Jan 30, 2017
Joseph was born in Minneapolis and studied theatre at the
University of Minnesota. He was accepted into the National Theatre
School of Canada and graduated in 1979.
From 1980-82 he was a member of Christopher Newton's first acting
ensemble at The Shaw Festival. In the podcast he talks about
performing with Nora McLellan in Brecht's "A Respectable
Wedding."
As well as being part of the Stratford Festival company from
1984-87, Ziegler appeared in many TV shows including "Street
Legal," "North of 60" and "ENG."
In 1990 Robin Phillips invited him to play Clarence opposite Denzel
Washington in a New York production of "Richard III" in Central
Park. Ziegler's work with Philips, as well as other influential
directors comes up in the podcast.
In 2010 he played Willy Loman in "Death of a Salesman" at
Soulpepper opposite Nancy Palk his wife. He mentions that despite
his love of Shakespeare it was his favourite role.
Ziegler is currently appearing as Henry VIII in the Soulpepper
production of "The Last Wife," featuring the original cast from The
Stratford Festival. In response to a listener's question from
Facebook we touch on the similarities between Donald Trump and
Henry VIII.
Ziegler shares one of the greatest lessons he ever learned about
acting when he was the understudy for "Othello" at Stratford and
unexpectedly had to play the role with no rehearsal.