Damian Lewis as Antony in Julius Caesar: 'Friends, Romans, countrymen' | Shakespeare Solos

Nothing is dated or timed out with Shakespeare's eloquence, as if of now.
The honorable man is epitomised.

Man captain winters seems really to not like this Brutus guy

Better than Brando.

Brilliant. Still listening in 2025. I did this in school 40 years ago

Im relieved he didnt say "honorable man" too much, bad authors do this mistake

OH. MY. GO. End up being totally different than expected... what a masterpiece, i see i have been using this word innaproprietly now that watched this, the heart part was SO PERFECT. I desperately want to write like this.

I can still recite this due to excellent teaching skills in 8th grade. RIP Arlene Glenn. WJHS 1990

How to say "F you" with dignity

Uk actors are top class no doubt,they embody and bring to life characters by their marvelous acting

i wish i could like this a thousand times

ANY 2025 ICSE EXAMINATION GIVERS HERE??????

This is just incredible - emotional, relatable, powerful. Exceptional acting, what the art should be.

Does Mr. Lewis have a cold?

The trouble with this version of the speech is that it is completely devoid of the context that the play gives it; Lewis speaks it as an intimate moment between him and a listener, whereas it is actually a public political speech intended to affect a crowd of people. In this context the Brando version is far superior, a masterclass in political manipulation, which is reinforced by the occasional cutting to the crowd responses - written in Shakespeare's text but not in Lewis' version. Brando achieves larger-than-life emotional power, yet keeps the speech firmly in the public context with the political complexity that it occupies in the play.

How can give thousand likes. One is not enough. Awesome performance.

Brutus may also have been Caesar's illegitimate son. It was known in Caesar's lifetime that he carried on an affair with Brutus's mother well before he was born.

Why does this man look like Van Gogh?

I remember finding this vid while tripping on lsd and man the rabbit hole i fell down that hole

Why do Romans always have English accents?

I can't believe we will never hear James Purefoy doing this speech...

What a diction ! What a man

bear with me; my heart is in the coffin with ceaser ,and i must pause till it comes back to me...❤

Weakest delivery in history.

Something about seeing Axlerod delivering this speech makes me very suspicious about whatever shenanigans Ceasar was up to

I'd listened to this video many times before even learning of his role in wolf hall

"Sir! We're pinned down by heavy fire! Sir?! What are your orders??!!"

B R A V O !

Wow this is perfection! Masterful job!

: )

I still prefer Heston's version best, but not gonna lie... this man nailed it!

The way Lewis brings out Shakespeare’s insults of Brutus (is an honorable man) concluding with “brutish beasts” stuns each time I watch this.

Just....Amazing work.

This speech is a masterpiece of psychological and emotional manipulation.

Masterful. Thank you.

That Brutus fella seems like a real jerk.

I used to think Shakespeares plays were just pretentious drivel used by many to look down upon everyone else. But when done properly and spoken with such clarity and emotion it becomes so real and so modern. Its beautiful.

I clearly remember having to memorize this soliloquy during a lunch hour while in high school because I would be graded for recalling it in my first afternoon class. Line by line, I must have read it 20-30 times. Choosing to write it, instead of perform it, I received 100%. But during that time where it was my sole focus in life, I never once spent any time paying attention to the meaning of the words and the message Antony was expressing. Today, 46 years later, I’ve actually listened to the message and appreciate the richness of Antony’s speech in the context of Roman culture and politics. It, also for a scintilla of time, transported me into the Elizabethan Globe Theatre, where I could appreciate the art within both the writing and performance. For me, it’s such a profoundly unique event to have such an experience at a random moment of time brought by happenstance. Yet I feel like a better person for it.

brutus was an honorable man. He proved it when he took his own life

Chilling

To act and to speak in iambic pentameters with intonation… what a skilled man.

i am sure he is an honorable man

¯\_(ツ)_/¯ it was eh

!!!!

Brando is better!

This is how Shakespeare should be taught in schools.

Why so much love for this? Very average

This is the most moving interpretation I have had the pleasure of listening to… and watching. He leaves little to the imagination as to the thoughts and feelings of the character. The only thing I am not fond of is the limited amount of text read. Beautifully done!

‘Bear with me. My heart is in the coffin. There with Caesar’

The flecks of spittle on the third statement that “Brutus is an honourable man…” show him really getting into it. Powerful, powerful words; as someone else said, not some bored high-schooler with no idea what the story is, but sarcastic emphasis building to him saying, “You all loved him once!” Amazing performance.