Paul Birchard is an American actor who lives in Finland. He has appeared in film, television, stage and radio productions, most notably as Bud in ''
Sweet Bird of Youth
''Sweet Bird of Youth'' is a 1959 play by Tennessee Williams which tells the story of a gigolo and drifter, Chance Wayne, who returns to his home town as the companion of a faded movie star, Alexandra del Lago (travelling incognito as Princess ...
'' with the
Royal National Theatre, Ross in ''
The Goat, or Who Is Sylvia?
''The Goat, or Who Is Sylvia?'' is a full-length play written in 2000 by Edward Albee which opened on Broadway in 2002. It won the 2002 Tony Award for Best Play, the 2002 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Play, and was a finalist for the 2003 ...
'' at the
Traverse Theatre
The Traverse Theatre is a theatre in Edinburgh, Scotland. It was founded in 1963 by John Calder, John Malcolm, Jim Haynes and Richard Demarco.
The Traverse Theatre company commissions and develops new plays or adaptations from contemporary p ...
, Edinburgh, and Chuck in the premiere of
Frank Grimes
Frank Grimes (born 1947) is an Irish stage and screen actor.
Grimes was born in Dublin. He achieved his first major success as the young Brendan Behan in the 1967 stage adaptation of Behan's autobiography, ''Borstal Boy'', at the Abbey Theatre. ...
's first performed play, ''The Fishing Trip''. Birchard is also known for his one-man stage adaptation of
F. Scott Fitzgerald
Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald (September 24, 1896 – December 21, 1940) was an American novelist, essayist, and short story writer. He is best known for his novels depicting the flamboyance and excess of the Jazz Age—a term he popularize ...
stories, a documentary film about
Tennessee Williams
Thomas Lanier Williams III (March 26, 1911 – February 25, 1983), known by his pen name Tennessee Williams, was an American playwright and screenwriter. Along with contemporaries Eugene O'Neill and Arthur Miller, he is considered among the thr ...
and Konrad Hopkins which he produced and directed, and a song promoting the Glasgow Diamonds American football team.
Early life and education
Birchard grew up in
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
,
where he saw
Henry Fonda
Henry Jaynes Fonda (May 16, 1905 – August 12, 1982) was an American actor. He had a career that spanned five decades on Broadway and in Hollywood. He cultivated an everyman screen image in several films considered to be classics.
Born and ra ...
acting and directing stage performances, including ''
The Time of Your Life
''The Time of Your Life'' is a 1939 five-act play by American playwright William Saroyan. The play is the first drama to win both the Pulitzer Prize for Drama and the New York Drama Critics Circle Award. The play opened on Broadway in 1939.
Cha ...
'' in 1972. He moved to Scotland, and in 1981 graduated with a Diploma in Dramatic Art from the
Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama in Glasgow.
Career
During the 1980s, Birchard worked as a DJ at
Radio Clyde,
and appeared in various stage performances including supporting roles in a touring production of ''
The Entertainer'', and pantomime.
In 1986 he wrote and recorded the song "Diamonds Rap (We Are The Diamonds)", promoting the Glasgow Diamonds American football team.
CBS Sports created a video package called the "CBS Video Bowl" for the half-time interval of their worldwide broadcast of the Super Bowl in January 1987,
and in a countdown from seven to one, "Diamonds Rap (We Are The Diamonds)" beat more polished rap videos by NFL teams to take the top spot.
His career continued to encompass radio and stage roles, as well as appearances on television and in films. In 1991, he appeared at the
Warehouse Theatre Croydon, London, in the premiere of
Frank Grimes
Frank Grimes (born 1947) is an Irish stage and screen actor.
Grimes was born in Dublin. He achieved his first major success as the young Brendan Behan in the 1967 stage adaptation of Behan's autobiography, ''Borstal Boy'', at the Abbey Theatre. ...
' first performed play, ''The Fishing Trip''.
Reviewers commented, "Paul Birchard's macho Vietnam vet Chuck is unexpectedly subtle";
"the riven Pat is set against the brooding force of Paul Birchard's Chuck - who conveys menace with the minimum of histrionics."
In 1994, he adapted five of
F. Scott Fitzgerald
Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald (September 24, 1896 – December 21, 1940) was an American novelist, essayist, and short story writer. He is best known for his novels depicting the flamboyance and excess of the Jazz Age—a term he popularize ...
's ''
Pat Hobby Stories'' into a one-man show at the Riverside Studios, London, in which he "used his broad acting talent to impersonate characters like the brash producer to the effeminate hairdresser ... The American actor's storytelling ability is so vivid that the very few props he uses - telephones, typewriters and ''Time'' magazines - are hardly needed to boost the imagination."
