Ray Stevenson's Dream Was To Bring This Shakespeare Tragedy To The Big Screen

The late Irish actor Ray Stevenson was quite an expert at playing outsize heavies and larger-than-life characters. It's no wonder that he appeared in films like "Punisher: War Zone," the most enjoyably violent movie in the Marvel Comics canon, or "RRR" a maximalist piece of Telugu cinema that felt like several action films crammed into one. In the latter, Stevenson was particularly theatrical, snarling melodramatically as a colonialist villain. Stevenson stops just short of actually twirling his mustache in that film. 

Stevenson passed away on May 22, 2023, at the age of 58 leaving behind a colorful legacy of villains from widely seen franchise films and TV shows. 

Stevenson occasionally brushed up against the classics, although it was usually in a comic book milieu. He appeared in a film adaptation of "The Three Musketeers," but it was a literarily inaccurate action bonanza directed by Paul W.S. Anderson. He played one of the Knights of the Round Table, but it was in a modern, action-heavy "King Arthur" film by Antoine Fuqua. He also appeared as Blackbeard the Pirate in "Black Sails," and a highly fictionalized Titus Pullo in the TV series "Rome."

Back in 2008, Stevenson was interviewed by Collider about "Punisher: War Zone," and he revealed that he had his sights on a particular classical role that he would love to play. It would be a more complex role than some of his previous jobs and would allow him to chew into the beautiful prose of the Bard. Stevenson dreamed of playing the title character in William Shakespeare's "Coriolanus."

"Coriolanus" is one of Shakespeare's less-performed tragedies. The title character is a Roman general named Caius Marcius who achieves great victory on the battlefield and who has achieved a grand reputation as a military master. Thanks to a victory at Corioli, he gets his titular nickname. He also has a direct military rival in the form of Aufidius, very much his equal. The Roman Senate's image is tarnished in the minds of the public, and as a P.R. stunt, they choose to install Coriolanus as a politician. Their choice proves disastrous. It seems Coriolanus has no talent for politicking or public speaking — he is a living cudgel — and he gets frustrated. He eventually lashes out at the public, saying that democracy is dumb and the people have no idea what they want. Coriolanus is kicked out of the country and subsequently joins forces with Aufidius to attack in retaliation. 

In 2008, there were no high-profile films of "Coriolanus," and Stevenson wanted to be the first to take a crack at it. This was a dream project, even though he was no fan of Shakespeare movies. In his words: 

"In a weird way — even though they never make good movies — there's a Shakespeare play I've always been intrigued by: 'Coriolanus.' It's potentially one of the most potent and revealing scripts. I love the play. I'd love to do that as a movie one day. But who knows? Dream projects will be to just keep working with great people? It's as simple as that. It sounds flip, but it's not. I am living the dream. May I never wake up." 

In 2011, Ralph Fiennes directed and starred in a modern-day (and very, very good) update of "Coriolanus." Stevenson, sadly, did not appear. 

In 2008, Stevenson had already adopted a very diplomatic view of his career. He felt that he couldn't wait for people to invite him into dream projects, or even that such projects were worth pursuing if it meant stepping away from other projects. Eventually, he felt, a reputation can be built and a script can be sold. Work first, build yourself up, and then worry about when you can fit in a dream project. His credo always kept him busy and always kept him near the kinds of actors and directors he wanted to work with. Stevenson said: 

"The best piece of advice I've ever been given was, 'Be in the business you're in.' Don't just be a satellite around it and expect it to come to you. Be in the business you're in. If that means you can position yourself to a point where you can garner enough support financially or otherwise, you can actually enable a story to be made. A script you believe in. If you can actually have it created because of your involvement, that's a wonderful position to be in. You can enable certain stories to come out that may otherwise never see the light of day. I thought, who knows? I'm open to it."

Stevenson worked so much that audiences will be able to enjoy several posthumous releases from the actor. Still coming are feature films called "1242: Gateway to the West" and "Cassino in Ischia." He will also appear in the upcoming "Star Wars" spinoff series "Ahsoka," set to debut in August of 2023. His outsize villains will live with us for a little while longer.