 He originated the role of Common Man in Robert Bolt's "A Man for All Seasons" in the West End in 1960, but for the show's Broadway production appeared as Thomas Cromwell, 1st Earl of Essex, a role he would reprise for the 1966 film version.He also portrayed Subtle in Ben Jonson's "The Alchemist" in 1962.In 1965, he played the eponymous villain in Bolt's "The Thwarting of Baron Bolligrew", and Disson in Harold Pinter's "Tea Party".