A reviewer in ''The Times'' considered that the stories were "not F. Scott Fitzgerald at his best ... frankly, five is a handful too many. ... The fault does not really lie with Birchard's performance ... he plays numerous parts adeptly, flicking from Hobby's wannabe Sam-Spade suavity to a cute-talking broad. He conveys character simply, with a jutting jaw or a seductive finger."
Two years later, he took the show to the Dublin Fringe Theatre Festival,
and in 2019, performed it at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.
Some of his most notable roles have been at the
National Theatre.
He also played Benjamin's father in the London run of ''
The Graduate
''The Graduate'' is a 1967 American romantic comedy-drama film directed by Mike Nichols and written by Buck Henry and Calder Willingham, based on the 1963 novel of the same name by Charles Webb, who wrote it shortly after graduating from W ...
''.
Birchard's more recent roles have been in ''
Inherit the Wind'' at the
Old Vic
Old or OLD may refer to:
Places
*Old, Baranya, Hungary
*Old, Northamptonshire, England
* Old Street station, a railway and tube station in London (station code OLD)
*OLD, IATA code for Old Town Municipal Airport and Seaplane Base, Old Town, Ma ...
in London, where he played the town mayor and was understudy to
Kevin Spacey
Kevin Spacey Fowler (born July 26, 1959) is an American actor. He began his career as a stage actor during the 1980s, obtaining supporting roles before gaining a leading man status in film and television. Spacey has received various accolade ...
. In
Edward Albee's ''
The Goat, or Who Is Sylvia?
''The Goat, or Who Is Sylvia?'' is a full-length play written in 2000 by Edward Albee which opened on Broadway in 2002. It won the 2002 Tony Award for Best Play, the 2002 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Play, and was a finalist for the 2003 ...
'' at the Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh, Birchard played Ross.
''The Guardian'' reviewer said, "Superb performances from Sian Thomas, John Ramm, Paul Birchard and Kyle McPhail do tremendous justice to an unnerving play",
while ''The Stage'' wrote "the four-strong cast put in near definitive performances ... Paul Birchard is lugubrious longest-serving friend, Ross ... Ross’s gleeful delight in the idea of an affair is a superbly-judged precursor to his horror at the enormity of the reality."
On radio, he has been a regular guest on the ''
Eddie Mair
Eddie Mair (born 12 November 1965) is a Scottish broadcaster who was a presenter on BBC radio and television. He presented his show on LBC between 4pm and 6pm every weekday until his last one, on 18 August 2022, after which he retired from broad ...
Live'' show on Radio Scotland in the early 1990s, and appeared in BBC Radio 4 plays and readings in the 1990s and 2000s.
He also provided the voice over for 1998 computer game ''
Plane Crazy
''Plane Crazy'' is a 1928 American animated short film directed by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks. The cartoon, released by the Walt Disney Studios, was the first Mickey Mouse film produced, and was originally a silent film. It was given a test sc ...
'', as well as the voice of one of the main characters in ''
Crysis 2
''Crysis 2'' is a first-person shooter video game developed by Crytek, published by Electronic Arts and released in North America, Australia and Europe in March 2011 for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360. Officially announced on Jun ...
'' in 2011.
On television, he appeared in a number of BBC 2 plays, including a drama about
Buddy Holly in 1989,
presented the World League of American Football on Scottish TV, and appeared in ''
Spooks'' as a rogue CIA operative.
Birchard produced, directed and appeared in the feature-length documentary film ''
U & Me & Tennessee: An American Romance...'', which deals with a romance by correspondence between playwright
Tennessee Williams
Thomas Lanier Williams III (March 26, 1911 – February 25, 1983), known by his pen name Tennessee Williams, was an American playwright and screenwriter. Along with contemporaries Eugene O'Neill and Arthur Miller, he is considered among the thr ...
and Konrad Hopkins.
This film was an official selection at the 2007
Raindance Film Festival
Raindance is an independent film festival and film school that operates in major cities including London, Los Angeles, New York, Vancouver, Toronto, Montreal, Budapest, Berlin, and Brussels. The festival was established in 1992 by Elliot Grove t ...
and at the Sydney
Mardi Gras Film Festival
The Mardi Gras Film Festival is an Australian LGBTQ+ film festival held in Sydney, New South Wales annually as part of the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras celebrations. It is organised by Queer Screen Limited, a non-profit organization, and i ...
.
Selected stage performances
Filmography
Film
*1985: ''
King Solomon's Mines
''King Solomon's Mines'' (1885) is a popular novel by the English Victorian adventure writer and fabulist Sir H. Rider Haggard. It tells of a search of an unexplored region of Africa by a group of adventurers led by Allan Quatermain for the ...
