Joseph Mydell (born 1955) is a screen and stage actor, writer and public speaker.

Early life

Joseph Mydell was born 1955 in

Savannah, Georgia Savannah ( ) is the oldest city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia and is the county seat of Chatham County, Georgia, Chatham County. Established in 1733 on the Savannah River, the city of Savannah became the Kingdom of Great Br ...

. He attended West Savannah elementary school; Tompkins High School(class of 1963); Morehouse College, (1964-65), where he met

Martin Luther King Martin Luther King Jr. (born Michael King Jr.; January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) was an American Baptist minister and activist, one of the most prominent leaders in the civil rights movement from 1955 until his assassination in 1968 ...

, when King spoke at his alma mater after receiving the Nobel Prize for Peace. Inspired by King, and the call of Bahá'ís to participated in the (probably third)

Selma to Montgomery marches The Selma to Montgomery marches were three protest marches, held in 1965, along the 54-mile (87 km) highway from Selma, Alabama, to the state capital of Montgomery. The marches were organized by nonviolent activists to demonstrate the ...

in 1965. Mydell then continued his education at the New York University, School of the Arts(B.F.A., 1970; M.F.A., 1974) City University of New York (CUNY Ph. D Theatre studies, 1976-1979)

Career

Mydell got his training as a student actor, working with Dr. Baldwin Burroughs and the Atlanta Morehouse Spelman Players in Shakespeare”s ''The Tempest'', and ''Trials of Brother Jero'' by Wole Soyinka. In 1969 Mydell co-performed a play ''Who is America'' at the US Bahá'í national convention, the first "Youth for the World" conference in

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the List of muni ...

, then at another one in Dayton, Ohio, that summer, and later in November at the University Park campus of the

Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with campuses and facilities throughout Pennsylvan ...

. At NYU, he was trained by Lloyd Richards, Olympia Dukakis, Kristin Linklater, and directed by Andre Gregory. His professional career began in New York with the New York Shakespeare Festival and Lincoln Center theatre. He got his Equity card understudying Clevon Little off- Broadway. He also worked at Seattle Repertory theatre and for the National Endowment for the Arts in their touring production, “For All Times”. Mydell came to England in 1979 doing research for his one-man show on Paul Laurence Dunbar, Lyrics of the Hearthside, which he developed while studying for a Ph.D in theatre. In 1980 he won a Fringe First and Best One-man show award at the Edinburgh Festival. The United States Information Service sponsored an African tour of his show. He later began work with Royal Shakespeare Company, and has continued his association with this company for over thirty years. He has also worked extensively at The Royal National theatre.

Filmography

Film

Television

Stage

External links

Full CV on Agent's websiteIMDB listing

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mydell, Joseph American male actors 1955 births Living people Actors from Savannah, Georgia Tisch School of the Arts alumni