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BiographyMichael Jayston was born 'Michael James' on 29 October 1935 in Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, England to Vincent and Myfanwy (Llewelyn) James. At the age of one, his father died of pneumonia after being booted in the chest while playing rugby with a bad cold, and at age 14, his mother also passed away, leaving him, an only child, to be brought up by his grandmother and uncle. He was educated at the Catholic Becket Grammar School and then at the Nottingham University. He served in the National Service for a time and was stationed in Germany where he participated in several plays, but returned to Nottingham to train as an accountant for the National Coal Board. But after seeing a touring company perform, he decided to pursue acting and obtained a scholarship to the Guildhall School of Music and Drama while also working at the Nottingham fish market during his holidays. He made his professional debut in "The Amorous Prawn" at the age of 27 and went on to join the Salisbury Repertory (1962-63), the Bristol Old Vic (1963-65) and the Royal Shakespeare Comapny (1965, Associate Artist 1966-69). Around this time he married his first wife, Lynn Farleigh, with whom he had three children. He divorced his second wife, Heather Mary Sneddon, in 1977. In 1979, he moved with his present wife, Elizabeth Ann Smithson, and their two kids, Richard and Katy, to Brighton where he still resides. He is president of and plays with the Rottingdean Cricket Club and also enjoys (keeping in mind his most charming sense of humour which he apparently inherited from his father) listening to drains. His other interests include darts, riding, watching TV sports, gardening and gambling. He is a member of the MMC, Lord's Taverners, Eccentrics, and S.P.A.R.K.S.
Quotes:"I have always loved spy stories. I remember in the books I used to read as a kid, secret agents were terribly sporting. Of course it is different now; spies are just as likely to be inadequate, expendable, sordid little me as heroes." On the character of Quiller- "But there are elements of his character that would really frighten me. I mean this business of refusing to ever carry a gun. He justifies it by saying that a gun would give him a false sense of superiority; he reckons his brains will get him out of tricky situations. Well, if you and I were agents on opposing sides out to get each other and you had a gun and I didn't, it seems to me that my brain is more likely to be splattered all over the wall then helping me escape." When asked to name his favorite tv role, he says Mr. Rochester because "the character had wit, brooding sensitivity, and a romantic quality." From the 1973 Radio Times issue about "Jane Eyre"- "I'd love to live in a place like this [Norton Conyers]. It's much easier to imagine a fire burning in Renishaw, which we actually used for the filming. There there would be no escape; here you could jump out of even the top windows. Rochester is all women's ideal of a man; arrogant yet strangely vulnerable." Asked about his first love- "Do you mean sex? If you do Olga Marinkovitch when I was 16. If you don't mean sex- cricket." Asked about the first impression he gives- "Talk too much."
Quotes about Michael Jaystonfrom Audiofile 2001 Narrator Yearbook: Michael Jayston: Michael views the basis of an actor's life as telling a story, and the natural extension is the aural experience of audiobooks. It helps when authors have a great story to tell, and some narrators get the plum titles. Michael has recorded two British authors who are American favorites, John le Carre and P.D. James. Recently Michael's recording of THE CONSTANT GARDENER by le Carre picked up an Earphones Award, adding to the accolades for his handling of the British spymaster's works. Le Carre "never cheats," Michael told us, giving the narrator an enviable challenge. Neither does Michael, who expresses the subtlety and complexity of stories without giving anything away. We also appreciate the dozen recordings of Alexander Kent's (Douglas Reeman) naval fiction. 2001 Yearbook Interview with Saint Etienne- he did spoken bits on their album "Finisterre": Michael Jayston (a venerable British character actor) worked with you on this album. Did you have him come in and read the intros? BOB: He came around to my flat and we sat on the other side of a screen while he read them out. PETE: He was up for it. He thought it was funny which we were pleased with. We sent him a list of them before he came in so if objected to them or something. He was great, a really nice guy. Another interview with the girl from the group: Y3: Who does the spoken song intros? SARAH: That's an actor called Michael Jayston. He does lots of Radio 4 plays. And he's got this brilliant, slightly tragic voice we just really like. And so we got him to come and say things.
from Guardian Unlimited: A Brief Rumble with Tom Baker Tom Baker's response when asked his favourite 'voice' of all time:
Michael Jayston c/o Diamond Management 31 Percy Street London W1T 2DD UK
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