The star in the “third planet in the sun” harshly criticizes Trump's presidency and its influence on the US arts: “a pure disaster”

Actor John Lithgow described Donald Trump's second term as a “pure disaster” for the US arts, informs The Guardian. Lithgow, speaking after his victory as the best actor at the London Olivier Awards on Sunday, said Trump A Kennedy Center, the national show in Washington DC. “Our administration has done some shocking, destructive things,” he said, “but the one who saddles me is the takeover of Kennedy Center.”

The Kennedy Center is currently led by Donald Trump, who appointed new members in the Board of Directors, including an interim leader, Ric Grenell, known as a close relative of the president. The Board of Directors was in the process of selecting a successor to the resigning leader Deborah Rutter, who in January announced his intention to resign after 11 years.

“Deborah Rutter was dismissed from the position of president – even though he had already resigned and had a few more months,” said Lithgow, according to News.ro.

“I am a very good friend of me. I co-preceded a commission on the arts, launched by the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2018, and I spent three years knowing that the state of the arts in America was in crisis. Well, it is really in crisis. First it was the coronavirus, now this is,” said the famous actor.

Lithgow was appointed the best actor at the Olivier awards to interpret the role of Roald Dahl in the play of Mark Rosenblatt, “Giant”, which took place at Royal Court last year and transfers to West End at the end of this month.

In his acceptance speech, the actor – known especially for the TV comedy “3rd from the Sun” (“Third Planet from the Sun”) – said that this moment was “more complicated” for the US and the United Kingdom, but that he personally felt that the special relationship is “intact”.

Lithgow was described as “a curious hybrid kind of English”, reflecting on the films and TV series he made in the UK and on stage appearances, which included “Twelfth Night” with Royal Shakespeare Company and “The Magistrate” at National Theater in 2012.

“I grew up with Shakespeare,” he said. “My father was a shakespeare festivals in Ohio. He was artistic director of a regional theater. I played in 20 Shakespeare plays until the age of 20 … I came and went to Lamda, the London Theater School, after the college years. English pretentious! '”.

While evaluating the current climate for US arts as “a pure disaster – truly discouraging,” Lithgow said that “it gives us all to fight and I think the arts are animated by it. Right now, everyone is in shock.” Once the shock has passed, he acknowledged that “hard times create good art.”