Mr Burton: English actors show the Welsh how it’s done

Stephen Price

The trailer for a biopic of legendary Welsh actor Richard Burton was released earlier this week – and in a recurring theme for films about Wales and the Welsh, the lead roles have all gone to folk from England.

In a surprise to no one, Welsh actors have been sidelined yet again in Richard Burton biopic, Mr Burton, with Aneurin Barnard and Aimee-Ffion Edwards turning up for two supporting roles in order to add a touch of authenticity, or perhaps to shut us up on social media.

The film is said to tell ‘the moving, untold story of Richard Burton’s formative years and the man who became his guiding hand and inspiration’.

Mr Burton will focus on wild schoolboy Rich Jenkins, the son of a boozy miner, and the English teacher who recognised his talent, Philip Burton – transforming Rich Jenkins into Richard Burton the biggest star Wales has ever produced.

Give us a break

We’re not ones to riot any more, to our credit, but we’re all certainly growing tired of watching our talent sidelined, our accents aped poorly and continued and offensive missed opportunity to grow another Catherine Zeta Jones or Luke Evans in some sort of industry-approved act of self fulfilling prophecy

‘Ah but we need big names, we need bums on seats, what about Welsh people playing other roles?!??!?!’ I’ll be told.

Give us a break (literally).

There is no even playing field whereby English language roles in Wales come up often, for one.

As a minority people within the UK, if we’re not getting any of the big roles outside of our country, surely we should get a look in on our own turf now and then?

In this Welsh-faced movie, we see Richard dreaming of becoming an actor, but his ambitions are in danger of being derailed by a combination of family trouble, the pressure of war, and his own lack of discipline.

Mr Burton recognised the raw talent in his pupil, and made it his mission to fight for him, becoming his tutor, strict taskmaster and eventually his adoptive father.

Hammersmith-born Toby Jones, fresh from his acclaimed performance in the TV series Mr Bates vs. The Post Office, will star in the title role, with rising star, and Oxford native, Harry Lawtey playing the young Richard Jenkins.

 

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A post shared by Aneurin Barnard (@aneurin.b)

Oscar nominee, and Brighton native, Lesley Manville plays ‘Ma Smith’, Philip Burton’s landlady and close confidante, who acts as a watchful eye and guiding force over young Richard, while Aimee-Ffion Edwards and Aneurin Barnard have been thrown some crumbs and will play ‘Cis’ and ‘Elfed’, Richard’s elder sister and brother-in-law who looked after him after the death of his mother (no doubt on hand to offer some advice on how not to do a bad impression of a Welsh accent).

Shooting finished on the movie in summer 2024, with Aneurin Barnard posting about the shoot on his Instagram page, while Toby Jones was snapped DJing at the wrap party.

Surprisingly, the film has been financed by BBC Wales and Ffilm Cymru Wales, in partnership with Creative Wales, with Marc Evans helming the movie as director – so why, must I ask again, are English folk playing the lead roles?

History repeating

But then, of course, we also know all too well the long history of Welsh people being overlooked for Welsh roles.

From recent travesties such as Save the Cinema, Bridgend and Gwen, or slightly older films such as Very Annie Mary and The Englishman Who Went up a Hill but Came Down a Mountain right back to the early days of cinema and the abomination that is How Green Was My Valley, movies about Wales and the Welsh without the right approach to Welsh input always fail to gain genuine homegrown acclaim.

We all know, at least this side of the border anyway, that there isn’t one Welsh accent, so the actors will have tried a generic possibly-somewhere-in-the-valleys-but-not-too-deep-butt accent. The lead will have ‘studied’ Burton’s accent on YouTube.

Because that’s all it take’s to pass the test, just get the accent right, it’s all fine otherwise, isn’t it?

To give our roles out to others as if we aren’t a distinct people with a distinct cultural identity is a disrespect on the same level as any other miscasting of marginalised people.

Is it any wonder so many countries across the world use England and Britain interchangeably when, even on this relatively small level, we aren’t even given an opportunity to be represented?

Lost opportunity

To cast all lead actors from outside of Wales does a complete disservice to one of Wales’ most celebrated sons and the people around him, and portrays an image of Wales that simply isn’t real.

Taking on the responsibility of sharing Burton’s story with the world is just that – a responsibility, and in the search for assumed wider appeal, it’s got it wrong before it’s even out there.

The arts are embedded in Welsh culture, acting prowess is in our blood, and there has never been a shortage of Welsh talent.

When it comes to telling uniquely Welsh stories, our own people are naturally the best people for the job, and this is yet another lost opportunity to let our own talent shine on the world stage. And that is a shame.

And aside from the missed chance for Welsh talent on the world stage, does anyone involved actually expect Welsh audiences to want this fed back to them?

Watching the trailer for Mr Burton made for uncomfortable viewing, and I can’t imagine watching more without feeling sad that this might be a new generation’s first impression of a Welsh acting giant. The heart, the soul, the Welshness, completely ripped out.

Like Martin Clunes’ recent ITV drama, Out There, I get a sense of the real actors – the ones from over the border, Gods on set – dropping their jackets and assuming an air of ‘Watch and learn, Welshies.. this is how it’s done.’

‘Do better, will ewe mun!’

One can only imagine the heights Richard Burton himself might have reached had he been of such a high calibre.

Mr Burton is set to hit screens on 4 April 2025 to coincide with the centenary of Richard Burton’s birth.

I’ll be washing my hair.