00:00You were in one of the most celebrated films of all time.
00:02Yes, and all anyone can ever remember is the theme music.
00:05Ian Hamlet is playing at the National Theatre.
00:07Will you take me to see it, please?
00:09Don't listen to him. He loves it.
00:11Can I tell you a secret?
00:12It's the greatest part that you can play in the greatest theatre.
00:15And I'm jealous.
00:16That's a brilliant film carried to fire.
00:21Oh, yeah.
00:22Yeah, I mean, yeah.
00:24Would it cheer you up to hear a little bit of gossip?
00:27Richard has someone in mind to play Hamlet.
00:29Right, who?
00:30You.
00:33Shall I get some antiseptic on that for you?
00:35For what?
00:36A little purple spot.
00:38Oh, don't worry. It's only dining.
00:42You've seen men like me before.
00:45Hundreds.
00:46And some of them get better for a while.
00:50But I have to play Hamlet.
00:544,167 lines.
00:562,200 eyeballs staring at you.
00:59This part goes beyond physical endurance.
01:02I can't let you risk your health.
01:03You're not letting me.
01:04I choose to do it.
01:05Should I be engaging my heart here or my brain?
01:09Your heart.
01:09Your brain's never been that impressive.
01:12If you're going to play this part, there is to be no more talk of death.
01:14It might be tricky.
01:16It's one of the central themes of the play at the National Theatre.
01:20When they call you to the stage, all the actors gather out the windows and they begin to hammer.
01:38The people who come here want to live here.
01:41You, on the other hand, only want to play Hamlet.
01:43Will you play upon this pipe?
01:44Will you play upon this pipe?
01:44There isn't a natural life.
01:47It doesn't have some understanding of this slave.
01:49It's about being alive and becoming dead.
01:53I've been asked to play this part.
01:55If people see me and not the character that I play, then I fail.
01:59I won't be a victim.
02:03My job is the preservation of life.
02:06When it comes to life...
02:08Life.
02:09To be or not to be!
02:13It's quality that I want.
02:15It's glory.
02:17It's joy.
02:30It's glory.
02:31It's glory.
02:34That's the only place that I can see when everything's adjacent to life.
