Sir Derek Jacobi

Available for over a year

In conversation with Mark Lawson, Sir Derek Jacobi looks back over a career that has spanned half a century. It was the role of the damaged Roman emperor Claudius, in the 1976 BBC television drama serial, I Claudius, that brought Sir Derek public fame. However he had already attracted attention in theatrical circles when in the early 1960s, at the age of 23, he was invited to become one of the founder members of Laurence Olivier's National Theatre. Sir Derek talks to Mark about the support he received from his non-theatrical parents when he decided to make a life for himself on the stage. He reflects on the advice he's been given by distinguished directors, and why he thinks his face came between him and the role of Hannibal Lecter. He shares the experience of being struck by stage fright at the height of his success in the theatre, and discovering over dinner with Margaret Thatcher that the then Prime Minister felt that when it came to connecting with an audience they had much in common. Producer Ekene Akalawu.