Trivia of Richard Beymer

Trivia of Richard Beymer (20 February 1938)

*Beymer began his acting career at the age of 12, appearing in various television shows and movies in the 50s. After high school, Beymer moved to New York City to pursue his career in acting and even attended the Actors Studio. He made his film debut in the drama, Vengeance Valley (1951), starring Burt Lancaster.

*Probably he is best remembered for playing Tony in West Side Story (1961).Behind the scene, he hated his performance in West Side Story and left the London premiere half way through the film's screening, before he could be presented to Queen Elizabeth II.

*He has played the love interest of Natalie Wood and her sister Lana Wood in 2 separate films: As Tony opposite Natalie's Maria in West Side Story (1961), and as Dean opposite Lana's Karen in Scream Free! (1969).

*Warren Beatty and Richard Beymer multiple times were finalists for the same role.First the role of Tony in Westside Story (1961). Next, role of Nick in Hemingway's Adventures of a Young Man (1962). In the end, Richard Beymer always got ultimately cast.

*While in Italy filming Hemingway's Adventures of a Young Man (1962), Richard Beymer became captivated by a beautiful high school girl who had been doing extra work in "Barabbas" (1961). The following year when he was back in California and the girl too had moved back to the United States, the two renewed communication and he encouraged her to pursue a career in film, which she did. They saw quite a lot of each other for over a year, and remained on friendly terms thereafter. The girl's name was Sharon Tate.He dated Sharon Tate, and the pair even got engaged in 1962. However, that relationship ended the next year, but he didn’t get back on the relationship wagon till 1969, when he dated American actress Lana Wood. Despite dating extensively, Richard Beymer has never been married.

*Though he was cast in many box office movies,he often felt unsatisfied with his acting.Example when he feeling miserable with his perform in West Side Story (1961) , "I didn't know enough at the time because I lacked certain knowledge in acting...I came out ridiculous. I didn't stand up for what I should have and I didn't know enough. The blame should be on me." He also feeling terrible with his acting as the son of Rosalind Russell and Jack Hawkins in Five Finger Exercise (1962). He still unhappy with his acting in film The Longest Day (1962).

*Richard Beymer isn’t just an actor, he dabbled in a bit of directing too. More specifically, in 1974, he directed the film, The Innerview. Altogether, it was loosely based on his experience as a photographer. The star also directed the movie Silverlake Life: The View from Here (1993).