New-York tribune., 1921-05-08
$50 Important Roles
I'm s Years Is Record
Of Young Schildkraut

| Joseph Schildkraut, who Is appearing
in "Liliom," the Theater Guild pro-
ductiop at the Garrick Theater, brings
| to the part the advantage Of having
played about 150 important roles under
some of the best directors in the world
And this despite the fact that he has
been playing only since the fall of
1918. To those. who know only the
American theater, that sounds unbe-
lievable, but given conditions on the
Continental stage, it is perfectly un-
derstandable. Mr.. Schildkraut, In Ber-
lin and Vienna, played In repertoire
companies, and they have fashion of
producing interesting plays, even If
they know that they will be given FOR
only few performances. 1t was In
valuable experience for young actor,
and to 1t may be credited the fact that
Mr.. Schildkraut has technique which
usually is not found in actors until
they are we'll past their youth, into
middle age.
If there is anything in ancestry the
mixed blood in Mr.. Schildkraut may
account also for something of his
artistic temperament. He is a mix
ture of Rumanian, Hungarian, Spanish
and Turkish.
"My father, Rudolph Schildkraut,"
says Joseph Schildkraut, els Ru-
manian. He was born in Bucharest
and educated there. His parents want
ed him to go into business, but he was
determined to be an actor, and, as the
theater Of his country offered few op-
portunities, when he was seventeen, ne
left home. He had decided that he
would go either to Russia or to Ger
many, and finally decided on the latter
and went to Berlin. My mother is
Hungarian. l was born in Bucharest,
where my parents lived for q number
Of years. We left there when / was
three years old, when my father went
back to the Berlin stheater.
"When I was sixteen we came to this
country, as my father had an engage
ment at the Irving Place Theater,
playing in German. I entered the
Sargent School and was there for two
years. l didn't know any English when
came over, and, / think, when first
went to the dramatic school my broken
English must have been very amusing
to the other students. But they were
very kind to me--they didn't laugh at
me, and at my earnest request they
would correct me whenever | mispro-
nounced word or got an idiom wrong.
att will be eight years in the fall
since we returned to Europe. I went
to act in Max Reinhart's theater in
Berlin. Sometimes people look at me
little queerly, think, when I say
have played almost 150 parts Il don't
know the exact number myself, but it
happens that it is the truth. Some Of
the parts played only once--at spe-
cial performances, of which many are
for many performances, but, of course,
| have never played one part month in
and month out, as is so often done
when play Is success in this coun-
try.
Shakespeare? On, yes. have been
Hamlet, Romeo, Richard II and the
fool In King Lear. And over there I
played in three plays by Americans,
too---in Romance The Scarecrow' and
The Yellow Jacket have played in
lbsen and in plays by many of the
well known German, Austrian and
French playwrights.
"In 1917 I went to Vienna and played
there until came here a few months
ago. In Vienna had the great good
fortune to appear in The Affairs Of
Anatole' and number Of other Schni-
tzler plays, under the direction of the
author. / have also played in Budapest,
where 'Liliom' is laid. went to Hun
gary with the Max Reinhart company.
And now l have come back to America
and am hoping that shall stay here
long time and play many parts.
People often ask me which Of the
many parts have played like best.
| haven't any one favorite role, but If
| can name three, have no difficulty in
making nay choice. Those three are
Peer Gynt, Richard III and Liliom."