The mysterious art of the casting director: ‘When you see the truth in front of you, it’s the right person’
Is it gatekeeping or dream-making? Art or science? As the Oscars get set to award casting directors for the first time, British theatre’s finest share the secrets of their trade
June 2024
Donald Sutherland obituary
Commanding and versatile actor known for his roles in M*A*S*H, Don’t Look Now and The Hunger Games
The experts
The experts: actors on 20 ways to look and feel confident – when you’re anything but
Does the thought of a presentation or meeting new people make you sweat? Actors including Maxine Peake and Johnny Flynn explain how to perform under pressure
Observer New Review Q&A
Actor Lia Williams on playing Paula Vennells: ‘I think she’s more shallow than malicious. She created her own set of truths’
The actor on starring in a new play about sexual harassment, her portrayal of the Post Office’s Paula Vennells, and the playwright closest to her heart
May 2024
Actors win apology from English charity watchdog in row over board ‘coup’
Other lives
Brian Phelan obituary
James Laurenson obituary
Ian Gelder obituary
Gudrun Ure obituary
‘They’re teaching me’: Greg Doran on staging Shakespeare’s unloved Two Gents with students
‘Just let us audition’: UK transgender actors appeal to be cast in non-trans roles
April 2024
London’s Central drama school axes audition fees to end elite grip on the arts
Other lives
Loїs Williams obituary
Brief letters
David Harewood’s Romeo presaged greatness
Joanna Scanlan among actors backing gender equality push in theatre
Juliet should be a dream role. For a black actor tackling Shakespeare, it can be a nightmare
Nina Bowers
This much I know
Adeel Akhtar: ‘I’ve got a lovely level of fame’
March 2024
Isabelle Huppert: ‘I was never the woman behind the man… the only place I could take was the main place’
As she prepares to play Mary, Queen of Scots, the French actor talks about her extraordinary career, and why she’d love to make a film in the UK – or play a Marvel villain
M Emmet Walsh was both a mesmerising everyman and an indelible gargoyle. How I’ll miss those poached-egg eyes
Peter Bradshaw
Always good as either an antagonist or malign authority figure, Walsh – best known as loathsome PI Visser in Blood Simple – was a singular, brilliant icon
Other lives
Saul Reichlin obituary
Other lives: Actor whose mellifluous voice narrated hundreds of audiobooks and video games
