:00:00. > :00:10.Now on BBC News, it is time for HARDtalk.
:00:11. > :00:16.My guest will be instantly recognisable to millions around
:00:17. > :00:19.the world as Captain Jean-Luc Picard of the USS Enterprise,
:00:20. > :00:25.or as Professor Charles Xavier of X-Men.
:00:26. > :00:32.But, after 17 years in Hollywood, Patrick Stewart turned his back
:00:33. > :00:35.on it, to return to England and to venues like this,
:00:36. > :00:37.London's Young Vic, to his first love,
:00:38. > :00:41.In his latest role, he is even playing Shakespeare.
:00:42. > :00:44.So why choose small audiences in venues like this over
:00:45. > :01:02.Sir Patrick Stewart, welcome to HARDtalk.
:01:03. > :01:16.Now, in this latest role of yours, which is a production
:01:17. > :01:18.of Edward Bond's play Bingo, you are playing Shakespeare himself.
:01:19. > :01:22.It is the third time in 20 years you have played this role.
:01:23. > :01:30.It's technically, I think, the fourth time.
:01:31. > :01:33.I saw it when it was first done at the Royal Court Theatre.
:01:34. > :01:42.And, even though I was much too young, I fancied
:01:43. > :01:56.And then the Royal Shakespeare mounted it in 1979, and I played
:01:57. > :01:59.a much too juvenile - that's a flattering term,
:02:00. > :02:07.Then we brought it to London, to the Warehouse, as it then was.
:02:08. > :02:12.And there are some projects that never leave your system.
:02:13. > :02:17.It's like a virus that you can't get rid of.
:02:18. > :02:22.And Bingo was one of those, in the very best sense.
:02:23. > :02:24.It is not a flattering portrait of Shakespeare,
:02:25. > :02:28.in the final years of his life.
:02:29. > :02:32.And one presumes that he is a hero of yours.
:02:33. > :02:39.Well, the fact is, if he had not lived, I would have been out of work
:02:40. > :02:41.for most of my life.
:02:42. > :02:46.All of the time I spent playing him, I have done 28 out of the 30 plays,
:02:47. > :03:05.I have an instinct about bits that I think are not Shakespeare.
:03:06. > :03:10.It's like a chemical reaction, this isn't him.
:03:11. > :03:12.It is like act one of Titus Andronicus,
:03:13. > :03:23.So you said it's not a flattering portrait,
:03:24. > :03:29.because Edward is asking the question, what must it have been
:03:30. > :03:38.like for the man who had had eventually in his career phenomenal
:03:39. > :03:44.success, including considerable wealth coming his way,
:03:45. > :03:47.to become in his lifetime a national figure,
:03:48. > :03:50.and who had written the Sonnets, As You Like It, King Lear,
:03:51. > :04:05.He went back to this market town in Warwickshire,
:04:06. > :04:12.to live in the big house that he bought
:04:13. > :04:18.One of the facts that we know about Shakespeare, he signed
:04:19. > :04:26.And this is one detail that Edward has constructed a view
:04:27. > :04:29.of who Shakespeare might have been at that time,
:04:30. > :04:38.And the significance of the document, it protected
:04:39. > :04:43.Shakespeare's wealth, and it was damaging
:04:44. > :04:47.to those who were poor around him.
:04:48. > :05:00.Each audience member will have to make their mind up.
:05:01. > :05:19."Your looped and windowed raggedness protect you from seasons such
:05:20. > :05:22.as these," signed a document that brought misery,
:05:23. > :05:24.poverty, deprivation to large numbers of people in Stratford-upon-
:05:25. > :05:31.And Edward Bond carries in the play, on the one hand, the great humanist
:05:32. > :05:35.poet, and on the other hand, the selfish Tory.
:05:36. > :05:38.That I supposed goes to the heart of it.
:05:39. > :05:43.It is theatre, it is Shakespeare, and it is political,
:05:44. > :05:52.Where I grew up, how I grew up, what my parents were subject to,
:05:53. > :06:02.our living conditions, my father's history and background.
:06:03. > :06:05.Two years ago, during the election, when I was working in Chichester,
:06:06. > :06:10.it was pre-election, because I could not be campaigning
:06:11. > :06:16.in my own constituency, I offered myself to the local Labour
:06:17. > :06:24.constituencies along the south coast of England, to campaign.
