AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Jonathan Pryce

Artist:Jonathan Pryce

Song:You've Got to Pick a Pocket or Two

Album:Oliver!: The 1994 London Palladium Cast Recording

Jonathan Pryce is a very versatile actor in stage, screen and television. He has won Tonys and Olivier for his stage performances and has been nominated for Oscars and Emmys. He was born John Price June 1, 1947 in Carmel, Flintshire, Wales. His father was a former miner who owned a small grocery shop. After attending art college, he was training to be a teacher at Edge Hill University in Lancashire, England when he took part in a college theater production. A tutor suggested he become an actor and he won a scholarship to the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA). When joining Actors Equity, there was already a John Price so he called himself Jonathan Pryce. While in school he sold velvet paintings door to door. RADA told Pryce that he would only play TV villains. After graduating, he became artistic director at Everyman Theater in Liverpool. His big break came when he starred in the 1976 play Comedians at the Old Vic an London and then won a Tony for the Broadway production. His first film was Voyage of the Damned in 1976. Pryce continued performing on stage. He won an Olivier for Hamlet in 1980. I think when most of us first noticed Pryce was in Terry Gilliam's 1985 film Brazil. After watching Patti LuPone in Les Miserables, Pryce decided he wanted to do musicals. He played The Engineer in the West End musical Miss Saigon and won an Olivier award. When Miss Saigon was brought to Broadway, there was some controversy over Pryce as a Caucasian playing an Asian. But a deal was worked out and Pryce won an Oscar. Then he was nominated for an Emmy for the 1993 HBO film Barbarians at the Gate. That's when he played Fagin in the London Palladium revival of Oliver!. This show ran for a year and the cast album is available as a budget CD. Since then, notable appearances include as Henry Higgins in a 2001 London production of My Fair Lady, the 2004 London production of The Goat or Who Is Sylvia which earned him an Olivier nomination, a couple of the Pirates of the Caribbean films and the HBO series Game of Thrones. Probably his latest role that most will recognize was as Prince Philip in the Netflix series The Crown. Pryce is still very busy and as I said, he is very versatile. Here's Jonathan Pryce performing You've Got to Pick a Pocket or Two from Oliver! at the 1994 Royal Variety Show in London.