Editing Jeremy Brett (section)

===Stage and screen===
[[File:Jeremy Brett Headshot.jpg|thumb|upright|Brett in 1953]]
Brett made his professional acting debut in rep at the [[Library Theatre]] in Manchester in 1954, and his London stage debut with the [[Old Vic]] company in ''[[Troilus and Cressida]]'' in 1956.<ref name=somejoe>{{cite book |last=Slide |first=Anthony |title=Some Joe You Don't Know: An American Biographical Guide to 100 British Television Personalities |publisher=Greenwood Press |year=1996}}</ref> He made his first appearance in a major film with ''[[War and Peace (1956 film)|War and Peace]]'' (1956), which starred [[Audrey Hepburn]].<ref name="BFI Filmog">{{cite web |title=Filmography: Brett, Jeremy |url=http://ftvdb.bfi.org.uk/sift/individual/6219?view=credit&page=2 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090206185449/http://ftvdb.bfi.org.uk/sift/individual/6219?view=credit&page=2 |url-status=dead |archive-date=6 February 2009 |work=Film & TV Database |publisher=[[British Film Institute]] |access-date=16 August 2012}}</ref>

Also in 1956, he appeared on [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]] as the Duke of Aumerle in ''Richard II''.<ref>{{cite journal |journal=Contemporary Theatre, Film, and Television |title=Richard II |volume=15 |publisher=GALE |year=1996}}</ref> In 1959, Brett had a singing role as the romantic lead of Archie Forsyth in the West End musical ''Marigold''. Also in 1959, he played the part of Hamlet; however, on reflection, in a [[BBC2]] television documentary ''Playing the Dane'', Brett later said that "I don't think I was very good as Hamlet. I think I was too young. I was too young intellectually. I was too young philosophically. I was [[Byronic]]. I was very handsome. I had qualities, but I'd much rather see other people's [version]. I wasn't convinced by me". The respected theatre critic [[Harold Hobson]] wrote of Brett's portrayal that "the incestuous bed was the centre of his performance". He played many classical roles on stage, including about a dozen [[Shakespearean]] parts at [[the Old Vic]], in New York and four while Brett was a member of the [[National Theatre Company]] from 1967 to 1970.<ref name="BAFTA4JB">{{cite web |url=http://www.bafta4jb.com/jeremy-brett-his-work/theatre-listing |title=Jeremy Brett his work: Theatre listing | work=bafta4jb |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304091328/http://www.bafta4jb.com/jeremy-brett-his-work/theatre-listing/ |archive-date=4 March 2016}}</ref>

From the early 1960s, Brett was often on British television. He starred in several serials, including as [[d'Artagnan]] in an adaptation of ''[[The Three Musketeers]]'' (1966). His highest profile film appearance was as Freddy Eynsford-Hill in ''My Fair Lady'' (1964), again with Audrey Hepburn. Although Brett sang well, as he later demonstrated when he played Danilo in a BBC Television broadcast of ''[[The Merry Widow]]'' (Christmas Day 1968), his singing in ''My Fair Lady'' was dubbed by [[Bill Shirley]]. Around this time, Brett was considered to replace [[Sean Connery]] as [[James Bond]] (007), but turned the part down, feeling that playing 007 would harm his career. [[George Lazenby]] was subsequently cast instead.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://sabotagetimes.com/tv-film/james-bond-the-men-who-couldve-been-007 |title=James Bond: The Men Who Could've Been 007 |first=Roger |last=Domeneghetti |date=19 October 2015 |website=Sabotage Times |archive-date=23 April 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180423170017/https://sabotagetimes.com/tv-film/james-bond-the-men-who-couldve-been-007 |url-status=usurped }}</ref>

Some of his appearances were in classical comedic roles, such as Captain Absolute in a television version of ''[[The Rivals]]'' (1970) and Bassanio in [[William Shakespeare]]'s ''[[The Merchant of Venice]]'' (1970) in a National Theatre Company production directed by [[Jonathan Miller]], which also featured [[Laurence Olivier]] (as [[Shylock]]) and [[Joan Plowright]] (as Portia). This was adapted for television in 1973 with the same three leads. Brett joked that, as an actor, he was rarely allowed into the 20th century and ''never'' into the present day. He did, though, appear in a few contemporary guest roles, in a couple of the [[ITC Entertainment|ITC]] series such as ''[[The Baron (TV series)|The Baron]]'' (1967) and ''[[The Champions]]'' (1969), wherein he was cast as swarthy, smooth [[villain]]s. Brett also appeared in ''[[The Incredible Hulk (1977 TV series)|The Incredible Hulk]]'' ("Of Guilt, Models and Murder", 1977) and starred as Maxim in the 1979 adaptation of [[Daphne du Maurier]]'s ''[[Rebecca (novel)|Rebecca]]'' opposite [[Joanna David]].

Jeremy Brett's final, posthumous film appearance was an uncredited bit part as the artist's father in ''[[Moll Flanders (1996 film)|Moll Flanders]]'', a 1996 Hollywood feature film starring [[Robin Wright Penn]] in the title role. The film (not to be confused with the 1996 ITV adaptation starring [[Alex Kingston]]) was released nearly a year after Brett's death.<ref name="BFI Filmog" />