Books by Simon Callow

Peek behind the curtains of London's iconic theatres with acclaimed actor Simon Callow as your personal guide.

An epic survey of Orson Welles' life and work. It shows what it was like to be around Welles, and, what it was like to be him, in which lies the answer to the old riddle: whatever happened to Orson Welles?

The creator of the Hunchback of Notre Dame, Henry VIII and Captain Bligh, Charles Laughton's career spans 50 films and 40 stage roles. Along the way we meet a galaxy of Hollywood greats - from Korda, Hitchcock and Billy WIlder to Gregory Peck, Robert Mitchum and Marilyn Monroe.

An alternative autobiography of the well-loved actor and man of the theatre.In My Life in Pieces Simon Callow retraces his life through the multifarious performers, writers, productions and events which have left their indelible mark on him.The story begins with Peter Pan - his first ever visit to the theatre - before transporting us to southern Africa and South London, where Callow spent much of his childhood. Later, he charms his way into a job at the National Theatre box office courtesy of his hero, Laurence Olivier - and thus consummated a lifetime's love affair with theatre.Alongside Olivier, we encounter Paul Scofield, Michael Gambon, Alan Bennett and Richard Eyre, all of whom Callow has worked with, as well as John Gielgud, Ralph Richardson and Alec Guinness, David Hare, Simon Gray and many more.He writes too about figures he did not meet but who greatly influenced his life and work, figures such as Stanislavsky, Nureyev and Cocteau, as well as Charles Laughton and Orson Welles. And he even makes room for not-quite- legit performers like Tony Hancock, Tommy Cooper, Frankie Howard - and Mrs Shufflewick.The result is a passionate, instructive and beguiling book which, in tracing Simon Callow's own ';sentimental education', leaves us enriched by his generosity and wisdom.'an engaging passionate book which will augment Callow's growing status as a national treasure.' Guardian '...not simply a terrific actor who happens to write. You could as well call him a terrific writer who happens to act' The Times 'essential... a gift for transforming personal experience into blazingly intelligent, objective, critical appreciation' Observer'first rate... the best writer-actor we have' David Hare 'Simon Callow combines zest, originality and passion and has elegantly turned his views and life in the theatre into an astonishing memoir' Richard Eyre

A companion volume to Being an Actor, Callow's classic text about the experience of acting in the theatre, Shooting the Actor reveals the truth about film acting.

The reason for the decline of Orson Welles's career is a hotly debated issue, but decline it certainly did. But instead of marking the beginning of a triumphant career in Hollywood, the film still regularly voted the greatest ever made proved to be an exception in Welles's life and work.

This is an examination of "The Night of the Hunter", Charles Laughton's only outing as a film director. It looks at the symbolism of the piece, at Willa, her throat cut sitting in the Model-T Ford, and the Preacher, a silhouetted threat on the horizon.

Callow discusses his occasionally ambivalent yet always passionate feelings about both film and theatre, conflicting sentiments partially resolved by his acclaimed return to the stage with his solo performances in The Importance of Being Oscar and The Mystery of Charles Dickens, seen in the West End and on Broadway in 2002.