Frankly, I've never cared much for him as an actor. He was commanding as Henry V but - while his version of Hamlet is an excellent, stirring adaptation - it has one fatal flaw in his casting himself in the title role.

I was not impressed with his portrayal of Olivier in My Week with Marilyn - although perhaps I was immediately turned off by how blindingly obvious that casting seemed...

@rudely_murray said:

Frankly, I've never cared much for him as an actor. He was commanding as Henry V but - while his version of Hamlet is an excellent, stirring adaptation - it has one fatal flaw in his casting himself in the title role.

I was not impressed with his portrayal of Olivier in My Week with Marilyn - although perhaps I was immediately turned off by how blindingly obvious that casting seemed...

I like him in Hamlet. The problems I have with it don't involve his performance. What I think should have been done with Hamlet is to produce the edited version that was initially planned. (There's a reason Hamlet has since first staged been edited when performed.)

In recent years, what I've seen him in mostly are filmed-and-aired-in-cinemas versions of stage productions (MacBeth, The Winter's Tale, The Entertainer). On the evidence of those alone, I'd say he's a great actor.