"Thronging with ambition, obsession and the disturbing secrets of an Oscar-nominated method actor, this dark psychological thriller boasts the drama and character insights of a Shakespearean tragedy."
If you love hard-hitting psychological thrillers that make you think, keep you guessing and shake things up, look no further than Chris MacDonald’s The Actor. Set in the acting world, it’s an unsettling story of ambition, hubris and dark obsession. Of guilt, cover-ups and redemption. Above all, it’s a skilfully plotted, slow-burn story that ramps up Hollywood style, with a suitably show-stopping finale.
In his twenties, Adam enjoyed two Oscar nominations. The lauded intensity of his performances came largely courtesy of the tutelage of his brutal mentor at a London drama school, where students were forced to harness, exploit and unleash their deepest, most intense life experiences in accordance with method acting practices.
Partway along his career, a tragic incident sees Adam in rehab: “I was in exile, a method actor who’d taken things too far, an embarrassment to the industry. I wasn’t sure I’d act again.” But when the part of a lifetime comes along, Adam feels compelled to return to acting. As he receives his third Oscar nomination, the truth behind the tragedy threatens to be revealed as we discover Adam’s childhood traumas, and his controversial mentor is implicated in the disappearance of a female student.
Spiky and grittily stylish, thriller fans won’t forget this electrifying story in a hurry.
| Primary Genre | Thriller and Suspense |
| Other Genres: |
TO ACHIEVE GREATNESS, HE MUST SACRIFICE EVERYTHING . . .
Read most original new thriller, a story of glamour, secrets and obsession
'This compelling psychological thriller set in the acting world is both uncompromising and unsettling, with deeply layered characters and a narrative voice that grabs you from the opening line and won't let you go' Alex Michaelides, author of The Silent Patient
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Actor Adam Sealey owes his Oscar nomination to mentor Jonathan Dors. It was Jonathan who trained him in the Method: digging deep into personal trauma in pursuit of the greatest performance.
It gets results.
But there's a price.
For Adam, it cost him the love of his life.
And then there's what happened twenty years ago.
An awful secret he's buried deep inside.
Yet as Oscar night beckons, someone is threatening to dig up the truth.
Adam is finally in the spotlight that he craved for so long.
But it might just mean the world is watching as everything falls apart . . .
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'A compulsive thriller . . . very, very moving, I adored it' Abigail Dean
'Twisty, compulsive fun' i
'A barnstorming performance' The Times
'A brilliantly twisted (and twisting) tale . . . I loved it' Mat Osman
'Brilliantly evoked, totally compelling. A first-class thriller' Daily Mail
'Brilliant, dark, immersive, and ultimately hugely satisfying' Jennie Godfrey, author of The List of Suspicious Things
The Actor features in the following genres: Thriller and Suspense, Modern and Contemporary Fiction, Narrative theme: Sense of place, Narrative theme: Identity / belonging, Narrative theme: Interior life, Acting techniques, Fiction, General Fiction, Fiction: narrative themes, Theatre studies, Performing arts, The Arts
The Actor is available in Paperback, Hardback
The Actor was written by Chris Macdonald and published by Penguin Books an imprint of Penguin Books Ltd
The Actor has 384 pages
£8.99
