ANONYMOUS Character Card #3- Rafe Spall as William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare
Played by Rafe Spall

Character Bio:
Despite being credited with writing 37 plays, 154 sonnets and several epic poems and being the most performed playwright of all time, no documentation exists that proves Shakespeare wrote a single word.

Relationships:
• To The Earl of Southampton: Shakespeare dedicated several of his works to this patron, one that even declared "What I have done is yours; what I have to do is yours."

• To Queen Elizabeth: Queen Elizabeth Loved the theater and often invited troupes to perform at the palace.

• To The Earl of Oxford: If Shakespeare is not the author of the plays, who is it? Many believe that Edward de Vere, the Earl of Oxford is the best candidate.

Actor Bio:

RAFE SPALL (William Shakespeare) has an exciting year ahead; in addition to Anonymous, he has two other highly anticipated projects due for release: "The Shadow Line" for BBC2 and the romantic comedy feature One Day.

Last year, Spall starred on television in the Channel 4 comedy "Pete Vs Life," in which his lead character tackles life's dilemmas to the backdrop of sports style commentating. The popular series has been commissioned for a second series, due to start filming in April this year. Spall has also just returned from Dublin where he filmed the feature Earthbound, a sci-fi romance in which he plays lead character.

2009 saw Spall in the thriller The Scouting Book for Boys, directed by Tom Harper. The film previewed to critical acclaim at the London Film Festival and won its writer, Jack Thorne, the award for Best British Newcomer. Spall's other film credits include British comedy Hot Fuzz directed by Edgar Wright, in which he appeared alongside Simon Pegg, Martin Freeman and Bill Nighy, and the romantic drama A Good Year, directed Ridley Scott and starring Russell Crowe and Marion Cotillard. He also appeared in award-winning Kidulthood, the comedy drama Shaun of the Dead, and The Calcium Kid, directed by Nick Cohen.