Degree honour for actor who fell in love with city

Dec 13 2006 by Caroline Innes, Liverpool Daily Post

ACCLAIMED international actor Jonathan Pryce last night spoke of the Liverpool grounding that set him off on the path to inter- national stardom.

Receiving an honorary arts degree from the University of Liverpool, Pryce, who appeared in blockbusters such as Evita, James Bond and Pirates of the Caribbean, said it was his training at the city’s Everyman Theatre that made him the actor he is today.

“If I had started my career anywhere else than at the Everyman, I don’t think I would be where I am,” he said.

“If I hadn’t worked with Everyman director Alan Dossor or worked at that theatre, then I simply wouldn’t have been able to tackle the roles that I have.

“It was a very anarchic way of working in a time of industrial unrest in the city but it was a lot of fun.

“We used to joke that it was called the Everyman because on stage it was everyman for himself. But that freedom to make a role your own and to ad-lib gave you a kind of courage to tackle any role.

“And after working at the Everyman, I have never been afraid of making a performance my own.”

Holywell-born Mr Pryce, 59, joined the Everyman in 1972 treading the boards with the likes of Pete Postlethwaite, Julie Walters and partner Kate Fahy, who joined him at yesterday’s graduation ceremony.

But it was as a youngster that he first fell in love with Liverpool and the Everyman – then Hope Hall – and, over 30 years later, his affection for the city is as strong as ever.

He said: “It is wonderful to be awarded an honorary degree as I have never graduated but, to be honest, it only means so much to me because it has come from Liverpool.