Whiz Kid: Luke Rudy Joins Cast of MSC's 'Macbeth'

Last Friday night, 11-year-old Luke Rudy from San Rafael witnessed his father’s murder and narrowly escaped death at the hands of an assassin sent by an ambitious Scottish general. The same happened Saturday and Sunday nights also.

Previews for ’s Macbeth began July 8. Rudy, who lives in Sun Valley, joins the professional cast as Fleance, the son of Macbeth’s rival.

“It wasn’t that difficult since I’m only in two scenes and have five lines,” Rudy said.

But the soon-to-be-12-year-old is no stranger to Shakespeare. In the 2010 season, he starred as Octavius Caesar, the lead antagonist in MSC’s youth production of the tragedy Antony and Cleopatra.

“I was a little younger and it was difficult to memorize all those lines,” he remembers.

Rudy became interested in acting when he realized all the jobs he wanted were occupied by his favorite characters: spy by James Bond, adventurer/archaeologist by Indiana Jones, detective by Sherlock Holmes. 

“I can’t be a secret agent or anything,” he said. “But in acting, you can do all that stuff.”

So he decided to be the characters instead.

Rudy’s mother, Shauna, was not surprised by his career dreams. When Rudy was 4 or 5-years-old, she remembered taking him to a farmers market where he got on stage and belted out the national anthem in front of large crowd.

“He’s always been comfortable in front of people,” Shauna said.

Rudy is the second youngest cast member of the show, beaten by Mill Valley’s 10-year-old Angelica Zuber who plays the Macduff child.

He will be attending this fall.

is Friday, July 15 at 8 p.m. Tickets range from $20 to $35.