Over the last fifty years Ian Holm has become one of the most respected actors of his generation. From his brilliant début with the RSC in the 1960s, he has gone on to work with Harold Pinter and appeared in such cult and popular films as Alien, Chariots of Fire, The Fifth Element and Lord of the Rings. His varied career spans stage, screen, television and radio. Now he has written his autobiography. It is a compelling, personal story that takes in over half a century of acting, but also his colourful personal life - growing up next to the mental asylum run by his father, the women in his life, his on-stage breakdown (which led to a prolonged absence from the stage), and his battle with cancer. Acting My Life is both honest and touching. His one lifelong commitment has been to his acting, and that same intensity is now brought to his writing.
Ian Holm was born in 1931. He is a hugely acclaimed actor, renowned for this chameleon-like ability to create a diverse and entirely convincing array of characters. He has played an android, Napoleon, Polonius, King Lear, Hercule Poirot, Lewis Carroll and a hobbit, amongst many others. He was appointed a CBE in 1990 and knighted in 1997.
