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Harry Potter actor Ian Hart attacked an audience member at the end of a West End play in which he is appearing, it was claimed today.
A witness said Hart, 45, left the stage after the play last night and hit the man on the head or shoulder.
Fellow cast member, Life On Mars star John Simm, tried to restrain Hart, while security staff were able to pull him away from the man.
Earlier, Hart had shouted at the man to "shut up" - even though he was not believed to have been talking during Speaking In Tongues at the Duke of York's theatre.
One audience member told the Standard today that he had been sitting two rows behind the man when Hart walked off stage.
The source, a lawyer who asked not to be named, said: "I was a couple of seats back. About halfway through the show, just after the break, as Ian Hart left the stage he shouted 'shut up' at this guy.
"Then, for at least 10 minutes before the end of the show, he was really staring this guy out. It was really freaky.
"He took his applause for five or six seconds and ran off the stage. John Simm tried to hold him back."
The source added: "Ian Hart ran off the stage down into the audience, went up to this guy and just whacked him. I think he hit him on the shoulder or head.
"He [Hart] was shouting at this point that he wasn't giving him the proper respect as an actor. After Hart was manhandled away, this guy stood his ground.
"The management wanted to speak to him privately but he said, 'This happened in front of everyone. I'm going to speak to you in front of everyone'."
He said Hart appeared to be distressed. "His eyes were quite freaky. He didn't look as if he was holding it together."
The source said he saw the attacked man, who said his name was Gerard Earley, outside the theatre in St Martin's Lane: "His hands were shaking. He was definitely in shock."
The manager of Liverpool-born Hart, who lives in Crouch End, refused to comment.
Reader views (14)
I feel like punching people who cough and sneeze all through performances. Stay at home if you've got a cold or cough and don't spoil things for the rest of the audience.
- Jentry, London UK, 25/11/2009 07:05
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Note to self: Don't start chatting when Quirinus Quirrell is on stage.
- Jacob, Michigan, 25/11/2009 06:25
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that's breaching the fourth wall with a vengeance.
- Squiz, Islington, 24/11/2009 23:40
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"His hands were shaking. He was definitely in shock."
Not just a lawyer, but a doctor too. And a brilliant one who can diagnose shock, a sometimes fatal circulatory condition which can lead to hypoxia and cardiac arrest, from hand temor at a distance.
Prat.
- Alexander Fiske-Harrison, London, Englad, 24/11/2009 21:48
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"He [Hart] was shouting at this point that he wasn't giving him the proper respect as an actor" - typical
arrogant lovvie, lefty actor. I would have thumped the
scouse pillock back.
- Lb, Bromley, 24/11/2009 21:37
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Must be the strain of playing Dobby the house elf all those years, poor soul...
- Andy, London, 24/11/2009 20:38
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Brings a new meaning to 'Audience Participation' eh? Felt like doing the same to people sitting near me who whisper, text and eat all the way through a play, wish they would just stay home and watch TV.
- Tallulah, Chelsea, 24/11/2009 19:48
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Bad publicity, they say, is better than no publicity!! What a way for an actor to behave, whether someone was talking or not. He is an insult to the profession!
- Wendy, Suffolk, 24/11/2009 19:37
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Just who does he think he is...............proper respect as an actor!!!????
- Missnoma, St Helier, 24/11/2009 19:22
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Saw the play a few weeks ago. It was very good but no punchups.
- Peter, Harrow, UK, 24/11/2009 17:23
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Actors should not be so easily distracted, especially when there is apparently nothing to distract them. This particular actor obviously needs to be rested or arrested !
- Jonathan Lloyd, Nesle Hodeng France, 24/11/2009 17:08
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It was either a cry for help or a desperate cry for publicity,the latter probably.
- Lord Lucan, on the London eye., 24/11/2009 16:59
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Hart's eyes were said to be quite freaky but with ears like his thats the least of his worries.
- Jack Spratt, Richmond, Surrey, 24/11/2009 16:10
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I wonder what was more entertaining the play or the punch up?
- Gavin, London, England, 24/11/2009 15:48
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