{{short description|American actor|bot=PearBOT 5}} {{infobox person | name = Paul Birchard | birth_name = | birth_place = United States | occupation = Film, stage, television, radio actor, voice artist | birth_date = | children = Ross | spouse = }}
'''Paul Birchard''' is an American actor who lives in Glasgow, Scotland. He has appeared in film, television, stage and radio productions, most notably as Bud in ''Sweet Bird of Youth'' with the Royal National Theatre, Ross in ''The Goat, or Who Is Sylvia?'' at the Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh, and Chuck in the premiere of Frank Grimes's first performed play, ''The Fishing Trip''. Birchard is also known for his one-man stage adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald stories, a documentary film about Tennessee Williams and Konrad Hopkins which he produced and directed, and a song promoting the Glasgow Diamonds American football team.
== Early life and education == Birchard grew up in Los Angeles, California,<ref name="Benjamin"/><ref name="GlasgowTimes"/> where he saw Henry Fonda acting and directing stage performances, including ''The Time of Your Life'' in 1972.<ref>{{cite journal |title=Henry Fonda's fine theatrical career |journal=The Stage |date=2 September 1982 |issue=5290 |page=20 |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0001180/19820902/147/0020 |accessdate=4 November 2019}}</ref> He moved to the United Kingdom, and in 1981 graduated with a Diploma in Dramatic Art from the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama in Glasgow, Scotland.<ref>{{cite web |title=Scottish Theatre Archive - Event Details |url=http://special.lib.gla.ac.uk/sta/search/detaile.cfm?EID=1191 |website=University of Glasgow, Special Collections |accessdate=4 November 2019}}</ref>
== Career == During the 1980s, Birchard worked as a DJ at Radio Clyde,<ref name="Pantomime"/><ref name="GlasgowTimes"/> and appeared in various stage performances including supporting roles in a touring production of ''The Entertainer'',<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Moore |first1=John |title=Kilmarnock. The Entertainer |journal=The Stage |date=8 May 1986 |issue=5482 |page=13 |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0001180/19860508/084/0013 |accessdate=4 November 2019}}</ref> and pantomime.<ref name="Pantomime">{{cite news |last1=Irving |first1=Gordon |title=Radio Clyde DJs' show what good eggs they are |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0001180/19880114/188/0028 |accessdate=4 November 2019 |work=The Stage |issue=5570 |date=14 January 1988 |page=28}}</ref>
In 1986 he wrote and recorded the song "Diamonds Rap (We Are The Diamonds)", promoting the Glasgow Diamonds American football team.<ref name="Stewart">{{cite news |last1=Stewart |first1=Catriona |title=Glasgow Diamonds rock out in hilarious American Football video |url=https://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/news/16389059.glasgow-diamonds-rock-out-in-hilarious-american-football-video/ |work=Evening Times |date=1 August 2018 |location=Glasgow, Scotland}}</ref><ref name="Daily Record">{{cite news |title=Watch the video of the Glasgow Diamonds 'Diamond Rap' as Superbowl Sunday nears |url=https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/uk-world-news/watch-the-video-of-the-glasgow-diamonds-diamond-1094012 |accessdate=4 November 2019 |work=Daily Record |date=4 February 2011 |location=UK}}</ref> CBS Sports created a video package called the "CBS Video Bowl" for the half-time interval of their worldwide broadcast of the Super Bowl in January 1987,<ref name="Daily Record"/> and in a countdown from seven to one, "Diamonds Rap (We Are The Diamonds)" beat more polished rap videos by NFL teams to take the top spot.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Hepburn |first1=Iain |title=The Super Bowl's most unlikely half-time entertainment hit |url=https://www.thenationalnews.com/sport/the-super-bowl-s-most-unlikely-half-time-entertainment-hit-1.468718 |access-date=4 November 2019 |work=The National |date=3 February 2013}}</ref>
