John Bell (Australian actor)

Bell was born 1 November 1940 in Newcastle, New South Wales,^[2] to a bank manager father and elocutionist mother. As the oldest child, he grew up alongside three younger sisters and a brother.^[3]

At age 9 or 10, he moved with his family to the town of Maitland, New South Wales^[2] where he was educated at the Marist Brothers College.^[4] At school, he studied Shakespeare, where he developed and performed one-man stage shows.^[5] At the age of 15, he developed aspirations to become a Shakespearean actor after seeing Laurence Olivier as Henry V on screen.^[3]

Bell auditioned for National Institute of Dramatic Art's (NIDA's) first intake in 1958 and was accepted, but his parents and teachers convinced him to go to Sydney University instead, where he studied an arts degree.^[3] He graduated with English Honours in 1962.^[5]

In 1963, the year after his university graduation, Bell joined the Old Tote Theatre Company, where he played the title role in Hamlet.^[6][5]

Bell relocated to the United Kingdom in 1964, after winning a scholarship from the British Council, and was invited to join the Royal Shakespeare Company. He spent five years with them as an Associate Artist. He returned to Australia in 1969 and taught at National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA).^[6]

In 1970, Bell co-founded the Nimrod Theatre Company in Sydney, and was Artistic Director, investing in producing Australian theatre. That same year, he directed the first production of The Legend of King O'Malley (a musical play based on the life of King O'Malley by Bob Ellis and Michael Boddy), featuring Robyn Nevin and Kate Fitzpatrick. He also directed plays by leading playwrights David Williamson, Ron Blair, Peter Kenna and Louis Nowra, including Williamson's Travelling North, The Club and The Removalists and Kenna's A Hard God.^[6] In 1985 he resigned from his role at Nimrod Theatre in order to freelance as a director and actor.^[5]

In 1990, he formed the Bell Shakespeare Company, performing and touring his own productions of Shakespeare's works. Amongst other plays, he has produced Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet, The Taming of the Shrew, Richard III, Pericles, Henry IV, Henry V, Julius Caesar, Antony and Cleopatra, The Comedy of Errors, The Merchant of Venice, The Tempest, King Lear, and Goldoni's The Servant of Two Masters.

His own roles for the company include Shylock, Richard III, Macbeth, Malvolio, Coriolanus, Leontes, Prospero, King Lear and Ulysses. He has also played Hamlet, Henry V, Berowne, Petruchio, Cyrano de Bergerac and Titus Andronicus.^[6] His performances in King Lear, Cyrano de Bergerac and Uncle Vanya were met with critical acclaim.^[5]

In 2009, Bell directed the opera Madama Butterfly for Oz Opera, which toured throughout Australia.^[7]

In 2011, he published the book "On Shakespeare", detailing his thoughts and reminiscences of playing Shakespeare for more than 50 years.^[8]

In 2015, at the age of 75, Bell retired from running Bell Shakespeare, handing the reins over to his successor, Peter Evans. He has since engaged as a corporate speaker, performed poetry recitals with pianist Simon Tedeschi and taken on further stage roles, including the title role in The Father with Sydney Theatre Company. Additionally, in his spare time, he started the Bouddi Foundation, based on the NSW central coast, which assists emerging^[3]

In 2021, Bell delivered the Boyer Lecture on the themes of "Life Lessons from Shakespeare", "Order vs Chaos", "Shakespeare's Women", and "Imaginary Forces".^[9] The lectures demonstrate the relevance of Shakespeare's works to today's issues of need for good governance, the danger of political self interest, and the need for gender equality.^[10]

In the 1978 New Year Honours, Bell was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE). In the Queen's Birthday Honours of 1987, he was named a Member of the Order of Australia (AM). In the 2009 Australia Day Honours, he was named an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO).

In 2001 a painting of Bell by artist Nicholas Harding won the Archibald Prize.^[11]

In 2003 the Australian Prime Minister, John Howard, presented Bell with the Cultural Leader of the Year Award.

In 2016 he was awarded Australian Humanist of the Year (AHOY).^[12]

In 2019 Bell was elected as a fellow of the Royal Society of New South Wales.

His achievements in theatre have been acknowledged by the Universities of Newcastle (1994), Sydney (1996) and New South Wales, all of whom have awarded him honorary Doctor of Letters degrees.

Bell attended the University of Sydney with Clive James and Germaine Greer. He is a contemporary and friend of Bruce Beresford (film director, with whom he shared a house and for whom he did some film acting), Ken Horler, Mungo McCallum, Bob Ellis, Richard Wherrett, John Gaden, Laurie Oakes (journalist), and Les Murray (poet).^[4]

His brother is the artist Michael Bell.^[21]

Bell met Polish-born Australian actress and NIDA graduate Anna Volska in 1963, when they performed in a production of The Cherry Orchard together. Volska followed Bell to the UK when he joined the Royal Shakespeare Company,^[5] and they married in 1965 in Stratford-upon-Avon, where their two daughters were born.^[3]

The couple's daughters are playwright Hilary Bell (b. 1966) and Grass Roots actress Lucy Bell (b. 1968). Through their daughters, they have five grandchildren, the eldest of whom aspires to be a filmmaker.^[3]

Bell and Volska reside in the Sydney suburb of Woollahra.^[3]

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