Jared Harris annoys his wife by quoting lines from 'Hamlet' in every day conversations

Jared told The Independent newspaper: "My wife [TV host Allegra Riggio] loves 'Poirot', so every time the word 'murder' comes up, I always go: 'Murder most foul, as in the best it is/ But this most foul, strange and unnatural'.

"Every time. She actually gets really annoyed with me for quoting Hamlet so much."

He went on to add: "When we fly separately, I let her know that I've got through security OK by texting her 'safely stowed'."

Jared is putting his knowledge of the text to good use as he's starring in a new Royal Shakespeare Company production of 'Hamlet' at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon.

The actor is playing treacherous Claudius in the production, which runs from 8 February to 29 March 2025.

Jared previously appeared in a 1989 RSC production of 'Hamlet' starring opposite Mark Rylance and he played the title role in the play at the New Jersey Shakespeare Festival in 2001.

He added of his latest turn in the play: " People going to see Shakespeare now, they want to see something truthful.

"You have to handle the language, and the fact that it suddenly becomes poetic, but do that in a way that seems genuine."

Luke Thallon is playing the title role in the new RSC production and Jared previously admitted he's thrilled to work with the actor after previously seeing him on Broadway.

Jared told The Times newspaper: "I saw him on Broadway in 'Patriots' and I saw him in 'Present Laughter' at the Old Vic. He made me laugh a lot.

"It's always good if you have a Hamlet with a good facility for comedy."