Richard Clifford is one of those rare figures in British theatre and film who has built a genuinely impressive career on talent, dedication, and a quiet but commanding screen presence — without ever chasing the limelight. Many people first come across his name through his marriage to the legendary Sir Derek Jacobi, but anyone who looks a little closer quickly discovers that Richard Clifford stands entirely on his own. His career spans five decades, his commitment to Shakespeare runs deep, and his directing legacy stretches from London’s most storied stages to Washington D.C.’s celebrated Folger Shakespeare Library.
Who Is Richard Clifford? The Early Life of a Future Stage Veteran
Richard Clifford was born on June 11, 1955, in India — a detail that adds an intriguing international thread to what is otherwise a quintessentially British theatrical career. His full birth name is William Henry Richard Clifford, though the world has come to know him simply as Richard Clifford. He grew up with a love of literature and language, and much of that passion traces back to a single, formative influence: an English teacher at school who genuinely lit the spark.
That teacher didn’t just make Shakespeare accessible — they made it irresistible. Richard has spoken openly about how his love of the Bard began in the classroom, nurtured by a teacher who encouraged him both as a performer and as a serious reader of literature. That early encouragement planted a seed that grew into a lifelong obsession — not just performing Shakespeare’s plays, but eventually questioning who actually wrote them.
By the late 1970s, Richard had launched his professional acting career, starting with engagements at regional theatres and London venues. He performed at the Bristol Hippodrome and The Old Vic during the 1978–1979 season, with an early standout role as Voltimand in Hamlet at The Old Vic in 1979–1980. These were formative years — the unglamorous, grind-it-out stage work that most serious British actors will tell you is the best training there is.
From the Stage to the Screen: Richard Clifford’s Acting Career
By the early 1980s, Richard Clifford’s career began gathering real momentum. He joined the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) for the 1983–1984 season at the Barbican Theatre in London, appearing in multiple productions including Cyrano de Bergerac, Henry V, and The Tempest. Working at the RSC is a significant milestone for any British actor — it demands absolute command of classical text — and Richard clearly delivered on every count.
His connection to Kenneth Branagh’s Shakespearean film adaptations is one of the most recognizable threads in his screen career. Richard appeared in Branagh’s Henry V (1989), Much Ado About Nothing (1993), Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein (1994), and Love’s Labour’s Lost (2000). These weren’t box-ticking supporting roles — they were ensemble pieces where every performance counted, and Richard held his own alongside some of the biggest names in British cinema. He has credited Branagh with bringing Shakespeare to mainstream film audiences more effectively than almost anyone else of his generation, and that admiration clearly runs both ways.
Beyond Branagh’s orbit, Richard has built an extensive and varied television career. His credits include The Crown (where he played designer Norman Hartnell), It’s a Sin, Murder on the Orient Express (2017), Midsomer Murders, Whitechapel, The Tudors, Goodbye Christopher Robin, and even Zack Snyder’s Justice League (2021) — a range that speaks to his genuine versatility. He has also lent his voice to audio productions for Big Finish Productions, voicing several characters in the Doctor Who extended universe, earning a devoted following among fans of the franchise.
Over the course of his career, Richard Clifford has accumulated more than 36 screen credits. That is a substantial body of work for someone who has never courted celebrity or tabloid attention. He is, in every sense of the phrase, a working actor who takes his craft seriously.
Richard Clifford as a Theatre Director: The Folger Years
If his acting career alone would make for a solid legacy, Richard Clifford’s work as a theatre director elevates things to a different level entirely. For twenty years, Richard served as a director at the Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington D.C. — one of the world’s most prestigious Shakespeare institutions. The Folger houses the largest collection of Shakespeare’s printed works outside the UK, and its theatre is known for rigorous, intelligent productions that attract serious audiences.
During those two decades, Richard directed productions that earned widespread critical respect. His credits at the Folger include She Stoops to Conquer, All’s Well That Ends Well, Mary Stuart, Amadeus, and numerous musical concerts with the Folger Consort. His 2019 production of Peter Shaffer’s Amadeus drew particular attention for its taut, psychologically charged staging — critics noted that Richard brought a fresh perspective to a play that could easily feel overfamiliar in lesser hands.
What makes his directorial approach distinctive is the same quality that makes him compelling as an actor: a commitment to emotional truth over theatrical effect. He doesn’t direct Shakespeare for spectacle — he directs it for meaning. That distinction matters enormously, and it is precisely what institutions like the Folger look for. His decades of performing across the world — from the United States to China — have also given his directing work an international breadth that most British theatre directors simply don’t have.
His long association with the Folger deepened his engagement with the Shakespeare authorship question, a subject that began to fascinate him after he first read Charlton Ogburn’s The Mysterious William Shakespeare in the early 2000s. That curiosity eventually led him to complete an MA in the Shakespeare Authorship Question at Brunel University, where he examined the case for Edward de Vere, the 17th Earl of Oxford, as the true author of the plays — a view he shares with his husband, Sir Derek Jacobi.
Richard Clifford and Derek Jacobi: A Love Story That Spans Five Decades
It is impossible to write about Richard Clifford without giving real attention to his relationship with Sir Derek Jacobi, because it is genuinely one of the most enduring and quietly remarkable partnerships in British entertainment history. The two men have been together since the late 1970s — a relationship that began when Derek was around 39 and Richard was just 22. The 17-year age gap has, by all accounts, never been a meaningful obstacle between them.
Derek Jacobi needs little introduction, but here is a quick one anyway: he is among the most celebrated actors in British history. A BAFTA, Olivier, Emmy, Screen Guild, and Tony Award winner, he was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 1994 for his services to theatre and has delivered iconic performances across stage, television, and film — from Claudius in the BBC’s I, Claudius to Senator Gracchus in Ridley Scott’s Gladiator and its 2024 sequel. By any measure, he is a titan of British culture.
