John Anthony Bell (born 1 November 1940) is an Australian actor, theatre director and theatre manager. He has been a major influence on the development of Australian theatre in the late 20th and early 21st centuries."John Bell", Sydney Theatre Company, 7 September 2016
Early life Bell was born 1 November 1940 in Newcastle, New South Wales,ABC: Talking Heads. Retrieved 18 February 2017 to a bank manager father and elocutionist mother. As the oldest child, he grew up alongside three younger sisters and a brother.
At age 9 or 10, he moved with his family to the town of Maitland, New South Wales where he was educated at the Marist Brothers College. At school, he studied Shakespeare, where he developed and performed one-man stage shows. At the age of 15, he developed aspirations to become a Shakespearean actor after seeing Laurence Olivier as Henry V on screen.
Bell auditioned for National Institute of Dramatic Art's (NIDA's) first intake in 1958 and was accepted, but his parents and teachers convinced him to go to Sydney University instead, where he studied an arts degree. He graduated with English Honours in 1962.
Career In 1963, the year after his university graduation, Bell joined the Old Tote Theatre Company, where he played the title role in Hamlet.
Bell relocated to the United Kingdom in 1964, after winning a scholarship from the British Council, and was invited to join the Royal Shakespeare Company. He spent five years with them as an Associate Artist. He returned to Australia in 1969 and taught at National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA).
In 1970, Bell co-founded the Nimrod Theatre Company in Sydney, and was Artistic Director, investing in producing Australian theatre. That same year, he directed the first production of The Legend of King O'Malley (a musical play based on the life of King O'Malley by Bob Ellis and Michael Boddy), featuring Robyn Nevin and Kate Fitzpatrick. He also directed plays by leading playwrights David Williamson, Ron Blair, Peter Kenna and Louis Nowra, including Williamson's Travelling North, The Club and The Removalists and Kenna's A Hard God. In 1985 he resigned from his role at Nimrod Theatre in order to freelance as a director and actor.
In 1990, he formed the Bell Shakespeare Company, performing and touring his own productions of Shakespeare's works. Amongst other plays, he has produced Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet, The Taming of the Shrew, Richard III, Pericles, Henry IV, Henry V, Julius Caesar, Antony and Cleopatra, The Comedy of Errors, The Merchant of Venice, The Tempest, King Lear, and Goldoni's The Servant of Two Masters.
His own roles for the company include Shylock, Richard III, Macbeth, Malvolio, Coriolanus, Leontes, Prospero, King Lear and Ulysses. He has also played Hamlet, Henry V, Berowne, Petruchio, Cyrano de Bergerac and Titus Andronicus. His performances in King Lear, Cyrano de Bergerac and Uncle Vanya were met with critical acclaim.
In 2009, Bell directed the opera Madama Butterfly for Oz Opera, which toured throughout Australia.
In 2011, he published the book "On Shakespeare", detailing his thoughts and reminiscences of playing Shakespeare for more than 50 years.
In 2015, at the age of 75, Bell retired from running Bell Shakespeare, handing the reins over to his successor, Peter Evans. He has since engaged as a corporate speaker, performed poetry recitals with pianist Simon Tedeschi and taken on further stage roles, including the title role in The Father with Sydney Theatre Company. Additionally, in his spare time, he started the Bouddi Foundation, based on the NSW central coast, which assists emerging
In 2021, Bell delivered the Boyer Lecture on the themes of "Life Lessons from Shakespeare", "Order vs Chaos", "Shakespeare's Women", and "Imaginary Forces"."More from Boyer Lectures", ABC Radio National The lectures demonstrate the relevance of Shakespeare's works to today's issues of need for good governance, the danger of political self interest, and the need for gender equality.
Honours and awards In the 1978 New Year Honours, Bell was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE). In the Queen's Birthday Honours of 1987, he was named a Member of the Order of Australia (AM). In the 2009 Australia Day Honours, he was named an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO).
