It's not unusual for an academic to claim to be a Renaissance man. But UCLA art historian David Kunzle is actively pretending to be a trio of characters from that era.

Through April 7, the author of 10 books and exhibition catalogs plays a French king, an English bishop and a French soldier in the Pasadena Shakespeare Company's current production of "Henry V."

"It's too much," Kunzle said of his fifth theatrical production since taking up acting in 2000. "I probably should turn down the next role. But it's one way of keeping old age at bay," said the 65-year-old professor.

What the native of England calls his "millennial madness" grew out of his 15-year involvement with the old Renaissance Faire once held in Agoura, Calif. There, Kunzle, who held Britain's top collegiate gymnastics title for two consecutive years, performed Renaissance-inspired gymnastic routines during the popular festival.

"I don't think anybody in the department was surprised when David took up acting," said Art History Chair Robert Brown. "What's surprising is that he's risen to such a high level in such a short period of time. It's like he's a professional actor now."

Donning greasepaint and elaborate costumes is a long way from Kunzle's research agenda. Interested in art that deals with political justice, he specializes in the study of Che Guevara, Latin American murals, early comic strips, protest posters and French caricatures. Later this year, an English publishing house will re-release Kunzle's 1982 book "Fashion and Fetishism: A Social History of the Corset, Tight-Lacing and Other Forms of Body Sculpture in the West." Soon to be released will be his new book on war themes in 17th-century Dutch painting.

The scholar, who continues to teach a full load and contribute to his field, dabbled in acting as a student at Cambridge in the late 1950s. Although he gave it up to devote himself to art history, he never forgot the thrill.

"As a professor, you strive to engage your students intellectually, but I always wanted to engage a crowd totally and emotionally, and this is a chance to do that," he said.

The biggest adjustment Kunzle said he had to make to acting has been learning to accept direction. "After being in front of classrooms for so many years, it's difficult not being in a position to contest certain decisions," he explained.

Still, the professor learned last year that it's not easy to put the classroom entirely behind him when he's on stage. Cast as the male lead in a community theater production of the modern-day Pygmalion tale "Educating Rita," Kunzle was struck during the first rehearsal by how familiar his co-star, Kathleen Chapin, seemed. Then Chapin, a 1982 UCLA graduate, reminded him she had been his student 20 years earlier.

"It was really bizarre," Chapin recalled. "I had no idea he had gotten into acting. But he pulled it off. He's a Renaissance man."