:06:25. > :06:26.Well, you can imagine the nature of that campaigning
:06:27. > :06:34.And one of the Tory candidates, I'm sure intentionally pejoratively,
:06:35. > :06:42.It was meant to be rude, and I took it as a great compliment.
:06:43. > :06:45.Because it was my experience of the world, and the experience
:06:46. > :06:48.of my parents in that world, that made me
:06:49. > :06:56.And you've said when you are in a room full of Conservatives
:06:57. > :06:58.you feel uncomfortable, you do not
:06:59. > :07:16.It's like Republicans in the United States,
:07:17. > :07:23.Many people watching and listening to this will know you not
:07:24. > :07:26.as the Shakespearean actor, for which you have been remarkably
:07:27. > :07:31.When you made the decision to give up what you were doing in the UK,
:07:32. > :07:35.go to Hollywood, take on a role which, if you think about it
:07:36. > :07:37.at the time, American television was not
:07:38. > :07:47.as good as it is now, Star Trek was rather old-fashioned
:07:48. > :07:50.You decided to take this role.
:07:51. > :07:54.I wonder if a little bit of you, if a bit of you felt
:07:55. > :08:00.I'd never taken the prospect of this job seriously.
:08:01. > :08:04.I'd been auditioning for it for six months,
:08:05. > :08:07.and finally it came down to myself and an unknown other actor.
:08:08. > :08:10.Never for one moment did I think they would cast me.
:08:11. > :08:13.I got these free trips to California every now and again.
:08:14. > :08:27.I was in this space when I went to do my second audition.
:08:28. > :08:30.We were going to do a production on the West End.
:08:31. > :08:33.My agent in California, who had never negotiated a job
:08:34. > :08:36.I was not an actor looking for Hollywood work.
:08:37. > :08:40.I think today it's a little bit different for a lot of actors.
:08:41. > :08:43.The focus is on film and television, and not theatre actors.
:08:44. > :08:51.But my agent, and everyone else I consulted in Hollywood,
:08:52. > :08:55.reassured me that I need not fear the six-year contract I had to sign,
:08:56. > :08:59.because not only would the series not make it to six years,
:09:00. > :09:02.it would be unlikely to make it through the first season.
:09:03. > :09:05.Because you cannot revive an iconic series, it is impossible.
:09:06. > :09:08.Make some money for the first time in your life, get
:09:09. > :09:21.So in a sense you were selling out, because you did not expect
:09:22. > :09:23.it to be any good, you didn't
:09:24. > :09:27.That does not sound like selling out to me.
:09:28. > :09:30.I made my commitment on the back of the fact
:09:31. > :09:37.Then I could come back here and do Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
:09:38. > :09:40.One of my producers, one of my champions,
:09:41. > :09:43.not everyone in Paramount wanted this bald middle aged Shakespearean
:09:44. > :09:47.actor, said to me, this weekend more people will see you act than have
:09:48. > :09:49.seen you in your entire career to date.
:09:50. > :10:00.And boy did they like you - you were suddenly voted the sexiest
:10:01. > :10:10.I hate to sound rude, but was it surprising to you?
:10:11. > :10:19.Not only that, but I was put on the cover of TV Guide with Cindy
:10:20. > :10:30.It seemed to me absurd, it still does.
:10:31. > :10:34.I will not deny that it was pleasant, and I won't deny that it
:10:35. > :10:36.attracted some attention that I never attracted before.
:10:37. > :10:40.You said you never expected to be the lead, you had grown up not
:10:41. > :10:47.And of course, all you've had since is lead roles.
:10:48. > :10:50.Yes, I was the wrong shape, the wrong background,
:10:51. > :10:53.the way I talked, I lost my hair when I was 19.
:10:54. > :10:56.I had none of the obvious qualifications to be a leading man.
:10:57. > :11:00.And even today, it occasionally takes me by surprise.
:11:01. > :11:07.Don't get me wrong, I love being a leading man,
:11:08. > :11:12.and more than anything else, I love leading a company.
:11:13. > :11:17.To help manage, design and support the way a group of creative people
:11:18. > :11:19.work has become a real pleasure for me.
