A Class Act by Rob Beckett

Author:Rob Beckett [Beckett, Rob]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollinsPublishers
Published: 2021-09-06T18:46:38+00:00

I never thought about or was ever asked what my passions were and where I wanted to be in life. Get the money in was the always the plan. There was no time to ponder what I actually wanted to be. It was all about providing and keeping afloat. When you’re trying to survive there’s no time to think about how you could thrive. That’s how I thought everyone lived their life, and it’s only as my life has moved on and I’ve arrived in different circles that I’ve realised how wrong I was.

I recently worked on a TV quiz show with Emilia Fox, a brilliant actor who stars in Silent Witness. I had never met her before but she was absolutely lovely and great on the show. Whenever you have a guest on a TV show the researchers always produce a bio on the guest detailing their life and career and any information that might be of interest. As I read her bio, I couldn’t believe how completely different her background was to mine, but somehow we had got the same job, were working together and, on top of that, we got on so well, like old friends who must have loads in common. For those who don’t know, Emilia is from an acting dynasty. Her parents, her brother, her uncle, her cousins, her grandparents were actors and one was a theatrical agent. She went to a private school and learned to play the cello, piano and trumpet. She can speak French and German, and she finished her education at Oxford University.

Now, on paper, my working-class chip on my shoulder absolutely hates the idea of Emilia Fox and everything she stands for. The reality, though, is that Emilia is one of the nicest, most unassuming people I have met in the industry. She couldn’t have been more chilled, polite and humble. What really struck a chord with me was her ambitions growing up. In a press interview she was asked about coming from a family of actors and whether she wanted to follow in their footsteps. She answered, ‘Quite the opposite! I don’t know if it was just being a rebellious teen, opposed to everything my parents stood for, but I made a conscious decision at an early age that I would not be an actor. So, I went to Oxford Uni to study English literature and my aim was to be an art critic.’

First of all, I love that in the world Emilia comes from, going to Oxford and studying English literature to be an art critic is an act of rebellion. Normally a teenage rebellion involves the local park with drugs and alcohol. Not Emilia. She’s up at the National Portrait Gallery with a notebook, the fucking rebel. I think it’s amazing that her aim was to be an art critic. What a wonderful example of having the confidence to dream of being whatever you want to be and going for it. I still cannot believe that being an art critic could ever be someone’s job, never mind an ambition as a kid.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.