Early life and stage beginnings
Charleson was born in Edinburgh and grew up in a working-class area of the city. He attended the University of Edinburgh from 1967 to 1970 on a scholarship and obtained a three-year Scottish MA Ordinary degree.1,3
He made his professional stage debut in 1972 with the Young Vic, as one of the ensemble of brothers in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.4
Film and theatre work
Charleson made his film debut in Jubilee (1977), directed by Derek Jarman. He spent a year in Stratford-upon-Avon with the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1978–79.5,6
Producer David Puttnam and director Hugh Hudson saw Charleson as Pierre in Piaf and knew immediately they had found their lead for Chariots of Fire. In February 1982 he won a Variety Club Showbiz Award for Most Promising Artiste for that film.7,8
He played Charlie Andrews, Gandhi's close friend, in Gandhi (1982), opposite Ben Kingsley. In 1982 he also played Sky Masterson in Richard Eyre's National Theatre revival of Guys and Dolls.9,10
Charleson received an Olivier Award nomination for Actor of the Year in a New Play for playing Eddie in Fool for Love.11
Hamlet and illness
Charleson was diagnosed with HIV in 1986 and was not symptomatic until the autumn of 1988.12
Richard Eyre brought Charleson in to replace Daniel Day-Lewis, who had abandoned the production. Charleson performed Hamlet at the National Theatre from 9 October to 13 November 1989 while seriously ill from AIDS.13,14
Ian McKellen gave Charleson his Evening Standard Award statuette, saying Charleson was truly the Best Actor of 1989.15
Legacy
A public memorial service for Charleson was held in London on 8 April 1990, three months after his Edinburgh funeral. The book For Ian Charleson: A Tribute was published in October 1990, with royalties going to the Ian Charleson Trust.16,17
Reunion performances of Guys and Dolls were given at the National Theatre in November 1990 as a tribute to him.18
The Ian Charleson Awards were established in 1991 to reward the best classical stage performances in Britain by actors under 30. In 1992 the Royal Free Hospital's HIV out-patient clinic was renamed the Ian Charleson Day Centre.19,20