Derek Jacobi Reflects on 47-Year Marriage and Aging as 87-Year-Old Actor Eyes 100
Updated
Updated · The Guardian · May 22
Derek Jacobi Reflects on 47-Year Marriage and Aging as 87-Year-Old Actor Eyes 100
2 articles · Updated · The Guardian · May 22
Jacobi, 87, and husband Richard Clifford used a new interview to look back on their 47 years together, mixing jokes about age with blunt talk about the actor having recently “let the old man in.”
Clifford, 17 years younger, said he now anchors much of their daily life and their stage work, while Jacobi said memory problems pushed him to retire from live theatre in 2022.
Jacobi also revisited a career spanning I, Claudius, the National Theatre and later TV hits, saying he long felt he lacked movie-star looks despite believing in his acting ability.
The couple spoke about surviving the Aids era, losing many friends and building a partnership sustained by mutual ridicule, with Jacobi saying he still wants to reach 100.
Their latest collaboration is a two-man show in which Clifford interviews Jacobi onstage, while Jacobi remains open to film and TV work, including recent role Moss and Freud.
As the Olivier Awards mark 50 years, how does stage titan Derek Jacobi view his legacy after his permanent exit from the theatre?
He is a decorated legend of stage and screen. Why does Derek Jacobi still believe he was too 'ugly' for Hollywood success?
As a new AIDS retrospective opens next month, what lesson from the 'plague years' do Jacobi and Clifford fear is being lost today?