His career continued to encompass radio and stage roles, as well as appearances on television and in films. In 1991, he appeared at the Warehouse Theatre Croydon, London, in the premiere of Frank Grimes' first performed play, ''The Fishing Trip''.<ref name="Maguire">{{cite journal |last1=Maguire |first1=Maureen Paton |title=Croydon Warehouse. The Fishing Trip |journal=The Stage |date=4 July 1991 |issue=5751 |page=13 |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0001180/19910704/069/0013 |accessdate=4 November 2019}}</ref> Reviewers commented, "Paul Birchard's macho Vietnam vet Chuck is unexpectedly subtle";<ref name="Maguire"/> "the riven Pat is set against the brooding force of Paul Birchard's Chuck - who conveys menace with the minimum of histrionics."<ref name="de Jongh">{{cite news |last1=de Jongh |first1=Nicholas |title=Croydon Warehouse. The Fishing Trip |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/38362703/croydon_warehouse_the_fishing_trip/ |accessdate=3 November 2019 |work=The Guardian |date=29 June 1991 |location=London, England |page=21}}</ref>
In 1994, he adapted five of F. Scott Fitzgerald's ''Pat Hobby Stories'' into a one-man show at the Riverside Studios, London, in which he "used his broad acting talent to impersonate characters like the brash producer to the effeminate hairdresser ... The American actor's storytelling ability is so vivid that the very few props he uses - telephones, typewriters and ''Time'' magazines - are hardly needed to boost the imagination."<ref name="Richmond"/> A reviewer in ''The Times'' considered that the stories were "not F. Scott Fitzgerald at his best ... frankly, five is a handful too many. ... The fault does not really lie with Birchard's performance ... he plays numerous parts adeptly, flicking from Hobby's wannabe Sam-Spade suavity to a cute-talking broad. He conveys character simply, with a jutting jaw or a seductive finger."<ref name="Bassett">{{cite news |last1=Bassett |first1=Kate |title=Boring hack work. The Pat Hobby Stories. Riverside Studios |url=http://tinyurl.gale.com/tinyurl/C8Hzu3 |accessdate=4 November 2019 |work=The Times |issue=65144 |date=22 December 1994 |location=London, England |page=33}}</ref> Two years later, he took the show to the Dublin Fringe Theatre Festival,<ref name="DublinHobby">{{cite news |title=Living on the Fringe |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0002324/19960929/437/0045 |accessdate=4 November 2019 |work=Sunday Independent |date=29 September 1996 |location=Dublin, Ireland |page=45}}</ref> and in 2019, performed it at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.<ref name="Broadway">{{cite web |title=THE PAT HOBBY STORIES Comes to Edinburgh Fringe |url=https://www.broadwayworld.com/scotland/article/THE-PAT-HOBBY-STORIES-Comes-to-Edinburgh-Fringe-20190610 |website=Broadway World |accessdate=4 November 2019 |date=10 June 2019}}</ref>
Some of his most notable roles have been at the National Theatre.<ref name="SweetBirdStage"/><ref name="JohnnyStage"/> He also played Benjamin's father in the London run of ''The Graduate''.<ref name="GlasgowTimes"/><ref name="Broadway"/> Birchard's more recent roles have been in ''Inherit the Wind'' at the Old Vic in London, where he played the town mayor and was understudy to Kevin Spacey. In Edward Albee's ''The Goat, or Who Is Sylvia?'' at the Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh, Birchard played Ross.<ref name="Dibdin"/> ''The Guardian'' reviewer said, "Superb performances from Sian Thomas, John Ramm, Paul Birchard and Kyle McPhail do tremendous justice to an unnerving play",<ref name="Fisher">{{cite news|last=Fisher |first=Mark |url=https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2010/apr/26/the-goat-or-who-is-sylvia|title=The Goat, or Who Is Sylvia?|newspaper=The Guardian|date=26 April 2010|accessdate=28 July 2017}}</ref> while ''The Stage'' wrote "the four-strong cast put in near definitive performances ... Paul Birchard is lugubrious longest-serving friend, Ross ... Ross’s gleeful delight in the idea of an affair is a superbly-judged precursor to his horror at the enormity of the reality."<ref name="Dibdin"/>
