Ben Cross Resurfaces

[Stuart]

From BBCi's soap website at http://www.bbc.co.uk/puresoap/ :

"EastEnders wife-beating husband Trevor Morgan is to make his [London] West End debut in award-winning play Art. Alex Ferns, who plays Trevor in the BBC soap, will join the cast of the production on May 27... Also in the new cast at the Whitehall Theatre will be Chariots Of Fire actor Ben Cross and Goodness Gracious Me star Sanjeev Bhaskar.

The new cast will be the 25th and will remain in the show until September 14."

If any UK fans get the chance, they should try to get along and see it -- it really is an excellent play, and it's nice to see that Ben Cross hasn't entirely dropped off of the face of the earth

[Mysterious Benefactor]

It's nice to see that Ben Cross hasn't entirely dropped off of the face of the earth

So true. I know I may be in the minority, but I enjoyed Cross' portrayal of Barnabas in the '91 series.

[Dr. Eric Lang]

So true. I know I may be in the minority, but I enjoyed Cross' portrayal of Barnabas in the '91 series.

I really did too! He has that English aristocrat/old world charm that made him perfectly suited for the role. (I also found him much more convincing as a love interest than JF.)

[jennifer]

To me he was the only good thing about the 91 series!

jennifer

[Philippe Cordier]

I always thought Ben Cross was excellent too, even though he wasn't quite the same Barnabas we knew.  I think it was wise of him not to attempt replicating Jonathan Frid's characterization, since the copy would no doubt not be exact but inferior.  

Cross's (interesting name considering he played a vampire) portrayal was so much colder than Frid's, except for the early Barnabas, but maybe like the original he would have "thawed" too.  Not only colder, but Cross reminded me of a conscienceless serial killer with both his manner and voice.

At the same time, he projected a very seductive quality, which Frid did not.

[Linda]

So true. I know I may be in the minority, but I enjoyed Cross' portrayal of Barnabas in the '91 series.

I liked him, too, although I was far more taken with Adrian Paul.  

Cheers,

Linda

[Stuart]

Yeah, I think a lot of the flak had more to do with the fact that he wasn't Jonathan Frid than his actual portrayal.

At the end of the day, aping Frid was a pointless route to take, but I think Cross succeeded in making the role his own pretty easily.  And, most importantly, he projected the sort of timeless ambience that is crucial to Barnabas, without playing it in a "contemporary" manner.

I'm looking forward to seeing him on stage a great deal either way

[jennifer]

I liked him, too, although I was far more taken with Adrian Paul.  

Cheers,

Linda

Oh I agree Linda!

jennifer

[MikeS]

I enjoyed Cross' portrayal of Barnabas.  While quite different from Frid, in my opinion he managed to capture the essence of Barnabas, while still making the role his own, rather than just a copy of the original.  For me, his portrayal was one of the high points of the '91 series.