John Gielgud.

Plot

It was over thirty years ago that John Gielgud wrote Early Stages, a memoir of his informative years and first successes. Gielgud was not born with a silver voice, neither did he leap to fame overnight. His first part -with one line-he did so badly that he was given silent walk-ons for the rest of the season. But years later, after he had worked in Rep and had acted in many West End theatres, he returned to the Vic, at a very modest salary, to learn how to play Shakespeare.