Simon Russell Beale Wonders If He Is Too Young to Play KING LEAR at the National

Simon Russell Beale recently spoke to The Daily Mail's Baz Bamigboye about whether he's too young to star as King Lear in the upcoming production of the Shakespearean tragedy for The National Theatre. Beale is 52.

"I'm telling myself other people have done it this young, and I do look a little bit older with my beard," Beale told the Mail. "It's white, so that's a bit depressing. I wonder how old Michael Gambon was when he did it?"

Read the original report here.

Kate Fleetwood and Anna Maxwell Martin recently joined the production as Lear's daughters Goneril and Regan, respectively, alongside Olivia Vinall, who is currently appearing in the National's OTHELLO, as Cordelia.

Sam Mendes will direct the cast, which also features Adrian Scarborough as The Fool and Stanley Townsend as Kent. Rehearsals are set to begin in November for a January 2014 opening.

For those of you who aren't already familiar with the plot, KING LEAR follows its title character into madness after he divides his estate between two of his three daughters and reaps the consequences.

Beale was recently on stage Hothouse, as well as Privates on Parade at the Noel Coward Theatre. Other stage credits include The Seagull and The Tempest for the RSC, for The National Theatre; Hamlet (for which he won the Evening Standard Best Actor Award), Humble Boy (also in the West End), Jumpers (also in the West End and on Broadway), Much Ado About Nothing, Major Barbara, London Assurance, Collaborators and Timon of Athens (for which he won the Critics Circle Award for Best Shakespearean Performance in 2012). Simon's stage credits for the Donmar Warehouse include Uncle Vanya and Twelfth Night (for which he won the 2002 Olivier and Evening Standard Awards). Further theatre credits include Spamalot at the Palace Theatre/Broadway, The Winter's Tale and The Cherry Orchard at the Old Vic and Deathtrap at the Noel Coward Theatre. His film credits include The Deep Blue Sea and My Week with Marilyn. On television, Simon's credits include Henry IV Parts I & II, A Dance to the Music of Time (for which he won the BAFTA for Best Television Actor) and two series of Spooks and Sacred Music. Simon is an Associate Artist of the RSC and National Theatre.