In 2001 a painting of Bell by artist Nicholas Harding won the Archibald Prize.The 2001 Archibal Winner
In 2003 the Australian Prime Minister, John Howard, presented Bell with the Cultural Leader of the Year Award.
In 2016 he was awarded Australian Humanist of the Year (AHOY).
In 2019 Bell was elected as a fellow of the Royal Society of New South Wales.
His achievements in theatre have been acknowledged by the Universities of Newcastle (1994), Sydney (1996) and New South Wales, all of whom have awarded him honorary Doctor of Letters degrees.
Awards Year Work Award Category Result 1982 Far East AFI Awards Best Actor in a Supporting Role 1989 John Bell Mo Awards Male Supporting Musical Theatre Performer of the Year 2002 Richard III Helpmann Awards Best Male Actor in a Play 2009 John Bell Producers and Directors Guild Awards Lifetime Achievement 2009 John Bell Helpmann Awards JC Williamson Award 2010 John Bell Sydney Theatre Awards Lifetime Achievement 2011 Uncle Vanya Helpmann Awards Best Male Actor in a Supporting Role in a Play 2013 Henry IV Helpmann Awards Best Male Actor in a Play 2015 As You Like It Helpmann Awards Best Male Actor in a Supporting Role in a Play 2018 The Father Helpmann Awards Best Male Actor in a Play 2021 John Bell & Anna Volska Equity Ensemble Awards Australian Equity Lifetime Achievement Award
Personal life
Bell attended the University of Sydney with Clive James and Germaine Greer. He is a contemporary and friend of Bruce Beresford (film director, with whom he shared a house and for whom he did some film acting), Ken Horler, Mungo McCallum, Bob Ellis, Richard Wherrett, John Gaden, Laurie Oakes (journalist), and Les Murray (poet).
His brother is the artist Michael Bell.
Bell met Polish-born Australian actress and NIDA graduate Anna Volska in 1963, when they performed in a production of The Cherry Orchard together. Volska followed Bell to the UK when he joined the Royal Shakespeare Company, and they married in 1965 in Stratford-upon-Avon, where their two daughters were born.
The couple's daughters are playwright Hilary Bell (b. 1966) and Grass Roots actress Lucy Bell (b. 1968). Through their daughters, they have five grandchildren, the eldest of whom aspires to be a filmmaker.
Bell and Volska reside in the Sydney suburb of Woollahra.
Filmography
Film Year Title Role Notes 1962 The Devil to Pay John Grey Short film 1963 Clement Meadmore Narrator Short film 1976 Break of Day Arthur Feature film 1977 A Calendar of Dreamings Narrator Short film 1982 Far East Peter Reeves Feature film 2014 The Correspondent Feature film
Television Year Title Role Notes 1963 Ballad for One Gun Ned Kelly TV movie 1963 The Long Sunset Otho TV movie 1971 The Comedy Game Sean Crisp Season 1, episode 2: "Nice Day at the Office" 1972 The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui Arturo Ui TV movie 1973 The Taming of the Shrew Petruchio TV play of Old Tote Theatre production 1974 Hamlet Hamlet TV play of STC production 1975 Explorers William Wills Miniseries, episode 4: "The Story of Burke and Wills" 1984 The Explorers Wills Episode 9: "South to North" 1986 Hunger Romanian Consul TV movie 1989 Mission: Impossible Erik Vogel Season 2, episode 8: "The Fuehrer's Children" 1990 A Country Practice Peter Kerr Season 10, episode 34: "All or Nothing: Part 2" 2015 Deadline Gallipoli Lord Kitchener Miniseries, 2 episodes 2019 Lambs of God Bishop Malone 3 episodes 2019 Diary of an Uber Driver Ken 2025 The Twelve John Dallimore Season 3, episodes 5 and 6
As director Year Title Role Notes 1974 A Hard God Director TV movie 1974 Hamlet Director TV movie 2014 Tosca Stage Director TV movie
Stage
As actor