburlaine, Cyrano de Bergerac and an extraordinary Macbeth (playing until 3rd june 2000 at the Young Vic Theatre, London - then on tour in Connecticut, USA).

He also performed in many films such as "The Young Poisoner's Handbook", "Mrs Brown" and "The Wind in the Willows". He wrote several novels such as Middlepost", "The Indoor Boy", "Cheap Lives" and most recently "The Feast". Other books by him include the theare journals "Year of the King" (about his playing Richard III with the RSC) and "Woza Shakespeare" (co-written with his partner, theatre actor and director Gregory Doran, about their production of "Titus Andronicus" in Johannesburg in 1994).

Few people know that he originally trained as a painter and he published a book of his drawings and sketches called "Characters"... "I'm not an artist. I've illustrated the books I've written, sketched some of the characters I've played, and I paint in my spare-time. Looking over my work, I found posters, book jackets, sketches from scripts, and dozens of paintings and drawings on subjects which preoccupy me; like the theatre, gay life, South Africa, etc."

"I've always been fascinated by people"

(quotes from Antony Sher's Preface to "Chracters", Nick Hern Books, London 1989.)