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Jonathan Pryce: An Enviable Acting Genius

I first came across Jonathan Pryce while watching 'Glengarry Glen Ross'. He was there in a scene with Pacino where Pacino, playing a real estate salesman's character, tries to convince Pryce, his prospective client about buying a USD 500,000 property. Pryce was there in the film for only about 20 minutes and still in a film clouded by the presence of heavyweights such as Ed Harries, Pacino, Alec Baldwin, Alan Arkin, Kevin Spacey and Jack Lemmon, he leaves an indelible mark on viewers' psyche. I have written this past sentence on basis of my memory which at that time dictated Pryce was a lightweight. I'm comparably enlightened now. Jonathan Pryce was never a lightweight. Like Pacino, stage had always been his preference and cinema, only a means for playing bills. His protruding eyes and angular figure were never fit to make him a bona fide movie star in Hollywood but he has become a very respectable stage giant in USA and UK. TV was also never his media but in a move to defy his inhibitions, he signed up for Game of Thrones Season 5 to play the mercurial and very controversial 'High Sparrow', the head of Faith Militant who has so far rendered all the tacticians of King's Landing clueless. What a brilliant casting decision!!!!

When I decided to explore more about Jonathan Pryce after getting a chance to watch him at the top of his game in GoT, I came across his two films that looked fascinating. One was Terry Gilliam's 'Brazil', starring also Robert De Niro, a cult, sci-fi film that was said to be inspired by George Orwell's seminal work '1984'. Other was a biopic of Eva (Evita) Peron who was the first 'first lady' of Argentina and till this date, she has divisive opinions of political commentators about her but ask the Argentinians and they will tell you how much Evita meant to them. Two-three lines are not going to do justice to Eva's personality and contribution to modern Argentina and so I shall advise you to WIKI/Google her. Madonna (yes, the singer Madonna) starred as Evita in it and she was probably my primary influence for watching this film. Pryce has acted as Juan Peron, the thrice President of Argentina and as crucial a figure to Argentina as Eva if not that 'revered'. His restrained and authoritative performance as a former military lieutenant (and also a colleague of Che Guevera and Mussolini) turned democratic head of Argentina matches the charismatic presence of Madonna's Eva in the movie. Both these movies and many unmentioned here are a testament to Pryce's scorching talent as a stage-trained actor who most importantly knows how to act and if you have already watched him in GoT, I believe you would follow up on these picks.

See you!!!


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