‘A voice infused with Welsh coal:’ Celebrating the centenary of the legendary actor Richard Burton

In 2025 Wales, and the world, are celebrating the centenary of Richard Burton, the celebrated Welsh-born theatre actor and Hollywood star, known for his powerful presence and distinctive gravelly voice, which he claimed was infused with Welsh coal.

Richard rose from being a miner's son, to an award-winning theatre actor, to one half of the world's first 'celebrity couple' when he married screen actress Elizabeth Taylor. 

‘As the seventh son of a Welsh miner I knew hardship first hand,’ he said. One of thirteen children he was born in Port Talbot as Richard Jenkins. He won a scholarship to Oxford, changed his name to Richard Burton, and the rest was theatre, cinema, and celebrity history.

Described as a powerful and versatile actor, he was a formidable performer of Shakespeare, giving a memorable and acclaimed performance of 'Hamlet.' His talent was showcased by a wide range of roles, from intellectual and complex characters to romantic leads, and he was called the natural successor to Laurence Olivier, who was considered one of the greatest actors of all time. 

But then Hollywood came calling - and Elizabeth Taylor - followed by a media frenzy. 

In the 1960’s he became a top box office star and by the end of that decade he was the one of the world’s highest paid actors, famously marrying the British-American actor Elizabeth Taylor not once but twice, becoming the media’s first ‘celebrity couple’. Their initial affair on the set of ‘Cleopatra’ was denounced by the Pope himself as erotic vagrancy’.

His most praised films include 'Who's Afraid of Virginia Woof?', for which he won a BAFTA for Best Actor, alongside his then wife, Elizabeth Taylor, who won Best Actress. He followed this up the next year with the Best Actor BAFTA for 'The Spy who came in from the cold.'

The awards kept coming - he was nominated for seven Academy Awards, won a Most Promising Newcomer Golden Globe for 'My Cousin Rachel', a Best Actor Golden Globe for 'Equus'. and a Tony Award for his performance in 'Camelot'.

When the College opened its £22.5 million new buildings in 2011, Burton’s family both approved and endorsed the naming of our new theatre, and the inhouse theatre company that would perform there, in his honour.

His daughter, Kate Burton, the award-winning actor, and friend of the College, unveiled his bust at the opening ceremony:

The bronze sculpture of the Welsh actor which now sits at the entrance to the theatre that bears his name, had been given to the College as a gift by Dame Elizabeth Taylor.

The Hollywood legend had presented the bust to the former HRH the Prince of Wales, our then Patron, now President, at a College Gala at Buckingham Palace the year before.

The late actor and friend of Burton, Robert Hardy, who played Laertes to Burton’s famous ‘Hamlet’ (and was Cornelius Fudge in the Harry Potter franchise) gave a eulogy at the opening event, saying:

The College hosts a permanent exhibition previously unseen letters, photographs , documents and memorabilia, given to us by the family, and shedding new light on the legendary actor.   

As part of the College’s Richard Burton 100 celebrations we hosted a screening of 'Mur Burton' in the Richard Burton Theatre, followed by a Q&A with director Marc Evans, producer Ed Talfan, and John Hardy. And as a tribute, this season’s Richard Burton Company’s production included a version of ‘Hamlet’, one of the key Shakespeare plays associated with Burton.

The College's drama course has always focused on training actors who like Burton, have strong individual voices, showcasing actors who are at the cutting edge of the arts, disruptive, and trail-blazing, in challenging and thought-provoking roles.

Shaking up Shakespeare at The Globe this summer was a provocative new version of ‘Troilus and Cressida,’ exploring the cult of celebrity and the egos that propel wars forward, uniting recent grad Kasper Hilton-Hille, who was nominated for a Stage Debut award for Polly Stenham’s ‘That Face,’ with fellow grad Charlotte O’Leary, to play the titular doomed lovers, alongside Tadeo Martinez as Patroclus. and fight direction by grad and combat tutor, Kevin McCurdy.

Winning a Stage Debut award for her ‘visceral, courageous performance’ as the titular ‘I, Joan’ at The Globe, Isobel Thom, who took the role immediately after graduating, gives voice to a story of queerness and rebellion in this ground-breaking and challenging story.

Bringing the RWCMD acting story full circle, she was presented with her award by fellow acting grad Callum Scott Howells, who made his award-winning television debut with Channel 4’s controversial and provocative Aids drama 'It's a Sin', which he filmed while still at College.

He returned to College to join the Richard Burton Company and complete his actor training. Winning a Royal Television Society Award and a BAFTA Cymru for Best Actor for his portrayal of Welsh Colin, he then wowed audiences and critics alike in the West End as the Emcee in the multi-award winning ‘Cabaret’ (designed by fellow grad and RWCMD Fellow Tom Scutt).

Callum said of his training at the College:

It’s just been announced that Callum will team up with fellow Welsh acting grad Annes Elwy for Channel 4’s Welsh set action thriller, ‘Deadpoint’.

A Welsh language speaker like Callum, Annes has appeared in many Welsh language dramas including a series of ‘Hidden/Craith’ as well as many other film, TV and theatre roles.

She's just performed in the Welsh-language opera ‘Tanau’r Lloer‘/ ‘Fires of the Moon’, which recently had its premiere at the Edinburgh International Film Festival.

Described as a genre-bending exploration of grief, memory and mental illness and the power of creation, it brings together a host of Welsh talent including from the College, including musical theatre grad Levi Tyrell Johnson, and opera graduates, soprano Elin Pritchard, baritone Emyr Wyn Jones and tenor Huw Ynyr.

It's scheduled to be shown on S4C and Channel 4 during 2026.

As well as her work with National Theatre Wales, Alexandria Riley is constantly on the television in dramas that bring a host of grads together, not only in S4's bilingual series 'Bang,' with Jacob Ifan, Alexander Vlahos, Tim Preston, Catrin Stewart, Suzanne Packer - to name but a few, but in ITV's 'The Pembrokeshire Murders', for which she was nominated for a BAFTA Cymru. In BBC's 'The Pact', she performed alongside Rakie Ayola, Heledd Gwynn, Aneurin Barnard and Ben McGregor, who she starred with in the comedy drama 'The Tuckers', alongside Kimberley Nixon, which was also nominated for a BAFTA Cymru.

More recently she’s been in 'Men Up', 'Baby Reindeer' and BBC's 'Death Valley.'

Lola Petticrew, who graduated in 2017, stars in the upcoming ‘Trespass’ on Channel 4, alongside RWCMD alum Tom Cullen who was just in BBC's 'Mudtown' with grads, lead Erin Richards and 2024 grad Lauren Morais, who played her daughter. Lola recently won a prestigious IFTA (Irish Film & Television Award) alongside long-term friend and fellow grad Anthony Boyle, who, when he's not busy inspiring a young Callum Scott Howells, can be seen starring alongside James Norton as Arthur Guinness, the flamboyant, spoilt and reckless Head of the ‘House of Guinness’ clan on Netflix.

Having won an Olivier and a Tony nomination, stealing the show as Scorpius Malfoy in 'Harry Potter and the Cursed Child' straight after graduating, Anthony’s since worked with Tom Hanks and Stephen Spielberg, and was recently one of the leads in the Disney + series 'Shardlake,' alongside fellow graduate Arthur Hughes who played the title character.

Anthony Boyle said of his training, when he was appearing in Harry Potter.