So, I just finished listening to Sir Patrick Stewart read his memoir “Making It So: A Memoir”. It was awesome. (I will do my best to keep this spoiler free)
I want to start by saying that if you are a fan of Sir Patrick on Broadway, in the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC), on Star Trek, or the X-Men you should get this. And you should get it as an audiobook. I am sure it is good as an actual book, especially if you like to read physical books, but having the man himself read the book made it so amazing.
This book does exactly what you would expect. It covers his life from birth to nearly today.
I knew very little of his upbringing and so hearing about his life as a child in the 1940s and 1950s was illuminating. I never knew that he was into sports as much as he was. He was quite the gifted athlete as a teen and young man. I can only imagine what would have happened to Star Trek and X-Men if he would have pursued sports over acting. But that was never really going to happen as you learn in the book. Acting was in this man’s core from an early age.
I found it fascinating that he gravitated towards older people as a kid and young man. I was similar in that way as a kid. I loved being around adults and “kids” that were a few years older than me. I am not sure why, and neither was Sir Patrick, but I can see how that influenced me growing up.
He talks much and fondly about his time with the RSC. The good times and the bad were laid out in a way that made you understand how it directly affected him as a person and an actor. To think that he did a world tour in his early 20’s and learned to love Mexico during that time is cool. During this time he got to meet Paul McCartney (also a Sir now) and drive his car. And they continue to see each other on and off and they remember each other.
I remember seeing him in Dune (the 1980’s version) and he talks a bit about that time, and what it was like. The story of meeting Sting was quite funny.
He spends a bit of time on Star Trek and how that all went. As a huge TNG fan I was very interested in this section of his life. I loved hearing him talk about the early “stuck up days” and then by the time he got all the way to Picard that he was such a different man and actor. He was even greatly different by the time the 7th season came around for TNG. There are some great stories in there for the fans.
He talks about his time with X-Men as well. I didn’t realize, apparently like lots of people, that the first movie was where he first got to know Ian Mckellen. I assumed they know each other from London and the West End, but nope. That friendship turned into so much more and I am so happy for that.
He talks of “Waiting for Godot” with Ian and how that came together. “B” and I got to see that on the West End in London when they were doing it. I must admit that I didn’t understand most of it, but after listening to Patrick talk about it I have a great appreciation for it.
The man does talk a bit about how he has never really been that great with marriage. He is on his third, and seems very happy at this point, but you can hear the hurt in his voice when he talks about the other marriages falling apart. That is especially true of his first marriage and how it affected his relationship with his kids.
Seriously people if you are a fan find the audiobook and give it a listen. It isn’t short – 18hr, but it was well worth the listen.
Please note – there is quite a bit of language in the book. So, it is not kid friendly, or for those of you that don’t like swear words.