Anonymous: Joely Richardson shines on red carpet at Shakespeare film's premiere
Joely Richardson, the actress, joked on the red carpet with her Welsh co-star Rhys Ifans at the premiere of their film Anonymous at the London Film Festival.
Speaking to reporters before its screening in central London, Richardson described making the movie as "incredibly special".
"As a child growing up and watching her play Mary Queen of Scots and Glenda Jackson play Elizabeth, I never would have known that one day the two of us would be playing Elizabeth," she said.
Anonymous, directed by Independence Day's Roland Emmerich, presents the theory that actor William Shakespeare was not the author of Shakespeare's plays, but they were written by Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford, played by Ifans.
The Welsh actor, known for his comic roles, said: "It was something I'd never played before on film and I just thought it was an amazing character.
"What actor wouldn't want to play the author of such an amazing body of work?"
Harry Potter star David Thewlis, who plays the villainous William Cecil, Twilight star Jamie Campbell Bower, who plays the young de Vere, and Rafe Spall, who plays William Shakespeare, were also among those who attended the premiere.
Redgrave was not at the screening.
Despite the film portraying Shakespeare as a drunken man who could barely read, all the cast agreed the film was a celebration of Shakespeare's work.
Ifans said: "It's not an attack on Shakespeare, it's quite the opposite.
"It's a celebration of his work, and anyone who sees this film, if it encourages young people, or anyone, to revisit these plays, then it's very important.
"But there's absolutely no evidence to prove that William Shakespeare of Stratford was the author of these plays. So it's our duty as actors to ask the question and to offer up candidates. And Edward de Vere is a very convincing candidate."
