He earned an Oscar nomination as Edward R. Murrow in “Good Night, and Good Luck.”
Now, actor David Strathairn joins Frances McDormand, Oscar Isaac, Jeffrey Wright and John Turturro for a live virtual reading of Sophocles’ “Oedipus the King” as part of Theater of War’s “The Oedipus Project” at the Summer Nostos Festival on Wednesday.
“The play is about Oedipus the King and the town of Thebes at a time when a plague has leveled the city — very similar to what COVID-19 has done to infrastructure and daily lives,” Strathairn said. “People are circling the seat of his palace asking for help. They need their leader to somehow use his God-given powers to rid the city of the plague.”
Sophocles wrote the play in 429 BC as a plague killed one-third of the Athenian population.
“It’s extraordinary how resonant these plays are,” Strathairn said. “The Greeks are considered the founders of modern democracy, the ‘polis,’ but they were also the fathers of modern drama. … They do have a lot of relevancy in terms of leadership, not heeding warning or being perhaps a little bit in denial and feeling threatened by the plague.”
Isaac will play Oedipus across McDormand as Jocasta, Wright as Tiresias, Turturro as Creon, Strathairn as the Messenger and New York City Public Advocate Jumaane Williams as the Chorus.
“It’s a great group of people,” Strathairn said. “It is a Zoom conference read, so people will be wherever they are isolated. … The format is very similar to a live performance. The only thing that’s lacking unfortunately is the immediacy of being in the same space.”
Afterward, there will be a discussion moderated by Bryan Doerries.
“The conversation is even more revealing,” Strathairn said. “That’s where the real drama comes. … You can come from all walks of life, all political bends and wiggles, and you get in a room and it’s a very open, free, safe place for people to express their feelings.”
The Summer Nostos Festival is funded by the Stavros Niarchos Foundation, which has given $3 billion in grants to nonprofit organizations globally since 1996.
As for Strathairn, it’s just the latest role in an illustrious career that includes:
“Silkwood” (1983)
“At that time, it was pretty intimidating working with Cher and Meryl Streep. I was just kind of dipping my toes in the water back then.”
“Eight Men Out” (1988)
“One of my favorite experiences. What can be better than dressing up in an old baseball uniform playing baseball all day? Really wonderful. One of the more moving and special moments was when this really elder gentleman came down from behind the dugout from the stands, he was one of the extras for the day, and he asked to talk to the players and he had this huge, beautiful, old, leather-bound scrapbook.”
“He had been a 12-year-old boy back in the 1919 World Series and he’d kept every article relating to this scandal, all the box scores of every game, all the writings, the whole thing, and he wanted to share it with us. He kind of had tears in his eyes when he was talking about his days as a 12-year-old going to Comiskey Park and watching the White Sox.”
“A League of Their Own” (1992)
“That is a classic,” Strathairn said. “I had so much fun watching Tom Hanks do his stuff and the girls play baseball. I just had a blast sitting in the stands with Garry Marshall, who was a delightful, wonderful guy.”
“The River Wild” (1994)
“John C. Reilly had just sort of coming on the scene. … What could be better than going on a river trip for a summer vacation and then filming it? I will say one thing: the water was really cold.”
“L.A. Confidential” (1997)
“Beautifully done, beautifully shot and just an amazing group of actors right around the room. I’d say that people do remember that movie, but when they really apply some judgment to it, it stands up very strong. It’s one of those of that genre that’s really wonderful.”
“Good Night, and Good Luck” (2005)
“They should show it again. Journalism is one of the most vital, assaulted and esteemed [businesses] today. That film is a reminder of how important, how incisive, how effective journalism is in our lives. The battle between Murrow and McCarthy is legendary.”
“He was an extraordinary man, learning about Edward R. Murrow, his life from a dirt-floor cabin in Appalachia and then to where he ended up is an extraordinary arc of life. He was an amazing man and it was just an extraordinary privilege to take part in that. I thank George [Clooney] and Grant Heslov for the beautiful job conceiving it, writing it, the whole thing.”
“The Bourne Ultimatum” (2007)
“That was wild,” Strathairn said. “A wild ride.”
“Lincoln” (2012)
“Very cool to be in [the] presence of Daniel Day-Lewis. That was a privilege, something I’ll never forget. Daniel Day-Lewis, he’s pretty extraordinary, man. His Lincoln was haunting, and to be in a room with him and all those other actors, to be in a situation that was so beautifully and perfectly designed, all the details of history came to life. That’s sort of top shelf for me there.”
“Darkest Hour” (2017)
“I was only talking on a very distant phone to Gary Oldman as Winston Churchill, but I thought he did an unbelievable job on that. The makeup is extraordinary, but he inhabited it full bore.”
