David Harewood believes young actors are 'mollycoddled'
Homeland star David Harewood believes young actors are "a bit mollycoddled" while he thinks it's the nature of the job to "feel uncomfortable" at times.
David Harewood believes young actors are "a bit mollycoddled".
The 59-year-old Homeland star - who is the president of London's RADA drama school - opened up about new safeguarding techniques being used on the set of his new production of William Shakespeare's Othello in the UK capital revealing the play has a "drama therapist" to help the stars cope with the tough emotional issues they're dealing with onstage - and he fears young actors may not get the same experience as he did in the industry.
In an interview with The Independent newspaper, Harewood explained: "There is a fine line between coddling actors and allowing them to talk about when they are uncomfortable. I certainly grew up in a generation when there was none of that and I think I’ve suffered and benefited.
"I do think young actors now are a bit mollycoddled. They might say: 'Oh, I don’t want to do that. It makes me uncomfortable,’ whereas I think, and maybe this is just the generation I grew up in, but sometimes you do have to feel uncomfortable."
Speaking about the drama therapist being used for the Othello cast at the Theatre Royal Haymarket, Harewood - who is playing the title role - said: "She helps us realise those darker moments in the room," while his co-star Toby Jones - who has been cast as Iago - joked: "It’s odd because I think, what have people done previously to this, you know? And I guess the answer is, go to the pub!"
Jones went on to add: "I thought, what is she going to do? It was so unusual. The way my generation was trained was so different; you had to learn to be tough and to be tough with each other. But then there was misogyny as a result."
Caitlin FitzGerald - who is starring as Desdemona - went on to insist having the drama therapist has been helpful - especially as she's been having nightmares since taking on the role.
She explained: "You can go to these dark, murky, messy places and then hopefully leave it behind at the end of the day. Speaking for myself, I need to leave the theatre not feeling like a victim.
"I have been having nightmares about men killing me, so maybe I need to work with her a little more."
Othello runs at the Theatre Royal Haymarket until January.
