36 Facts About Charles Macklin

Charles Macklin is famous for accidentally killing a man during a fight over a wig at the same theatre.

Charles Macklin was born in County Donegal in the Irish region of Ulster in the north of Ireland.

Charles Macklin was raised in Dublin, where he attended school in Islandbridge after his father's death and his mother's remarriage.

Charles Macklin became known for his many performances in the tragedy and comedy genre of plays.

Charles Macklin gained his greatest fame in the role of Shylock in The Merchant of Venice.

Charles Macklin enjoyed a long career which was often steeped in controversy before dying aged 97.

Thomas Kirkman and William Cooke, in Eminent Actors, assert that "William MacLochlainn, father of Charles Macklin, had a daughter and a son, who were born two months prior to the Battle of the Boyne, which took place in 1690".

Charles Macklin found various jobs as an actor in London, but, apparently, his Ulster accent was an obstacle to success and he could not find a steady theatre home until he was noticed in a small character role in Henry Fielding's Coffee-House Politician at Lincoln's Inn Fields in 1725.

Charles Macklin devotes a lengthy section of his memoirs to Quin, giving examples of their disagreements.

Charles Macklin admits that "nothing but the necessity of business could ever make them associate together".

Charles Macklin studied Josephus' Antiquities of the Jews, and in the old testament.

Charles Macklin learned that Italian Jews, especially from Venice, were known to wear red hats, so he took that as a basis for his costume.

In seeking to portray Jews exactly how they looked, Charles Macklin emphasised the notion of historical accuracy in costuming, which would later become an inherent feature of realism in the 19th century.

Charles Macklin himself confesses, "On my return to the green-room, after the play was over, it was crowded with nobility and critics, who all complimented me in the warmest and most unbounded manner".

Charles Macklin did have a varied career, filled with at least 490 roles, but none of them were anywhere near the uproar his Shylock caused.

Charles Macklin played Shylock for nearly the next fifty years, as well as Iago in Othello and the Ghost in Hamlet.

Charles Macklin was the creator of Sir Pertinax Macsycophant, a famous burlesque character, and he was Macbeth at Covent Garden in 1772, in a production with authentic Scottish costumes.

Together with David Garrick, his student, friend, and partner, Charles Macklin revolutionised acting in the 18th century.

Garrick and Charles Macklin eventually had a falling out in the mid-1740s, which derailed Charles Macklin's rise whilst propelling Garrick's own career.

Charles Macklin acted regularly in Dublin, in the Aunger Street and Smock Alley Theatres and in the Crow Street Theatre, which he founded in 1758.

Charles Macklin was replaced by Samuel Foote at Drury Lane when he was appearing in An Englishman in Paris.

Maria Charles Macklin remained in the cast and Charles Macklin opened his own establishment in 1753.

Charles Macklin opened a tavern at which he gave a nightly lecture followed by a debate, which Macklin called the British Inquisition.

Maria Charles Macklin was included in the painting in the role of Portia and Jane Lessingham is at the foot of the dias.

Charles Macklin returned to the stage, but finally retired in 1789, when he found he was no longer able to recall the entire part of Shylock.

Charles Macklin lived another eight years, supported by the income from a subscription edition of two of his best plays, The Man of the World and Love in a Maze.

Charles Macklin wrote many plays, including Love a la Mode, The School for Husbands, or The Married Libertine, and The Man of the World.

Charles Macklin revolutionised acting in the 18th century by introducing a natural style of acting, being the first actor of his generation to break away from the old declamatory style.

Charles Macklin taught his students three fundamental pauses: moderate, longer, and grand.

Charles Macklin was one of the forerunners to stress the need to regularise rehearsals.

Charles Macklin was not only concerned about his individual actors, but with the whole production, and so everyone had to come prepared and on time.

Charles Macklin's name was thought to be Ann Grace or Ann Grace Purvor.

Charles Macklin was a noted actress and she assumed the name of Macklin although it is likely the pair never married.

Charles Macklin lived a tempestuous life, often involved in lawsuits, sometimes acting as his own lawyer.

Charles Macklin was tried for murder, conducted his own defence and, though not acquitted, escaped with manslaughter.

Charles Macklin's drive and discipline to perfect himself as an actor and teacher still inspires theatre practitioners today.