:11:20. > :11:30.So you have picked up these other Hollywood roles,
:11:31. > :11:32.the likes of Professor Charles Xavier in X-Men,
:11:33. > :11:36.another hugely phenomenal film series.
:11:37. > :11:40.And yet you have given up, after 17 years.
:11:41. > :11:50.Friends and families were horrified when they found out I was leaving
:11:51. > :11:57.because I had become a cheap vacation touch for all of them.
:11:58. > :12:02.But I could not do the work, in my heart, I'd always
:12:03. > :12:09.wanted to do, which was
:12:10. > :12:11.really, English classical theatre with the best group
:12:12. > :12:14.of actors I could find with some clever directors.
:12:15. > :12:17.That's all I ever wanted to do, right at the very beginning.
:12:18. > :12:19.For years I satisfactorily met that dream working
:12:20. > :12:32.I'd never even seen myself as a leading actor.
:12:33. > :12:35.Although I'd done some interesting theatre work in New York,
:12:36. > :12:38.in Washington, in Los Angeles, it was not in a context that
:12:39. > :12:51.The context was here, in London, in the UK.
:12:52. > :12:55.So I sold up, burnt my boat and came back.
:12:56. > :12:57.And nothing happened for quite a long time,
:12:58. > :13:08.Then the Royal Shakespeare Company opened their doors.
:13:09. > :13:16.I was asked to play Antony in Antony and Cleopatra.
:13:17. > :13:23.Press nights always start late, because we cannot get
:13:24. > :13:33.I was the first person, I came on first.
:13:34. > :13:36.So I was standing in the wings for what seemed like 20 minutes,
:13:37. > :13:38.waiting for the show to begin.
:13:39. > :13:41.What I started to do is write the reviews in my head.
:13:42. > :13:45.Basically the reviews were, who the hell does he think he is?
:13:46. > :13:48.Coming back after 17 years and walking into a leading role?
:13:49. > :14:01.Those were the kind of reviews I was thinking about.
:14:02. > :14:04.So, when you saw the actual reviews, that must have been a moment?
:14:05. > :14:08.The great thrill was to be working on the stage of the Swan Theatre.
:14:09. > :14:11.Then the reviews were a lovely icing on that cake.
:14:12. > :14:21.You have since been knighted for your services to acting.
:14:22. > :14:26.You are a knight of the British Empire,
:14:27. > :14:28.and you are still a lifelong socialist,
:14:29. > :14:34.You do not think the 'sir' sets you apart?
:14:35. > :14:45.I look upon it as an acknowledgement of my work and of British theatre.
:14:46. > :14:48.I got an OBE and it was the same with that.
:14:49. > :14:54.I am joining a group of artists and performers who I have admired
:14:55. > :15:03.all of my life, some of them are friends.
:15:04. > :15:11.It not only enhances me but it enhances the acting profession.
:15:12. > :15:24.It sounds like a line, but it is true.
:15:25. > :15:27.I want to ask you - you were campaigning for the Labour
:15:28. > :15:35.You spend a lot of time in the States.
:15:36. > :15:38.Al Gore said that if he had listened to your advice,
:15:39. > :15:40.he perhaps would have ended up in the White House.
:15:41. > :15:44.You have said in the past that if Gordon Brown had asked you,
:15:45. > :15:54.What advice would you give to Ed Milliband?
:15:55. > :16:04.I am not a citizen of the US so I could not vote for Al,
:16:05. > :16:07.and I could not even actively campaign on his behalf.
:16:08. > :16:13.It would have been suspect to have a resident alien doing that.
:16:14. > :16:17.But the result of the 2000 election was devastating.
:16:18. > :16:21.Yes, if asked, I would be very happy to give any advice that I could give
:16:22. > :16:29.to any politician who I admire and respect.
:16:30. > :16:43.I campaigned for his brother during the leadership campaign.
:16:44. > :16:46.David was somebody I actively supported.
:16:47. > :16:53.Could you give advice on presentation that
:16:54. > :17:00.Look how successful it was for Maggie Thatcher.
:17:01. > :17:08.You have spoken about your support for the charity Refuge.
:17:09. > :17:11.It campaigns against domestic violence and supports its victims.
:17:12. > :17:13.You have written very movingly about why you did that.
