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Acting My Life
Ian Holm provides a rare, intimate window on the peculiar people who inhabit his profession. This well-known actor’s narrative also talks with insight about his on-stage breakdown, the women in his life, the nervous condition that still haunts him, and his battle with cancer.
448 pages, Paperback
First published September 20, 2004
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About the author
Ian Holm
38 booksSir Ian Holm, CBE (born 12 September 1931) was an English actor known for his stage work and many film roles. He received the 1967 Tony Award for Best Featured Actor for his performance as Lenny in The Homecoming and the 1998 Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor for his performance in the title role of King Lear. He was nominated for the 1981 Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role as athletics trainer Sam Mussabini in Chariots of Fire. Other well-known film roles include Ash in Alien, Father Vito Cornelius in The Fifth Element, and the hobbit Bilbo Baggins in the Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit film series.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
October 2, 2022
Ian Holm is an actor. Over the last fifty years, he has become one of the most respected and widely admired actors of his generation. He has worked on stage, screen, television, and radio. After making a brilliant impact at the RSC in the 1960s, he consolidated his reputation with work for Harold Pinter. He then turned to film and became one of the most accomplished film actors this country has produced. He has been seen in cult and popular classics such as 'Alien', 'Chariots of Fire', 'The Fifth Element' and 'Lord of the Rings'. On stage, his King Lear was reckoned to be one of the best this century, while others might remember him for his portrayal of J.M. Barrie in BBC television's 'The Lost Boys', or for his work in Atom Egoyam's acclaimed film, 'The Sweet Hereafter'. The winner of many awards, Ian Holm was knighted in 1997. Now he has written his story. It is a compelling mix of anecdote and observation, taking in not only half a century of acting, but also his childhood, growing up next to the mental asylum his father ran. Often candid and funny, the narrative combines his personal and professional lives, and talks with insight about his own on-stage break-down (which led to a prolonged absence from the stage), the women in his life, the nervous condition which still haunts him, and his battle with cancer. He has perceptive things to say about the people with whom he worked, and provides a rare, intimate window into the peculiar people who inhabit a strange profession. Ian Holm's story is both honest and touching. His one lifelong commitment has been to his acting, and that same intensity is now brought to his writing.
Sir Ian Holm's autobiography {with help from a ghostwriter} is as thoughtful, serious-minded, uncompromising, and very open and honest though never in an arbitrarily negative 'tell-all' way, about friends, wives, and colleagues, including Harold Pinter, of whom he gives us a believable pen-portrait, as well as other luminaries but very much honest about his own character.
There is almost no mention of any of his co-stars in any film although there are, of course, references to Olivier. But often a quick mention of most film, stage and television c0-stars.
I believe quite addicted to his acting, taking role after role, staying very busy, mentally struggling especially on the stage, sometimes I am sure difficult to be aside, in his own words could be very grumpy and miserable.
Ian Holm had five children, three daughters and two sons from the first two of his four wives and from an additional relationship. In 1989 Holm was created a Commander of the British Empire (CBE), and in 1998 he was knighted for his services to drama. He died in London in June 2020.
Sir Ian Holm's autobiography {with help from a ghostwriter} is as thoughtful, serious-minded, uncompromising, and very open and honest though never in an arbitrarily negative 'tell-all' way, about friends, wives, and colleagues, including Harold Pinter, of whom he gives us a believable pen-portrait, as well as other luminaries but very much honest about his own character.
There is almost no mention of any of his co-stars in any film although there are, of course, references to Olivier. But often a quick mention of most film, stage and television c0-stars.
I believe quite addicted to his acting, taking role after role, staying very busy, mentally struggling especially on the stage, sometimes I am sure difficult to be aside, in his own words could be very grumpy and miserable.
Ian Holm had five children, three daughters and two sons from the first two of his four wives and from an additional relationship. In 1989 Holm was created a Commander of the British Empire (CBE), and in 1998 he was knighted for his services to drama. He died in London in June 2020.
October 23, 2015
One of my two favourite British actors – Ian Holm the living one; Alec Guinness the dead one – since seeing him in
Alien
(obviously not when it came out, but once I was old enough – it was an 18 after all). As with Guinness's and Tom Baker's autobiographies it's amazing how little I knew about the lives of these actors. I bought this book back in 2004 as a nice signed-by-the-author hardback and it sat on my bookshelf from then (like so many other books on my to-read list) until now. Thanks to Goodreads allowing me to indulge my tendencies for lists and the like I was finally able to get around to reading it.
The book covers Holm's entire life to its publication. From his early years in Goodmayes (a mere 7 miles from where I grew up); his school days and actor training – each containing a disturbingly detached tale of what we would now clearly call child abuse – through military service and his acting career; his five wives and five children; finishing with presumably his most famous role, Bilbo Baggins in the Lord of the Rings films.
In fact, detached seems like quite an appropriate word for the whole book: from the Holm parents relationship to their son; Holm's attitude to his abuse; his attitude to his career; even his attitude to his wives and children. Not that he seems unaware of this either. There's a tone in the book that he thinks he aught to feel more about his life, that the people around him are all responding to things correctly, it's just him that isn't. And he blatantly does care about his career in the sense that he's professional and wants to do the best job he can, but he doesn't seem worried about the path of his career. And, as his serial-monogamy seems to show, he doesn't seem to plan for long-term relationships either. In spite of his detachment from his own life, what he presents the reader with is a thorough, frank and honest story of his life (at least I assume so, I guess you never really know for sure). It's an interesting, well-paced, and above all witty account.
The book covers Holm's entire life to its publication. From his early years in Goodmayes (a mere 7 miles from where I grew up); his school days and actor training – each containing a disturbingly detached tale of what we would now clearly call child abuse – through military service and his acting career; his five wives and five children; finishing with presumably his most famous role, Bilbo Baggins in the Lord of the Rings films.
In fact, detached seems like quite an appropriate word for the whole book: from the Holm parents relationship to their son; Holm's attitude to his abuse; his attitude to his career; even his attitude to his wives and children. Not that he seems unaware of this either. There's a tone in the book that he thinks he aught to feel more about his life, that the people around him are all responding to things correctly, it's just him that isn't. And he blatantly does care about his career in the sense that he's professional and wants to do the best job he can, but he doesn't seem worried about the path of his career. And, as his serial-monogamy seems to show, he doesn't seem to plan for long-term relationships either. In spite of his detachment from his own life, what he presents the reader with is a thorough, frank and honest story of his life (at least I assume so, I guess you never really know for sure). It's an interesting, well-paced, and above all witty account.
May 11, 2017
Whether as Ash in Alien, Bilbo Baggins in Lord Of The Rings, or in dozens of other memorable film roles in The Fifth Element, Chariots Of Fire, The Homecoming, Time Bandits, The Sweet Hereafter, Brazil, and many others, or in his celebrated stage career, Ian Holm has been a remarkable actor of great versatility. His memoir is equally remarkable in its details, from growing up next door to a mental asylum run by his father, his frequent relationships and marriages, an on-stage breakdown, and a battle with cancer. It's as colorful a life as any movie with some disturbing revelations about his inner life and motivations. A must-read for any fan. - BH.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews