Henry IV: James Hackett (1800-1870) as Falstaff.

James Hackett played Falstaff in the United States and England for more than 40 years. As this grotesque picture of an American Falstaff suggests, the role has clownish elements and may have been played by the Fool Will Kempe, but it has other elements too, and this gotesque picture also contrasts with the fact that Hackett was successful in parts as different as Richard III, Iago, and Othello. He was also a distinguished Shakespeare scholar. Must Falstaff look like this? HMR