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What's My Motivation?
 
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What's My Motivation? (Paperback)

by Michael Simkins (Author)
5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
RRP: £8.99
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Price For All Three: £19.27

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Product details

  • Paperback: 320 pages
  • Publisher: Ebury Press; New edition edition (5 May 2005)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0091897491
  • ISBN-13: 978-0091897499
  • Product Dimensions: 19.8 x 12.8 x 2.2 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 44,520 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Product Description

Review
'Funny, engaging, perceptive and hugely entertaining', Stephen Fry, .'Screamingly funny - set to become a classic', Craig Brown, Mail on Sunday .'Michael writes about disaster, humiliation, rejection and ridicule - the hilarious truth', Nicholas Hytner, .'A real page-turner and a genuinely funny and honest book about the actor's life', Michael Billington, Guardian .'Daring, brutal, hilariously candid, Simkins unravels his own profession to show the exhilaration, masochism and madness underneath', Julie Myerson, .'Casts an objective eye on the crazy world of the actor with an accuracy that is both chilling and charming', Mike Leigh, .'You read the wonderful Michael Simkins with a mixture of horror and delight ... will hold good for as long as people go on taking the undignified risk of dressing up and pretending to be other people', David Hare,

Craig Brown, Mail on Sunday
"screamingly funny, and is set to become a classic of the genre...perfect precision humour, creating magical comic sparks" --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Customer Reviews

11 Reviews
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Average Customer Review
5.0 out of 5 stars (11 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Witty debut worthy of an encore!, 18 Mar 2004
This review is from: What's My Motivation? (Paperback)
Overhearing my wife listening to Mike Simkins reading an extract from "What's My Motivation?' on BBC Radio 4's 'Book of the Week' programme, I was so overcome by the sound of laughter coming from the living room that I was spurred into buying the book! The greatest compliment I can pay 'What's My Motivation?' is that you really don't have to be a 'luvvie' to enjoy it. It's full of humour and marvellously dry observations on the vagaries of the acting profession. For anyone who enjoys a witty read I can heartily recommend it, and for stage-struck adolescents and aspiring actors it has to be one of the best self-help books available! Encore!!
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Simmo Rules !, 1 Jun 2004
By Mrs E A Chapman (Ramsgate, Kent United Kingdom) - See all my reviews
This review is from: What's My Motivation? (Paperback)
This is a really really funny book, takes the reader through
Michael's early life, his 'obsession' with Am-Dram, particularly
Gilbert and Sullivan, through his time at RADA and then the agonising waits for parts and latterly TV appearances, always hoping for the well-known advertisement in order to become a household name.I confess that I started this book with a small amount of bias as my family and I know the author well, Simmo as he is affectionally known is a lovely bloke, and this comes through in his writing, at which he could become even better at than acting ! All in all, this will make you laugh out loud
many times, a real bonus these days !!
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Gloriously charming & funnny, 21 Mar 2004
This review is from: What's My Motivation? (Paperback)
This is a wonderful read, a gloriously charming and funny account of a jobbing actor's life. Don't expect high-brow 'I, An Actor' style pontificating - this actor/author doesn't take himself that seriously and is hilariously expert at pricking his own pomposities, if they dare try to rear their head. But he'll still teach you as much about being a professional actor as any Stanislavski book. It's a delightful celebration of Englishness and a triumphant celebration of failure, which should become a set text at every drama school. There are too many laugh out loud moments to list here, but my personal favourite involved the actress girlfriend, the unwitting landlord, and the unfortunate attempt at weaving a sexual fantasy. Plus there are cameos by everyone from Anthony Perkins through John Malkovich to Pierce Brosnan. Don't put your daughter on the stage without making her read this book first.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars A must read for any budding actor or not...
Wonderfully funny and perceptive. I am now going to read his book about cricket... and I hate cricket.
He appeared in Minder recently as the wedding singer.
Published 4 months ago by Mrs. Susan Cabell

5.0 out of 5 stars Bravo
Read "Motivation" after reading Fatty Batter and having loved the cricket book so much I was prepared to be not so enthusiastic, yet I need not have worried. Read more
Published 5 months ago by J. M. Griffiths

5.0 out of 5 stars Another gem from Michael Simkins
I read this after loving 'Fatty Batter'. Michael Simkins has an extraordinary gift for comic writing. Read more
Published 23 months ago by L. Croft

5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliantly witty
I came across this book when I saw Michael Simkins in Democracy in the West End, and it has become one of my all-time favourite light reads. Read more
Published 24 months ago by Maxine F.R.

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful!
Self-disparaging and compelling, this book is often hilarious and sometimes moving. Although one is always aware that Michael Simkins' natural and vast charm is seducing you into... Read more
Published on 16 April 2007 by purple diva

5.0 out of 5 stars Laughing aloud
The funniest book I've read for 20 years. I keep the household awake late at night giggling aloud on every page. The agony is when you come to the end of it. Read more
Published on 16 Jun 2005 by S. Boyd

5.0 out of 5 stars I cried with laughter
I rarely laugh out loud when reading but this book had me laughing out loud on many occasions and at times my eyes were streaming with tears it was so funny. Read more
Published on 8 May 2005 by icelandicwarrior

5.0 out of 5 stars Pugh, Pugh ...
This book is a joy: very much in the Punch tradition of light, self-deprecatory autobiographical articles, reminding me of the writing of AA Milne, one of the innovators of that... Read more
Published on 28 April 2004 by Pismotality

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