On radio, he has been a regular guest on the ''Eddie Mair Live'' show on Radio Scotland in the early 1990s,<ref>{{cite news |title=Listings Theatre |url=https://archive.list.co.uk/the-list/1994-01-28/59/ |accessdate=4 November 2019 |work=The List |issue=219 |date=28 January 1994 |location=Edinburgh, Scotland |page=57}}</ref> and appeared in BBC Radio 4 plays and readings in the 1990s and 2000s.<ref name="Dracula"/><ref name="FullMoon"/><ref name="Warrior"/> He also provided the voice over for 1998 computer game ''Plane Crazy'',<ref>{{cite web |title=Plane Crazy Credits (Windows) |url=https://www.mobygames.com/game/windows/plane-crazy/credits |website=MobyGames |accessdate=4 November 2019}}</ref> as well as the voice of one of the main characters in ''Crysis 2'' in 2011.<ref>{{cite web |title=Crysis 2 Credits (Windows) |url=https://www.mobygames.com/game/windows/crysis-2/credits |website=MobyGames |accessdate=4 November 2019}}</ref>
On television, he appeared in a number of BBC 2 plays, including a drama about Buddy Holly in 1989,<ref name="Budding"/> presented the World League of American Football on Scottish TV,<ref>{{cite news |title=TV. Saturday. Scottish |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0002401/19960517/150/0019 |accessdate=4 November 2019 |work=Lennox Herald |date=17 May 1996 |location=Lennox, Scotland |page=19}}</ref> and appeared in ''Spooks'' as a rogue CIA operative.
Birchard produced, directed and appeared in the feature-length documentary film ''U & Me & Tennessee: An American Romance...'', which deals with a romance by correspondence between playwright Tennessee Williams and Konrad Hopkins.<ref name="GlasgowTimes">{{cite news |title=SHOWBIZ: Tracking down old Tennessee |url=https://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/news/12786619.showbiz-tracking-down-old-tennessee/ |accessdate=4 November 2019 |work=Evening Times |date=5 November 2008 |location=Glasgow, Scotland}}</ref><ref name="Broadway"/> This film was an official selection at the 2007 Raindance Film Festival<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/7852364/Konrad-Hopkins.html|title=Konrad Hopkins obituary|newspaper=The Daily Telegraph|date=24 June 2010|accessdate=28 July 2017}}</ref> and at the Sydney Mardi Gras Film Festival.
==Selected stage performances== {| class="wikitable sortable" |- ! Year !! Title !! Author !! Theatre !! Role || Director |- | 1988 || ''Death of a Salesman'' || Arthur Miller || Royal Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh || || Ian Wooldridge<ref>{{cite news |title=Production News - Regional |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0001180/19880211/065/0015 |accessdate=4 November 2019 |work=The Stage |issue=5574 |date=11 February 1988 |page=15}}</ref> |- | 1991 || ''The Fishing Trip'' || Frank Grimes || Warehouse Theatre Croydon || Chuck || Lindsay Anderson<ref name="Maguire"/><ref name="de Jongh"/><ref name="Coveney">{{cite news |last1=Coveney |first1=Michael |title=Savage parade falls out |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/258023627/?terms=%22Paul%2BBirchard%22 |accessdate=3 November 2019 |work=The Observer |date=23 June 1991 |location=London, England |page=48}}</ref> |- | 1993 || ''True West'' || Sam Shepard || Tron Theatre, Glasgow || Saul Kimmer || Eve Jamieson<ref name="Benjamin">{{cite journal |last1=Benjamin |first1=Eva |title=Glasgow. True West |journal=The Stage |date=7 October 1993 |issue=5869 |page=20 |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0001180/19931007/116/0020 |accessdate=4 November 2019}}</ref> |- | 1994 || ''The Pat Hobby Stories'' || F. Scott Fitzgerald || Riverside Studios, London W6 || one-man show || <ref>{{cite news |title=Theatre Fringe |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/260876553/?terms=%22Paul%2BBirchard%22 |accessdate=3 