In 1593 London, William Shakespeare is a sometime player in the Lord Chamberlain's Men and playwright for Philip Henslowe, owner of The Rose Theatre. Suffering from writer's block with … See more

Much of the action of the film echoes that of Romeo and Juliet. Will and Viola play out the famous balcony and bedroom scenes; like Juliet, … See more

After the film's release, certain publications, including Private Eye, noted strong similarities between the film and the 1941 novel No Bed … See more

Box office
Shakespeare in Love was among 1999's box office number-one films in the United Kingdom. … See more

• Joseph Fiennes as William Shakespeare
• Gwyneth Paltrow as Viola de Lesseps
• Geoffrey Rush as Philip Henslowe See more

The original idea for Shakespeare in Love was suggested to screenwriter Marc Norman in the late 1980s by his son Zachary. Norman wrote a draft screenplay which he presented to director Edward Zwick, which attracted Julia Roberts, who agreed to play … See more

The film is "not constrained by worries about literary or historical accuracy" and includes anachronisms such as a reference to Virginia tobacco plantations, at a time before the See more