Colm Feore became a actor after leaving his birthplace of Boston behind, attending the National Theatre School of Canada in Montreal, Quebec. His skills grew from working at the Stratford Festival of Canada playing many leading parts in the works of Shakespeare. He went on to Broadway in Julius Caesar with Denzel Washington.
His movie career includes roles in Pearl Harbor, Paycheck and The Chronicles of Riddick. He has conquered the small screen as well with The West Wing, 24 and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.
Windy City Times sat down for a bard's tale with the talented thespian at the Virgin Hotel recently.
Windy City Times: Hey, Colm. Have you been to Chicago before?
Colm Feore: You know what? I was doing King Lear here 30 years ago. We were touring from Stratford and we came down to the Blackstone for a month in residence. It was fantastic. The weather is so much better than Canada right now. I live in Stratford.
WCT: Talk about your character in King Lear.
Colm Feore: He is an old king who realizes at a certain age that things are like they used to be. His capacity is diminishing. He decides to orchestrate his retirement program and it involves dividing up his kingdom among his three daughters and marrying the youngest off. The whole plan goes horribly wrong because he adds a wrinkle to the living will that he is essentially doing. He has a condition to find out which girl loves him most. That foolish gesture costs him everything. The play goes on from there.
WCT: Why choose the live-theater production instead of a more cinematic version?
Colm Feore: It is cinematic in the way it is a thrust stage. Shakespeare is a very cinematic writer. He doesn't write scenes just to change the scenery. He cuts from a two person scene, to a solo, to 45 people on stage. It has to happen almost instantaneously to not lose the attention of the audience. We have the audience all around so we are acting three dimensionally. Here we put the cameras where we put the audience. We had an option to get these complicated different angles. When we assembled it into the HD version of King Lear it was much more like being there.
It is a very cinematic experience. We ran the play for the season and right towards the end when got good at we decided that it would be filmed. We were not going to rehearse it more but just introduce cameras into the performance. On Oct. 21 at 2 p.m., 1,800 people showed up, 10 of them had cameras and we just did it in one take. It has a live feel because it was live. It has a pressurized feel because we have history. We will now have gigabytes of King Lear caught on tape from now until we run out of electricity!
The bottom line is it was an enormous amount of pressure. The only flexibility we had was we went back that evening and did a few little pick up shots to get cameras closer on a few shots with technical detail. What you are seeing is exactly what we did that one time, which is cool because you know it is more energized. It is not take 57. The risk is still there and it is walking the tight rope of a live performance.
WCT: You have spent 16 seasons at Stratford?
Colm Feore: I think it has been 17 or 18. My wife is an exceptionally good director and choreographer there. She did Fiddler on the Roof last year and it was a big hit. She is doing Sound of Music right now.
WCT: Have you been in musicals?
Colm Feore: I have done three, Pirate King, Oliver, and My Fair Lady.
WCT: I heard you were in a movie called A Perfect Son.
Colm Feore: It was a wonderful little independent film made in Canada by Leonard Farlinger. It was a true story and loosely based on his own experience. David Cubitt and I play brothers. He is the drug-addict, crazy, creative kid brother and I am the respectable lawyer type who happens to be gay and dying of AIDS. It was a rather sad story but I felt it was beautifully done. It is a heartfelt and simple film.
It was different than what I often do. Look at my face—I get the scary guys who are mean and nasty. A Perfect Son was a real departure for me. It was something I really loved doing.
WCT: You must have lots of Borgias fans.
Colm Feore: The Borgias [a 2011-13 Showtime series] is a good one with a big following, and also 24. I have done a lot of things to make a living. I keep turning up. It is good because people can't pin you down when you can be a chameleon. The less recognizable we are the more employable we are. People will be believe I am a pope as much as a CIA operative in Revolution. Since I am different I am not famous but I do get work. It is a great place to be especially with kids to put through school!
WCT: With you being in Thor and Spider-Man 2, you could work the comic conventions.
Colm Feore: I am always doing something else. If there is a real reason to go and tell the stories and share I am happy to do it. To date there has not been a need to do that. My characters have not been the top of the list for comic con content.
WCT: Is it fun to do the popcorn movies?
Colm Feore: First of all, you are looking for legitimacy with your kids, right? With Shakespeare your kids don't care. When you do a cameo in Thor or SpiderMan, then they are interested.
WCT: So it is hard to appeal to younger generations with Shakespeare?
Colm Feore: I always hoped as I went out and did more television and movies then I could draw some attention that way. We try to not frighten people by making a movie about it. They don't have to drive into Stratford and pay money for a ticket. They can buy a movie ticket, a popcorn, and I will give them the greatest play in the English language. When it is done people will recognize types of people and it will have resonance. Shakespeare's language will show how some people feel but cannot express. That is why his plays are so successful. We see ourselves reflected in his shows. We learn something from it before it is too late for us.
We have Shakespeare's text clearly spoken, articulated through actors who really know how to do it, and supported by camera work that shows this person talking to that person. I find that very helpful. I find I don't understand the Shakespeare plays very well when I am home reading them alone. I try to and kind of get it but when we start rehearsals it all comes to life. Shakespeare is the gift that keeps on giving. One you can see the little codes that demystify Shakespeare then you are done.
People just need a guide. We are the TripAdvisor for Shakespeare!
WCT: What do you have coming up?
Colm Feore: I did a couple episodes of Gotham and I am hoping for a second season of a show called Sensitive Skin with Kim Cattrall, a six-part show that she produced and starred in last year. It is really good and she is wonderful. It is also pilot season so I am auditioning and looking for work.
King Lear comes to life at movie theaters feb. 25. For more information in the festival, visit www.stratfordfestivalhd.com .
