Seven Life Lessons from Brian Blessed

Accompanied by an eloquent wit and a booming, operatic voice, the boisterous British actor and explorer Brian Blessed is best known for his hearty, king-sized appearances on film, television and radio.

Blessed is unique. He's a brilliant and colourful raconteur who often recalls the riotous journey from his childhood days as the son of a miner, through his many exploits as an adventurer and mountaineer, to finding fame on stage and screen. He became the oldest man to reach the North Magnetic Pole on foot in 1999 and to reach 28,000 feet of Everest without oxygen.

So, what lessons can we learn from this larger than life figure?

2016. Being interviewed for Brian Blessed's Radio Adventures.

1. The secret to healthy living?

“Good living and pure thoughts”, says Blessed, “and resisting saying Gordon’s alive!” However, after climbing Everest, tackling the mountains of Mongolia and travelling to the North Pole there was a price to pay and Blessed put his heart under severe strain. Last year he collapsed on stage playing King Lear at the Holy Trinity Church in Guildford and has had a pace-maker fitted. "My heart is fine now," Blessed assures us. "I've got the best heart specialist... he said 'now you're Terminator 4.'”

2. Relish your youth

“I am very proud of the teenage Brian.” At 16 a great awakening took place in Blessed, “It was a quite wonderful time of my life and I was immensely happy and I realised I could do anything”. Amateur theatre was very powerful in South Yorkshire at that time and Blessed explored the possibility of drama school which was available even for the son of a coal miner. “It was a miracle. I could act, explore, I could climb mountains, I could go into space if I wanted to. The world was my oyster. It was a wonderful feeling of freedom.”

1967. Brian played Porthos in Further Adventures Of The Musketeers with John Woodvine, Joss Ackland and Jeremy Young.

3. Live your dream

“There is no one else exactly like you”, says Blessed. “Nature doesn’t cheat. You have gifts that no one else has, everybody contributes and you must be able to bring out your own special quality. There’s nothing you can’t achieve if you put your mind to it... and don’t let the bastards grind you down!”

4. Dating can be tough

Blessed married Hildegarde Neil in 1978, but admits their first few dates were unpromising. "I never even held her hand for weeks and then, I remember, when I eventually did decide to kiss her, I think it was the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do in my life. It required more courage than climbing Everest." Blessed recently directed his wife and daughter in The Hollow, at The Mill in Sonning: “The relationship with my wife and my daughter, Rosalind, is still a mystery to me and I don’t understand women. Ninety nine percent of what I have learnt in life is from women.”

1991. Brian as George Mallory in Galahad of Everest.

5. Rejoice in all of nature's creations

An honorary president of the Council for National Parks and a great supporter of the World Wildlife Fund and the Born Free Foundation, Blessed and his wife also run an animal sanctuary from their home. "They're all rescued - we've got cats, dogs, chickens, ducks, ponies and donkeys. I love animals!”

1962. Brian Blessed as P.C. Fancy Smith and Joseph Brady as P.C. Jock Weir in Z Cars.

1983. Brian Blessed as Richard IV in the first series of The Black Adder.

6. Stay young at heart

It was pantomime that made Blessed want to become an actor. He has been voted the best Captain Hook ever and also enjoyed a run in The Wizard of Oz as the cowardly lion with Arthur Bostrom as Tin Man. "If you can, get children away from their computers. For some, it is the first time they have come to a theatre. You want them to leave feeling exhilarated, exhausted, as if every cell in their being has been changed. I want to embrace the child in every human being. The Panto experience gives people memories, keeps them young."