Michael Simkins is a jobbing actor. This is in no way a slight; according to the actor’s union Equity around 90% of its members are unemployed at any one time. Simkins has a CV that plenty of actors would envy, but he’s not a star. His is not a particularly recognisable face on stage or screen. Like plenty of his fellow professionals his career is a Sisyphean struggle, the end of each job leading to the anxious wait for the next one.
Fortunately, like many jobbing actors, he has a second string to his bow. Simkins is an award winning writer. His autobiography, ‘What’s my Motivation’ was a best-seller when published in 2004 and he followed that up with two popular books based on his life-long love of cricket: ‘Fatty Batter’ and ‘The Last Flannelled Fool’. In 2014 he would redirect his pen to the subject of acting. Not just acting; the very rules of the craft according to Mr M Simkins Esq.
This isn’t a book detailing the guaranteed path to Lawrence Olivier-like levels of riches and renown. The sad fact is the way to fame and fortune as an actor is based more on luck and perseverance than talent or smart judgement. What Simkins is humbly and humorously presented was an overview of an actor’s lot and a number of suggestions of how someone might stay afloat in the profession’s tumultuous waters.
The five ages of an actor are detailed, by the author, as follows:
- “Who is Michael Simkins?”
- “Who is this Michael Simkins?”
- “Get me Michael Simkins!”
- “Get me a young Michael Simkins!” and:
- “Who was Michael Simkins?”
They are also the five main sections of the book. These five chapters address, in order: the rocky road to RADA (other drama schools are available), the first unsteady steps into the profession, navigating Theatreland, stepping up (or down) to TV and film work and, finally, the inevitable actorly decline into old age. Every potential triumph and disaster is addressed, more often than not from the vantage of personal experience. It’s often a hard and thankless business being an actor, but it’s a business that Simkins loves. This, and his wry sense of the ridiculous, shines through on every page.
“The Rules of Acting” works as a primer for the aspiring actor, a collection of bitter-sweet theatrical reminiscences and the stage memoir of a man wise enough to be content to be less than a star.
