F. Murray Abraham Career Retrospective | SAG-AFTRA Foundation Conversations on Broadway

F. Murray Abraham shares stories from his performances in Homeland, Amadeus, Chimerica, The Grand Budapest Hotel, Angels in America, The Merchant of Venice, It’s Only a Play, The Man in the Glass Booth, Nathan the Wise, and The Mentor in this interview about his acting career. He recounts studying with Uta Hagen, working with Harold Pinter, Helen Mirren, Geraldine Paige, Milos Forman, Brian De Palma, Woody Allen, and Wes Anderson, his transition from theater to film, and voice acting for How to Train Your Dragon. This Q&A moderated by Broadway World’s Richard Ridge, is part of the SAG-AFTRA Conversations series, an essential resource for actors, filmmakers and students of discussions with performers, exploring the process and profession of acting.

Mr. Abraham has appeared in more than 80 films including Amadeus, for which he received the Academy Award® for 'Best Actor,' as well as Golden Globe® and L.A. Film Critics Awards. His other films include House Of Geraniums, The Bridge Of San Luis Rey, Where Love Begins, The Name Of The Rose, Finding Forrester, Scarface, The Bonfire Of The Vanities, The Ritz, Star Trek: Insurrection, The Grand Budapest Hotel and Inside Llewyn Davis, also the upcoming Robin Hood and How To Train Your Dragon 3.

Mr. Abraham's television appearances have included Dead Lawyers, Noah's Ark, Dead Man's Walk, Largo Desolato, A Season Of Giants, Excellent Cadavers, Quiet Flows The Don, The Betrothed, Journey To The Center Of The Earth, Marco Polo, The Good Wife, The Good Fight, Louis CK, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Homeland, Shakespeare Uncovered, and Chimerica for the BBC.

A veteran of the stage, F. Murray Abraham has appeared in more than 90 plays, among them Chekhov's Uncle Vanya (Obie Award), Trumbo, Standup Shakespeare, the Italian tour of Notturno Pirandelliano, Susan Stroman's A Christmas Carol, the musical Triumph Of Love, A Month In The Country, the title roles in Cyrano de Bergerac, King Lear, Macbeth, Richard III, The Jew of Malta, The Seagull, Oedipus Rex, Creon, Angels In America (Broadway), The Ride Down Mt. Morgan, Waiting For Godot, The Caretaker, The Ritz, Sexual Perversity In Chicago, Duck Variations, A Life In The Theatre, Paper Doll The Threepenny Opera, The Mentor, and in Terrence McNally's It's Only A Play (Drama Desk Award nomination). He made his LA debut in Ray Bradbury's The Wonderful Ice Cream Suit and his NY debut as a Macy's Santa Claus, soon thereafter to Broadway in The Man In The Glass Booth, directed by Harold Pinter.

Mr. Abraham’s book A Midsummer Night's Dream: Actors On Shakespeare, is published by Faber & Faber.

Honors include The Moscow Art Theatre Stanislavsky Award, The Sir John Gielgud Award for Excellence in Shakespeare, Obie Award for Lifetime Achievement, and a member of The Theater Hall of Fame.

0:00 Introduction
3:23 Awards
6:12 Homeland
13:15 Beginnings in acting
16:39 Going to LA
19:56 Uta Hagen, Oscar
25:32 The Man in the Glass Booth, Harold Pinter
28:34 Auditioning
33:10 Terrence McNally, Helen Mirren
36:24 It’s Only a Play
38:21 Angels in America
41:41 Challenging/easiest roles
46:50 The Merchant of Venice
52:00 Starting in film, Sidney Lumet
55:00 Amadeus
58:56 Geraldine Paige, Milos Forman
1:07:28 Brian De Palma, Woody Allen
1:11:30 Star Trek
1:14:57 Starting late
1:17:39 Nathan the Wise, The Mentor
1:22:18 Chimerica
1:24:10 Voice acting
1:28:21 Wes Anderson, The Grand Budapest Hotel
1:29:51 Best advice