Jonathan Pryce - 1980s

1980s

In 1980, his performance in the title role of Hamlet at the Royal Court Theatre won him an Olivier Award, and was acclaimed by some critics as the definitive Hamlet of his generation. That year he also appeared in the film Breaking Glass, a film that is remarkable in that it featured in the cast (sometimes in small roles) many actors who would eventually become stars of film and television, such as Jim Broadbent, Richard Griffiths and Phil Daniels. Also during this year, Pryce had a small but pivotal role as Zarniwoop in the 12th episode of the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy radio series, one that he reprised for the Quintessential Phase which was broadcast in 2005. In his original, and memorable, role as Zarniwoop, Pryce's character questions the "ruler of the Universe," a solipsist, who has been chosen to rule arguably because of either his inherent manipulability, or immunity therefrom, on his philosophical opinions.

In 1983, Pryce played the role of the sinister Mr. Dark in Something Wicked This Way Comes, based on the Ray Bradbury novel of the same title. After appearing mostly in TV films, such as the Ian McEwan-scripted The Ploughman's Lunch, and Martin Luther, Heretic, he achieved a breakthrough with his role as the subdued protagonist Sam Lowry in Terry Gilliam's 1985 film, Brazil. The film, set in a world similar to the one depicted in Orwell's novel Nineteen Eighty-Four, was acclaimed in Europe and won two BAFTA Film Awards. In the American version, Universal Pictures tried to remove numerous scenes in order to make the film shorter and more consumer-friendly, though they eventually relented. The movie was also well received in the United States and won three awards from the Los Angeles Film Critics Association and two Academy Award nominations. Brazil has since become a cult film, and is still frequently mentioned in "best film" lists and rankings, such as Time magazine's list of the 100 best films of all time and Total Film magazine's 2004 list of the 20 greatest British movies of all time (which Brazil topped). The film was described by Harlan Ellison as "the finest SF movie ever made" and it holds a 98% freshness rate at Rotten Tomatoes. After Brazil, Pryce appeared in the historical thriller The Doctor and the Devils and then in the Gene Wilder-directed film Haunted Honeymoon. During this period of his life, Pryce continued to perform on stage, and was particularly noteworthy as the successful but self-doubting writer Trigorin in a London production of Anton Chekhov's The Seagull in late 1985. From 1986 to 1987 Pryce played the lead part in the Royal Shakespeare Company's production of Macbeth, which also starred Sinéad Cusack as Lady Macbeth.

Also in 1986 he starred in the film Jumping Jack Flash.

In 1988 Pryce worked once again with Gilliam in The Adventures of Baron Munchausen, playing "The Right Ordinary Horatio Jackson". The film was a notorious financial fiasco, with production costing more than $40 million, when the original budget was $23.5 million. The film has gained cult favourite status over time, however, and in a commentary track on the DVD edition of his 2007 feature Tideland, Gilliam now says that Munchausen is one of the films that his fans most often cite as a favourite (along with Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Brazil, Twelve Monkeys and Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas). The following year Pryce appeared in three of the earliest episodes of the improvisation show Whose Line Is It Anyway?, alongside Paul Merton and John Sessions, and in another play by Chekhov, Uncle Vanya at the Vaudeville Theatre.