Spartan Profiles: Anthony Heald

LIFE'S BUT A STAGE

            Like a line in Macbeth, life's but a stage for Anthony Heald, '70, longtime actor on Broadway, in film, and now with the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. Heald is probably best known for portraying Dr. Frederick Chilton in The Silence of the Lambs (1991), or for his roles in three John Grisham movies, The Pelican Brief (1993), The Client (1994), and A Time to Kill (1996).

            Two of his Broadway roles, in Love! Valour! Compasson! and as Lord Evelyn Oakleigh in Anything Goes, resulted in Tony nominations for best supporting actor. 'I've been lucky in the quality of the projects and in the quality of the people involved, even though my role was not always a major one,' says Tony.

            A native of New Rochelle, NY, Tony took eight years to graduate from MSU. 'I had to work my way through school,' he explains. 'Frank Rutledge gave me a job at the Scene Shop of the Theatre Dept. and I took a few courses each term.'

            In 1967, he left for two years to work at Asolo in Sarasota, FL, for director Eberle Thomas, whom he had met at MSU. 'MSU was really helpful because there was such an active production program,' he recalls. 'I got a tremendous amount of experience. The Performing Arts Company was very valuable.'

            Tony was also involved with the Street Corner Society, which produced anti-war and feminist skits.

            After graduation, he was involved with Boarshead in Grand Ledge, as well as regional theatre. In 1977 he moved to New York, where he won TV's 'The $20,000 Pyramid' with Dick Clark. His big break came in 1980, when his role in The Glass Menagerie caught the eye of an ICM agent, who got him good auditions and his first movie role, in Silkwood (1983). 'When you've worked with (director) Mike Nichols and Meryle Streep,' he notes, 'you're taken more seriously. After that I averaged a movie a year.'