F. Murray Abraham
Actor
F. Murray Abraham is an American actor who has appeared in both modern and classic plays, including Othello,Richard III, King Lear, Much Ado About Nothing, and Twelfth Night. His experiences as Bottom are recounted in his book A Midsummer Night’s Dream, in Faber & Faber’s Actors on Shakespeare series.
His performance as Shylock in The Merchant of Venice earned him an Obie Award. He has also appeared in dozens of films, including The Name of the Rose, Scarface, and Finding Forrester; for the role of Antonio Salieri in Amadeus he was awarded a Golden Globe and an Academy Award. In 2010, he was honored with the Sir John Gielgud Award for Theatre.
I wanted my audience to identify with Shylock in a deeply personal way, so much so that they would involuntarily nod and think, “Yes, I understand, I have been there.”