'' – German on Train (uncredited)
*1989: ''
Batman'' – Another Reporter
*1990: ''
Memphis Belle'' – Lieutenant
*1992: ''
La mansión de los Cthulhu'' – Billy
*1998: ''
Sista Kontraktet'' (''The Last Contract'') – Bertram Norris
*1999: ''
Gregory's Two Girls
''Gregory's Two Girls'' is a 1999 Scottish film, set in Cumbernauld and also in various locations in Edinburgh. It is the sequel to ''Gregory's Girl'' (1981), which also starred John Gordon Sinclair and Kennie Pullen and was written and directed ...
'' – American Executive
*2001: ''
The Tailor of Panama
''The Tailor of Panama'' is a 1996 novel by British writer John le Carré. A 2001 film was released based on the novel.
Plot
Harry Pendel is a British expatriate living in Panama City and running his own successful bespoke tailoring busines ...
'' – Joe
*2001: ''
The Fourth Angel
''The Fourth Angel'' is a 2001 British-Canadian thriller film directed by John Irvin and starring Jeremy Irons, Forest Whitaker, Jason Priestley and Charlotte Rampling. It was written by Allan Scott, from a homonymous novel by Robin Neillands ...
'' – Pilot
*2001: ''
Revelation
In religion and theology, revelation is the revealing or disclosing of some form of truth or knowledge through communication with a deity or other supernatural entity or entities.
Background
Inspiration – such as that bestowed by God on the ...
'' – General Demolay
*2003: ''
Quicksand
Quicksand is a colloid consisting of fine granular material (such as sand, silt or clay) and water. It forms in saturated loose sand when the sand is suddenly agitated. When water in the sand cannot escape, it creates a liquefied soil that los ...
'' – F.B.I. Man
*2003: ''Solid Air'' – Chris
*2003: ''
The Jacket
''The Jacket'' is a 2005 American science-fiction psychological thriller film directed by John Maybury and starring Adrien Brody, Keira Knightley, Kris Kristofferson and Jennifer Jason Leigh. It is partly based on the 1915 Jack London novel '' T ...
'' – Doctor
*2005: ''
The White Countess
''The White Countess'' is a 2005 drama film directed by James Ivory and starring Ralph Fiennes, Natasha Richardson, Vanessa Redgrave, Hiroyuki Sanada, Lynn Redgrave, Allan Corduner, and Madeleine Potter. The screenplay by Kazuo Ishiguro focuse ...
'' – Company Director
*2006: ''
Alien Autopsy
The alien autopsy is a 17-minute black-and-white film supposedly depicting a secret medical examination or autopsy of an alien by the United States military.Barton, Steve (September 30, 2010)"Ray Santilli, Gary Shoefield Talk the Real Alien Auto ...
'' – Senior TV Exec
*2007: ''
1408
Year 1408 ( MCDVIII) was a leap year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar.
Events
January–December
* February 19 – Battle of Bramham Moor: A royalist army defeats the last remnants o ...
'' – Mr. Innkeeper
*2008: ''
The Dark Knight
''The Dark Knight'' is a 2008 superhero film directed by Christopher Nolan from a screenplay he co-wrote with his brother Jonathan Nolan, Jonathan. Based on the DC Comics superhero, Batman, it is the sequel to ''Batman Begins'' (2005) and t ...
'' – Cop with Fat Thug
*2011: ''
Hanna'' – Bob
*2012: ''
Outpost: Black Sun'' – Cains
*2012: ''
The Angels' Share'' – North American Bidder
*2012: ''
Love Bite
''Love Bite'' is a 2012 British comedy horror film directed by Andy De Emmony, based on a screenplay by Cris Cole and Ronan Blaney. The film revolves around a mysterious traveller girl who is suspected of being a werewolf. It stars Jessica Szoh ...
'' – Reverend Lynch
*2016: ''
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
''Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them'' (often referred to as simply ''Fantastic Beasts'') is a 2001 guide book written by British author J. K. Rowling (under the pen name of the fictitious author Newt Scamander) about the magical creat ...
'' – Hobo
*2019: ''Les Temps De Marguerite'' – Ernest Hemingway
TV
Radio
Personal life
Birchard is a lifelong devotee of
Meher Baba
Meher Baba (born Merwan Sheriar Irani; 25 February 1894 – 31 January 1969) was an Indian spiritual master who said he was the Avatar, or God in human form, of the age. A major spiritual figure of the 20th century, he had a following of ...
. He has four children,
including
Ross Matthew Birchard, who produces music as Hudson Mohawke.
References
External links
*
*
'Diamond Rap' on YouTubeActor's website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Birchard, Paul
American male film actors
American male stage actors
American male television actors
Year of birth missing (living people)
Living people
American expatriates in the United Kingdom
Place of birth missing (living people)
Followers of Meher Baba