November 2019 |work=The Guardian |date=24 December 1994 |location=London, England |page=42 The Guide}}</ref><ref name="Richmond">{{cite news |last1=Richmond |first1=Wendy |title=Theatre Review: Amusing look at Hollywood |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0002485/19941223/503/0057 |accessdate=4 November 2019 |work=Hammersmith & Shepherds Bush Gazette |date=23 December 1994 |location=Hammersmith & Shepherds Bush, London, England |page=1, Billboard}}</ref> |- | 1994 || ''Sweet Bird of Youth'' || Tennessee Williams || Lyttelton Theatre, London - Royal National Theatre || Bud || Richard Eyre<ref name="SweetBirdStage">{{cite journal |title=Theatre Week |journal=The Stage |date=16 June 1994 |issue=5905 |page=10 |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0001180/19940616/062/0010 |accessdate=4 November 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Sweet Bird of Youth Cast & Crew |url=https://theatricalia.com/play/5c3/sweet-bird-of-youth/production/d8p |website=Theatricalia |accessdate=4 November 2019}}</ref> |- | 1994 || ''Johnny on a Spot'' || Charles MacArthur || Olivier Theatre, London - Royal National Theatre || McClure; Sergeant of State Troopers || Richard Eyre<ref name="JohnnyStage">{{cite journal |title=Theatre Week |journal=The Stage |date=31 March 1994 |issue=5894 |page=10 |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0001180/19940331/070/0010 |accessdate=4 November 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Johnny on a Spot Cast & Crew |url=https://theatricalia.com/play/62t/johnny-on-a-spot/production/d8s |website=Theatricalia |accessdate=4 November 2019}}</ref> |- | 1996 || ''The Pat Hobby Stories'' || F. Scott Fitzgerald || Bewleys Theatre, Dublin || one-man show || <ref name="DublinHobby"/> |- | 2009 || ''Inherit the Wind'' || Robert E. Lee and Jerome Lawrence || Old Vic, London || Mayor || Trevor Nunn<ref>{{cite web |title=Inherit the Wind Cast & Crew |url=https://theatricalia.com/play/8wz/inherit-the-wind/production/jc8 |website=Theatricalia |accessdate=4 November 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Inherit the Wind |url=https://www.oldvictheatre.com/whats-on/2009/inherit-the-wind/cast |website=The Old Vic |accessdate=4 November 2019}}</ref> |- | 2010 || ''The Goat, or Who Is Sylvia?'' || Edward Albee || Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh || Ross || Dominic Hill<ref name="Fisher"/><ref name="Kinghorn">{{cite news |last1=Kinghorn |first1=Ross |title=The Goat, or Who is Sylvia? |url=https://theweereview.com/review/the-goat-or-who-is-sylvia-2/ |accessdate=4 November 2019 |work=The Wee Review |date=22 April 2010}}</ref><ref name="Dibdin">{{cite journal |last1=Dibdin |first1=Thom |title=The Goat, or Who is Sylvia? review at Traverse Theatre Edinburgh |journal=The Stage |date=22 April 2010 |url=https://www.thestage.co.uk/reviews/the-goat-or-who-is-sylvia-review-at-traverse-theatre-edinburgh |access-date=4 November 2019}}</ref> |- | 2015 || ''Death of a Salesman'' || Arthur Miller || Royal Shakespeare Company,<br>Stratford-upon-Avon; Noël Coward Theatre, London || Older Waiter || Gregory Doran<ref>{{cite web |title=Death of a Salesman |url=https://www.rsc.org.uk/death-of-a-salesman |website=Royal Shakespeare Company |accessdate=4 November 2019}}</ref> |}
==Filmography== ===Film=== *1985: ''King Solomon's Mines'' – German on Train (uncredited) *1989: ''Batman'' – Another Reporter *1990: ''Memphis Belle'' – Lieutenant *1992: ''La mansión de los Cthulhu'' – Billy *1998: ''Sista Kontraktet'' (''The Last Contract'') – Bertram Norris *1999: ''Gregory's Two Girls'' – American Executive *2001: ''The Tailor of Panama'' – Joe *2001: ''The Fourth Angel'' – Pilot *2001: ''Revelation'' – General Demolay *2003: ''Quicksand'' – F.B.I. Man *2003: ''Solid Air'' – Chris *2003: ''The Jacket'' – Doctor *2005: ''The White Countess'' – Company Director *2006: ''Alien Autopsy'' – Senior TV Exec *2007: ''1408'' – Mr. Innkeeper<ref name="GlasgowTimes"/> *2008: ''The Dark Knight'' – Cop with Fat Thug<ref name="GlasgowTimes"/> *2011: ''Hanna'' – Bob *2012: ''Outpost: Black Sun'' – Cains *2012: ''The Angels' Share'' – North American Bidder *2012: ''Love Bite'' – Reverend Lynch *2016: ''Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them'' – Hobo<ref name="Broadway"/> *2019: ''Les Temps De Marguerite'' – Ernest Hemingway<ref name="Broadway"/>
