The Ghost of Richard Harris

The Ghost of Richard Harris explores the life and times of Richard Harris, perhaps the most remarkable actor Ireland has ever produced. Harris brought an intense and powerful presence to both stage and screen over a career that spanned five decades. He won Best Actor in Cannes and was Oscar nominated for This Sporting Life in 1963 and again for The Field in 1990. However, this is no ordinary A-Z movie star biography. Although Harris died 20 years ago - bowing out as the first Dumbledore in the Harry Potter films - he will take centre stage through some previously unheard tapes (from Joe Jackson's interviews) and unseen family footage, and interviews with those who knew him best including Russell Crowe, Dame Vanessa Redgrave and Jim Sheridan. The ghost of our title is this complex individual who comes back to haunt the people and places who were dear to him. And the film also features his three sons - Damian, Jared and Jamie - as they explore the work and character of their father. Led by Jared, a successful actor in his own right, the film will reveal that there was much more to Richard Harris than the hellraising image he created. He was also a singer who had chart success and released five albums, a published poet who wrote throughout his life and a republican who was passionate about Irish independence.—Samson Films