Attention to Detail in "Shakespeare in Love"

Pin It

I have in my hand the published screenplay for Shakespeare in Love.  My mom finds these things for me at her weekend yard sales - if it says Shakespeare on it she grabs it first and asks questions later :).

So I'm reading random pages and I notice in one particular scene that James Hemmings has a line.  "Hmmm," I think, "Hemmings of Hemmings  (Heminges) and Condell? The First Folio guys? I thought that was John.."

<goooooogle>

It was John. And I can't find any references to him having a brother James.  But!  That got me thinking, isn't there a list of the names of principal actors in the First Folio?  Yes, yes there is.

Check out the cast for Shakespeare in Love.  I'm pretty sure that most of these guys didn't get any lines, but I love that they still got to play actual historic figures.  (Richard Burbage and Henry Condell actually appear as well, I couldn't get them all on the page!)

Now check out the names of the principal actors, right from the FF.  How many can you spot?

http://sceti.library.upenn.edu/sceti/printedbooksNew/index.cfm?TextID=firstfolio&PagePosition=15

Ironically for him, Ned Alleyn is not on that list :)