<span style="font-weight: bold;">Romantic comedy set in London in the late 16th century: Young playwright William Shakespeare struggles with his latest work "Romeo and Ethel the Pirate's Daughter". A great fan of Shakespeare's plays is young, wealthy Viola who is about to be married to the cold-hearted Lord Wessex, but constantly dreams of becoming an actress. Women were not allowed to act on stage at that time (female roles were played by men, too), but dressed up as a boy, Viola successfully auditions for the part of Romeo. Soon she and William are caught in a forbidden romance that provides rich inspiration for his play.</span>

<span style="font-style: italic;">Joseph Fiennes ... Will Shakespeare
Gwyneth Paltrow ... Viola De Lesseps
Geoffrey Rush ... Philip Henslowe
Tom Wilkinson ... Hugh Fennyman
Antony Sher ... Dr. Moth
Martin Clunes ... Richard Burbage
Rupert Everett ... Christopher Marlowe
Ben Affleck ... Ned Alleyn
Jim Carter ... Ralph Bashford
Judi Dench ... Queen Elizabeth
Mark Williams ... Wabash
Simon Callow ... Tilney
Steve O'Donnell ... Lambert
Tim McMullen ... Frees
Steven Beard ... Makepeace </span>

<span style="font-weight: bold;">Won 7 Oscars.</span>