Up Close with Carlos Tseng

Jordan Metcalfe: An Actor’s Journey to Coriolanus

Jordan Metcalfe Season 10 Episode 2

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After a few years away from the Olivier stage, Jordan Metcalfe is back at the National Theatre preparing to play one of the biggest roles of his career to date. In Lyndsey Turner's new production of Coriolanus, Jordan will be playing Brutus opposite David Oyelowo's Caius Martius. A well-versed Shakespeare thespian himself, this will be his second Shakespearean role this year after playing the playful Boyet in Love's Labour's Lost at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre in Stratford-Upon-Avon. Previous roles have also included Romeo in Romeo and Juliet as well as the Clown in The Winter's Tale.  

In a brand new interview, Jordan Metcalfe discusses the pressures of playing a role like Brutus and tells us what it's like stepping out onto the Olivier stage. Having started out as a child actor, he also tells us about his journey as an actor, heading to drama school and then graduating to roles at the RSC and the National Theatre. He tells us about how he's watched the industry evolve over the years, becoming more inclusive to those from less advantageous backgrounds as well as to those from other ethnic backgrounds too. We hear him talk about his love for other actors and the joy of getting to play a diverse set of characters from Roy Faulkland in Jack Absolute Flies Again to Brutus in Coriolanus. It's a fascinating conversation and should encourage everyone to go and see his performance when the show opens.

Coriolanus runs at the National Theatre from 11th September - 9 November and tickets on sale NOW.

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