Well he's done Ariel in The Tempest and Hamlet on stage but there are two other Shakespearean characters that I'd love Ben Whishaw to take on: Iago in Othello (would be great to see him play a baddie) and Richard II the King brought down in part by his own arrogance.
And so imagine my delight when this story pops up on my google alerts this morning that he is indeed to take on the role on the small screen in a BBC co-production directed by Rupert Goold who has been doing amazing things at the RSC.
To add to the excitement Rory Kinnear, who recently impressed as Hamlet at the National Theatre will play Bolingbroke who brings about Richard's downfall. It will reunite the two actors who worked together on Hamlet at the Old Vic (Kinnear played Laertes).
Now I would rather see it on stage as Shakespeare is a difficult genre to make work on screen but I'm not going to complain and it is the BBC who tend to be pretty good at these things. The BBC connection also means I won't be waiting two years to see it after production finishes, as was the case with The Tempest.
I feel like all my birthdays have come at once. *applauds while jumping up and down like a five year old*
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