Tales from an Actor’s Life

Long considered the enfant terrible of the British theatre both as actor, director, and writer and famous for his villainous roles in films such as A Clockwork Orange, Rambo and Octopussy, Steven Berkoff is original in everything he does. He is a man of whom one should never expect the expected. Now, in this captivating book, he shares scenes from his own colourful theatrical life, thinly disguising them on occasion to protect the guilty but never being less than entertaining and forthright in his accounts. And what a delight they are, for as Berkoff says in his introduction, acting must be one of the strangest professions since the rules are flexible and few can agree even on the simplest of them. Berkoff has seen it all and he takes us here on an informal tour recalling among other things his first job (as an assistant stage manager and small part player ), and the first line he ever uttered on stage (Going Bowling tonight Sammy?), his early touring dates and disasters (and even romances) in rep, a traumatic audition for a revered Peter Hall which ended in tears, visiting Kirk Douglas at his home in LA, triumphantly directing the classic On The Waterfront on the London stage, and (less triumphantly) playing Hamlet the Berkoff way. Romantic though an actor’s life may seem to be to the general public, clearly it is often tough and often laced with tears. But there is laughter too, and camaraderie and in these Tales, Berkoff gives the reader a real insight and feeling of what it is like to tread the boards, and the passion, work, and intuition that goes into creating a role.

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