Early life and the stage
Charleson attended the University of Edinburgh from 1967 to 1970 on a scholarship and obtained a three-year Scottish MA Ordinary degree.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
He spent a year in Stratford-upon-Avon with the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1978–79, and in 1982 played Sky Masterson in Richard Eyre's National Theatre revival of Guys and Dolls.6,10
Film work
Charleson made his film debut in Jubilee (1977), directed by Derek Jarman.5
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. He won a Variety Club Showbiz Award for Most Promising Artiste in February 1982 for that film.7,8
He also played Charlie Andrews, Gandhi's close friend, in Gandhi (1982), opposite Ben Kingsley.9
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
Charleson died of AIDS-related causes on 6 January 1990 at age 40, eight weeks after performing Hamlet at the Olivier Theatre.2
Remembered
A public memorial service 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