Book info

• Title Being David Archer
• Author Timothy Bentinck
• Year 2017
• Genre Memoir

With wry, self-deprecating humour, Timothy recounts his enormously varied life - a successful actor in TV, film and theatre, a voice specialist working in every vocal medium. He's also been an HGV truck driver, a US tour guide, a computer programmer and website designer, an inventor with UK and US patents, farm worker, house renovator and he sat as a crossbencher in the House of Lords for three years. Unlike many acting memoirs, this isn't a succession of thespian tales of freezing digs, forgotten lines and name dropping. This is an articulate, funny and thoughtful account of how to survive an insecure life.

Thoughts

I used to listen to The Archers religiously for a couple of years - blogged about it here too - but dropped away, so it’s been a while now. However, if you’ve ever listened to the serial, you’ll know of David Archer, arguably the current heart of the show. This memoir dips back to before Bentinck got the fabled job on Radio 4, and talks with admirable honesty about the realities and insecurities of being a jobbing actor.

He talks of his early family life, of harsh school days, of various early jobs and career peaks. It’s all an entertaining and informative read, and I enjoyed learning about the intricacies of radio acting versus screen acting.

Rating: 5 / 5