There are many reasons why I chose to open this site. I came to a realization that I have been a fan of Nicholas, more specifically, his work for longer than I had thought to begin with. Granted, most of his popular projects were done before I was even born in 1987. Yes, even at a young age, I myself have become simply amazed by the man most known as Sir Lancelot from John Boorman's 1981 film, Excalibur. I am only lucky to know him by name because of his professional career. I envy those who were granted the gift of knowing him personally. He's truely an inspiration, in his career, in life and even in memory.
I suppose the best place to begin would be back when I was little, sometime in the early 90's. I remember we had a BBC television channel in upstate New York that aired British programming and re-runs, the likes of Mr. Bean, The Adventures Of Sherlock Holmes, The Agatha Christie Hour, Virtual Murder, Zorro ECT. At that time I wasn't aware that most of those shows had featured Nick in some form or another, whether it was a guest star appearance, or a part in the actual series'. It only came to my attention when I first went through a list of his filmography, and came across all the British television I used to watch when I was so young.
I'll move onto the mid-90's now, where still I didn't realize that Mr. Clay had been introduced to me already. My older sister was in high school, and had a great interest in the history of Arthurian legend, (as I grew older, I adopted this same interest) and happened to be studying it in school at the time. The film Excalibur was used in her English class to give the students a better understanding of the legend and she instantly fell in love with it. Her favorite character from Arthurian legend was always Mordred, and to this day, she still believes Boorman's version of Mordred was the most accurate to legend. She and I were both saddened with the news of Robert Addie's untimely passing. My sister began obsessively watching the film she was so in love with it, and even tried to get me to watch it, but at such a young age, I wasn't interested. She informs me today, that I found it boring, because I was too naive to understand it. Yet, I still had seen the whole movie and certain parts of it a million times over and didn't remember it.
I went onto high school myself eventually, and that's where I really could relate to my sister's love for Arthurian legend, and discovered my own love for Shakespeare. Throughout both periods of study, my English teacher at the time had shown us clips from Excalibur as well as clips from a Shakespeare series entitled, William Shakespeare: His Life & Times. This series was actually made for television, but had been released on a VHS set, featuring Tim Curry, as well as, that's right, Mr. Nicholas Clay.
High school and the couple years after it leading up to now, was when my eyes were truely opened. My knowledge of Arthurian legend had expanded greatly by this time, and I had even picked a favorite character sprung from it. Lancelot, how I adore him. Perhaps it is the typical pick for most women. A charming, chivalric, handsomely described "knight in shining armor," but I had different reasons for calling him my favorite. I was always intrigued by the fact that such a man could have all of these positive qualities, yet on the inside, he didn't see anything in himself but his wrong doings. I developed a great sympathy for what seemed to be one with a tortured soul.
As I said, my knowledge of Arthurian legend had expanded, and I did this through reading numerous books and watching fewer movies. Film at that point however, had proved to be somewhat disappointing, compared to how the Lancelot character was depicted in writing. Not that the actors who had portrayed him weren't talented, they just didn't seem to fit the part. One day I finally decided to watch Excalibur in full, the movie that had bored me to tears when I was little, and that's when I found the perfect Lancelot. Not only was Nick fitting in appearance, every word he spoke and every scene he appeared in was done in a passionate manner. It truely made me believe I was staring at the real Lancelot, if there was ever one to begin with. I find myself now being the one who is watching Excalibur obsessively, and finally understand why my sister had done so in my younger years. It's now my favorite film of all time.
I wanted to find out more about Nicholas' work, and see if perhaps I'd witnessed him in action before. Of course, I realized I had, but I also came to find out about his death in 2000 in the process. Not only was I shocked, but deeply saddened by it at the same time. What an unfortunate thing to happen to such a man and such a talent. I became desperate to see more, and I made sure I did, ordering anything I could find of interest and found more than just that. I found a man that made me appreciate the art of drama more than I had to begin with, a man that inspired me in life. He himself didn't need to be in the mainstream of today's society to have such an effect. His memory was enough.
That, in it's entirety, is my reason for creating this website. His memory. I want more people to know of him, his work and the ways that he has touched my heart with it. A website is merely a small way to pay tribute to an amazing human being like Nick, and I wish I could've been fortunate enough to have known him in person. This is for you Nick. Know that you have brought smiles to my face on bad days, and tears of laughter to my eyes on even better ones. Blessed be and may you rest in peace for all eternity. You will never be forgotten.