Berkoff, Steven

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English dramatist and actor. He is known for his original satirical plays and his roles as film villains. His plays include East (1975), Greek (1979), and West (1983). His Collected Plays (two volumes) were published in 1994.

He formed the London Theatre Group in 1968 as a vehicle for his own productions, which have included his adaptations of Kafka's Metamorphosis (1969) and The Trial (1970), and Edgar Allan Poe's The Fall of the House of Usher (1974). Later theatre credits include Coriolanus (1995–97), One Man (1997), and Massage (1997).

In his acting career, he has often been cast as a villainous ‘heavy’ as in the films Beverly Hills Cop (1984) and The Krays (1990). He published his exploration of a leading role in I Am Hamlet (1989); his autobiography Free Association was published in 1996.

The large star symbolizes the common programme of the Communist Party. The small stars represent the four economic classes: peasants, workers, petty bourgeoisie, and ‘patriotic capitalists’. Effective date: 1 October 1949. >>