And yet, by all accounts, it is Richard Clifford who keeps the household grounded. Derek has said in interviews that the older he gets, the more he relies on Richard — not just in practical terms, but emotionally. Richard serves as Derek’s steadying presence, the calm and organized force that allows a man of enormous creative energy to simply get on with the work. Within their close circle, Derek is known as “Del” — a nickname Richard uses too — and the warmth and playfulness of their dynamic comes through clearly in every interview they have given together.
After 27 years as a couple, they registered a civil partnership in March 2006, just four months after civil unions became legally available in England and Wales. They did not rush to the registry office the moment the law changed, but they did not wait long. Then, in October 2018, on Derek’s 80th birthday, they converted that partnership into a legal marriage. The choice to marry on a partner’s 80th birthday says something quietly beautiful about the kind of relationship this is. Neither has wanted children, a decision both have discussed openly, though they have several godchildren and clearly enjoy the company of the younger people in their lives.
The couple lives in West Hampstead in northwest London. Their home, by all descriptions, reflects exactly who they are — full of art, books, and the lived-in warmth that only decades of shared life can produce.
On-Screen Together: When Richard Clifford and Derek Jacobi Shared the Frame
One of the most enjoyable aspects of Richard and Derek’s story is how often their professional and personal worlds have overlapped. The two have appeared together in no fewer than six films: Little Dorrit (1987), Henry V (1989), The Fool (1990), A Bunch of Amateurs (2008), My Week with Marilyn (2011), and Jail Caesar (2012).
That frequency is no accident. It reflects the fact that they move in the same professional circles, share the same passion for classical theatre, and simply work well together. Derek has spoken warmly about Richard’s performance in Much Ado About Nothing, naming it among his favorite examples of Richard’s work. Richard, in turn, has described Derek’s performances in Cyrano de Bergerac and King Lear as career pinnacles. There is something genuinely touching about a couple who serve simultaneously as each other’s most honest critics and most sincere admirers.
Their joint public appearances — the “An Evening With” events that have toured UK venues in recent years — further reveal a dynamic that audiences find genuinely joyful to witness. Richard typically hosts these evenings, drawing Derek out on his career, their shared love of Shakespeare, and the life they have built together. Audience members consistently describe these events as funny, warm, insightful, and unexpectedly moving.
The Shakespeare Authorship Question: A Shared Intellectual Passion
One of the less-discussed but genuinely fascinating aspects of Richard Clifford’s life is his deep engagement with the Shakespeare authorship debate. It might sound like a niche academic pursuit from the outside, but for Richard it is something much more personal — a real intellectual quest that has occupied him for over two decades.
His interest was first ignited around the turn of the millennium when he picked up Charlton Ogburn’s landmark study of the authorship question. The more he read, the deeper his curiosity went. He went on to complete a formal MA in the Shakespeare Authorship Question at Brunel University, engaging seriously with the historical and literary evidence surrounding the debate. His position supports the Oxfordian theory — the argument that Edward de Vere, the 17th Earl of Oxford, was the true author of the works attributed to William Shakespeare of Stratford-upon-Avon.
This is a view he shares with Derek Jacobi, who has been one of the most prominent public advocates for the Oxfordian position in recent years. Together, they represent one of the most credible and high-profile voices for this perspective within the British theatrical community. Their shared passion for the subject is also a regular feature of their public conversations, discussed with the kind of evidence-based enthusiasm that makes even committed skeptics pause.
Richard’s twenty years at the Folger Shakespeare Library gave him access to one of the world’s most significant collections of Shakespeare-era primary sources — manuscripts, printed texts, and historical documents that most researchers never get close to. That experience gives his views on the authorship question a grounding that goes well beyond casual theorizing, and it is one reason why serious scholars in this area take his perspective seriously.
FAQs
Who is Richard Clifford married to?
Richard Clifford is married to Sir Derek Jacobi, the celebrated British actor. The couple has been together since the late 1970s and formally married on Derek’s 80th birthday in October 2018.
What is Richard Clifford’s full name?
His full birth name is William Henry Richard Clifford, though he has always been known professionally simply as Richard Clifford.
What films is Richard Clifford known for?
Richard Clifford is best known for his roles in Kenneth Branagh’s Shakespearean film adaptations — particularly Much Ado About Nothing (1993), Henry V (1989), and Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein (1994) — as well as more recent productions like Justice League (2017) and Goodbye Christopher Robin (2017).
Has Richard Clifford worked as a theatre director?
Yes, and it is a major part of his legacy. Richard served as a director at the Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington D.C. for twenty years, with acclaimed productions including Amadeus, She Stoops to Conquer, and Mary Stuart.
Does Richard Clifford share Derek Jacobi’s views on Shakespeare?
He does. Both Richard and Derek Jacobi support the Oxfordian theory of Shakespeare authorship, which holds that Edward de Vere, the 17th Earl of Oxford, wrote the works traditionally attributed to William Shakespeare. Richard completed a formal MA in the Shakespeare Authorship Question at Brunel University to deepen his understanding of the subject.
Conclusion
Richard Clifford is, in the best possible way, a man who has never needed to shout to be heard. His acting career spans more than four decades and over 36 screen and stage credits. His work as a theatre director — twenty years at the Folger Shakespeare Library — represents a contribution to classical British theatre that stands on its own merit, entirely separate from who he happens to be married to. His intellectual engagement with the Shakespeare authorship debate reflects a curious, rigorous, and deeply serious mind. And his relationship with Sir Derek Jacobi, now approaching fifty years, is one of the most quietly extraordinary love stories in British entertainment.