===TV=== {| class="wikitable sortable" |- ! Year ! Title ! Writer ! Role ! class="unsortable" | Notes |- |1989 |''Words of Love'' |Philip Norman |Tommy Allsup |BBC 2 ''Screen Two''<ref name="Budding">{{cite news |title=Budding talent |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0002471/19890128/043/0010 |accessdate=4 November 2019 |work=Reading Evening Post |date=28 January 1989 |location=Reading, Berkshire, England |page=10}}</ref> |- |1991, 1992 |''Absolute Hell'' |Rodney Ackland | |BBC 2 ''Performance''<ref>{{cite news |title=TV Extra Saturday |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0002471/19911004/155/0024 |accessdate=4 November 2019 |work=Reading Evening Post |date=4 October 1991 |location=Reading, Berkshire, England |page=24}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=TV Guide |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0002485/19921218/232/0025 |accessdate=4 November 2019 |work=Hammersmith & Shepherds Bush Gazette |date=18 December 1992 |location=Hammersmith & Shepherds Bush, London, England |page=25}}</ref> |- |2004 |''A Line in the Sand'' (TV Movie) | |Littelbaum | |- |2007 |''Waterloo Road'' | |Jerry Preston | |}
==Radio== {| class="wikitable sortable" |- ! Date || Title !! Role !! Director !! Station |- | 1991 || ''Dracula'' || || Hamish Wilson || BBC Radio 4 (7 episodes)<ref name="Dracula">{{cite journal |title=BBC Radio Scotland's dramatisation of Dracula |journal=The Stage |date=19 December 1991 |issue=5775 |page=18 |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0001180/19911219/108/0018 |accessdate=4 November 2019}}</ref> |- | April 1999 || ''Full Moon'' || || || BBC Radio 4 (4 episodes)<ref name="FullMoon">{{cite news |title=Radio. Radio 4. |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/259499329/?terms=%22Paul%2BBirchard%22 |accessdate=4 November 2019 |work=The Guardian |date=12 April 1999 |location=London, England |page=19}}</ref> |- | {{dts|format=dmy|2001-05-21}} || ''The Sea Warrior'' by Leila Aboulela || || || BBC Radio 4 Afternoon Play<ref name="Warrior">{{cite news |title=Monday Radio |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/259629230/?terms=%22Paul%2BBirchard%22 |accessdate=4 November 2019 |work=The Guardian |date=21 May 2001 |location=London, England |page=20}}</ref> |- | {{dts|format=dmy|2002-12-03}}|| ''Maigret: A Man's Head'' || || Ned Chaillet || BBC Radio 4 Afternoon Play |- | {{dts|format=dmy|2006-02-23}} || ''One for the Road: Are You Lonely'' || Reader || Eilidh McCreadie || BBC Radio 4 Afternoon Reading |}
== Personal life == Birchard is a lifelong devotee of Meher Baba. He has four children,<ref name="GlasgowTimes"/> including Ross Matthew Birchard, who produces music as Hudson Mohawke.<ref name="Stewart"/><ref>{{cite magazine|last=Aaron |first=Charles |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/features/how-hudson-mohawke-became-one-of-dances-most-exciting-auteurs-20150629 |title=How Hudson Mohawke Became One of Dance's Most Exciting Auteurs |magazine=Rolling Stone |date=2015-06-29 |accessdate=2017-07-27}}</ref>
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== *{{IMDb name|83307}} *[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=utsHE5xWges 'Diamond Rap' on YouTube] * [https://paulbirchard.jimdo.com/ Actor's website]
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Birchard, Paul}} Category:American male film actors Category:American male stage actors Category:American male television actors Category:Year of birth missing (living people) Category:Living people Category:American expatriates in the United Kingdom Category:Place of birth missing (living people) Category:Followers of Meher Baba