My Review (5 stars out of 5) In 1986, together with close friend and screenwriter Stewart Stern, Paul Newman began to tape an oral history. His aim was to provide a biographical record, including comments from family members, friends, actors and movie directors. The idea focused on everyone being entirely truthful – a no-hold-barred account…
Category: Acting
‘Madly, Deeply: The Alan Rickman Diaries’ by Alan Rickman
My Review (5 stars out of 5) (Audiobook) Alan Rickman shot to fame as villainous Hans Gruber in Die Hard, back in 1988. Up until then he’d done a lot of theatre, mostly in the UK. His diaries run from 1993 until his death in 2016 and offer insight into the actor’s public and private…
‘Playing Under the Piano’ by Hugh Bonneville
My Review (5 stars out of 5) British actor Hugh Bonneville is a familiar face to audiences all over the word for his roles in Notting Hill, the Paddington films and Downton Abbey. Charting his rise to stardom from nativity play to the heights of Hollywood, he recounts the highs, lows and day-to-day life of…
‘A Pocketful of Happiness’ by Richard E Grant
My Review (5 stars out of 5) Swaziland-born actor Richard E. Grant has been a firm favourite with cinemagoers since his debut in Withnail and I in 1987. When his wife Joan was diagnosed with cancer, he was faced with a challenge that would end in her death in 2021. I’ve long been a fan…
‘Actress’ by Keith Dixon
My Review (5 stars out of 5) Following her success in a long-running TV show, young actress Mai Rose is in rehearsal on a new stage play, but when the opportunity to star in a major fantasy movie comes up it seems the role is made for her. Trouble is, Mai will be in competition…
‘Let’s Do It’ by Jasper Rees
My Review (5 stars out of 5) (Audiobook) In this authorised biography, the life and work of entertainer, writer, actor, comedienne and – in all likelihood – the funniest woman on TV, Victoria Wood, is laid bare in all its hysterical, heart-warming and often poignant detail. The audiobook version includes VW’s hilarious classic, the Ballad…
‘Blowing the Bloody Doors Off’ by Michael Caine
My Review (5 stars out of 5) Written in his 85th year veteran British actor Michael Caine looks back on his life with a view to highlighting what he’s learned. Although primarily aimed at those with a yen for performance, his advice is useful for anyone wanting to better themselves. With stories and anecdotes from…
‘This Much is True’ by Miriam Margolyes
My Review (5 stars out of 5) (Audiobook) Known for memorable characters including Lady Whiteadder and Professor Sprout, roles in Little Dorrit and Oliver Twist, and a host of voice-overs for TV adverts, Miriam Margolyes is a national treasure. From her childhood in Oxford and posing naked for artist Augustus John to working with Martin…
‘The Last Conception’ (Movie Review)
My Review (4 stars out of 5) It’s unusual to see a movie representing Indian culture coming out of Hollywood, but The Last Conception has a lot going for it. Savarna Sikand (Nazanin Mandi), and her girlfriend (played by Callie Schuttera) have been dating for a couple of years but so far Savarana hasn’t got…
‘Apropos of Nothing’ by Woody Allen
***** (Audiobook) Director, comedian, writer, and actor Woody Allen relates how a love of movies during his childhood in Brooklyn eventually took him down the path to making movies of his own. From his early work as a writer and stand-up comic, Allen talks about his career, his friends and his relationships. There didn’t seem…
Colin Garrow 