:17:14. > :17:16.You have written about your own experiences when you were young.
:17:17. > :17:27.You were in a home with your mother, father and brother, and you said
:17:28. > :17:30."I knew exactly when the shouting was done and when a hand
:17:31. > :17:40.I also knew when to insert a small body between a fist and her face -
:17:41. > :17:42.a skill no child should have to learn."
:17:43. > :17:48.It was the reality of some of the time when I was growing up.
:17:49. > :17:53.And so, when I was invited by Refuge to become a patron,
:17:54. > :17:56.I could do it without hesitation.
:17:57. > :18:06.Because I could not help her very much then.
:18:07. > :18:16.Now I am able to, I can give some support and encouragement to women
:18:17. > :18:25.because domestic violence continues to be a massive unspoken of problem
:18:26. > :18:32.Here, in all societies, and all classes, and all economic
:18:33. > :18:38.People think of domestic violence as happening in council estates.
:18:39. > :18:43.It is this silent crime because people are ashamed
:18:44. > :18:54.I was ashamed every Monday morning when I went to school because I knew
:18:55. > :19:05.They knew because of the noise coming from your house?
:19:06. > :19:28.Did you really insert yourself between your mother and your father
:19:29. > :19:50.My father was an extraordinary man, 1945 Regimental Sargeant Major
:19:51. > :19:54.a superstar, and he came out of the war and the military
:19:55. > :20:01.And he was frustrated and angry and bitter.
:20:02. > :20:06.And it was the alcohol that made the difference.
:20:07. > :20:08.You are talking about it now in your campaign,
:20:09. > :20:11.but you have said that experiences are destructive.
:20:12. > :20:13.You said you have struggled to overcome the bad lessons
:20:14. > :20:16."This corrosive example of male responsibility."
:20:17. > :20:31.I can best answer that by making a metaphor.
:20:32. > :20:35.As an actor, there was a one set - a set of emotions that
:20:36. > :20:41.And for years and years and years, I faked it.
:20:42. > :20:50.I knew so well how much of it lay inside me.
:20:51. > :20:55.And I knew that it could, with little provocation, emerge.
:20:56. > :20:59.And so, as an actor, I kept that side of me sealed, lidded.
:21:00. > :21:11.One of the nice things about California was that I got
:21:12. > :21:25.It took years and years of working with therapists.
:21:26. > :21:33.And I found it was possible to express a murderous
:21:34. > :21:36.rage, fury, hostility on stage.
:21:37. > :21:48.But in my own life, I have had to restrain myself, sometimes.
:21:49. > :21:52.Because the response of violence - which is a choice that men make -
:21:53. > :21:58.It was always a choice for me and I was always able to make
:21:59. > :22:10.Have the feelings and do nothing about them.
:22:11. > :22:12.You also said that one oppressive aspect was
:22:13. > :22:28.You mentioned it a few times in the comments you've made.
:22:29. > :22:41.Even though neighbours would at times help,
:22:42. > :22:44.and my brother, who was five years older than me,
:22:45. > :22:49.I felt utterly isolated, especially during those minutes,
:22:50. > :22:51.sometimes as long as an hour, of monitoring the temperature
:22:52. > :23:02.I think I felt lonely then, because there was nobody else
:23:03. > :23:05.It is ghastly that any child should be in that position,
:23:06. > :23:19.Talking about it is the only thing to do.
:23:20. > :23:32.Campaigning as well, to get domestic violence taken seriously.
:23:33. > :23:37.In my house, I heard a policeman say, it makes two
:23:38. > :23:52.If you are an unhappy, violent man...
:23:53. > :23:56.The other great thing about my father is that I finally
:23:57. > :24:03.came to acknowledge that he is in everything I do.
:24:04. > :24:06.When I played Macbeth, for a year, just three years ago,
:24:07. > :24:13.would be to put on my military cap, take my gun, and look in the mirror
:24:14. > :24:16.Because there he was, looking straight back at me.
:24:17. > :24:22.It was a long time before I understood why I wore the moustache.
:24:23. > :24:23.Why should Macbeth have a moustache?
:24:24. > :24:50.For some of us, Wednesday looks set to bring a major cooldown.
:24:51. > :24:53.On Tuesday, parts of south-east England had temperatures