Visiting Richard Burton's birthplace

As Wales continues to celebrate the acting legend's centenary birthday, Portia Jones focuses in on Pontrhydyfen as it takes centre stage in biopic Mr Burton

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WITH its craggy coastlines, soaring mountains, and ancient castles, Wales is the perfect backdrop for numerous stories, and it has caught the attention of filmmakers who want to use our lovely landscapes as film locations. While Wales is famous for being the filming home of popular shows like Doctor Who and Gavin & Stacey, new shows and films are increasingly shot here, including BBC Wales' latest film, Mr Burton.

Directed by Marc Evans, the biopic tells the true story of the relationship between Port Talbot schoolmaster Philip Burton (played by Toby Jones) and a schoolboy, Richard Jenkins, who would become one of Wales' most famous actors, Richard Burton (played by Harry Lawtey).

Not far away in Port Talbot, a young Burton, then known as Richard Jenkins, was a pupil at the local secondary school. That was where he met Philip Burton, a teacher with an eye for talent and a gift for encouragement. He recognised something remarkable in his student and took him under his wing, later adopting him so that Richard could follow his dream of becoming an actor. It was at that point that he took on the name Burton.

The show was shot in various locations across Wales and pays homage to the actor's home county, Neath Port Talbot. Filming took place over six weeks in the summer of 2024, with the production shoot described as "a whistle-stop tour of industrial south Wales".

Like many Welsh viewers, I spotted one distinctive location straight away, Pontrhydyfen, the very place where Richard Burton was born and raised.

It seems fitting that parts of the new film about his life were filmed at his birthplace, amid the verdant hills, and on the striking viaduct where Burton was famously photographed with his father.