We at the University of the Arts London,
and in particular Drama Centre and Central Saint Martins are delighted to have you here to formally accept this award.
But before I formally give you your certificate, I would like to ask you a few questions I think our students might be interested in.
Neither of your parents had a connection with acting, so what made you decide to go to drama school?
I loved acting as a kid, and pickings are pretty thin when you’re a kid.
It’s the nativity play, or the musical written by the music teacher or something.
But loved it,
loved the attention, loved the escape into the world of alternative realities and stories.
It’s pretty much what drove my childhood.
The drama centre was very rigorous about discipline
there was a rule that if you were late they gave you about three minutes grace
but if you were more than that you weren’t allowed in that day.
If that happened three times then you were out.
And instead of finding that oppressive, I actually found it exhilarating
and for the first time in my life I really rose to the occasion and embraced it.
The staff were all very, very charismatic,
and it was full of mystery…
a sense of adventure and the unexpected,
and I think a little bit of fear was exactly what I needed as well.
I also remember on the very first day,
Christopher Fettes, the principal of the school
giving us a lecture about diversity, the importance of diversity, the inclusiveness of the theatre profession.
He very quickly announced himself as a gay man
he said 'if anyone has any problems with that sort of thing, then you’re in the wrong place'
'If you have any prejudices whatsoever against anyone on the grounds of their religion,
their ethnicity, their sexual preference, or anything of that sort
you’re in the wrong profession'.
It was rigorous, there were moments when we all felt a personal triumph at some point
and moments of fairly sound humiliation as well.
But nothing we didn’t need.
Within a few months of leaving drama school, I was in front of a camera and again, that was another shock.
Nothing had prepared me for it.
My kids were doing a school play the other day,
and the parents actually asked me, I think on the day of the dress rehearsal
'They’re so buzzed, is this normal?'
'Is it normal for them to be on this kind of high? We can't control them at the moment!'
And they didn’t want to know about anything except each other,
and this thing they were doing together and the excitement and the nerves,
and the exhilaration of it all.
And I thought 'Yeah, that’s probably where it starts!'
That’s where you get the bite. It can be like a narcotic.
Every new generation is actually bringing something,
not just because of their youth
but because sensibilities have changed,
are actually bringing something to your generation that your generation doesn’t know about,
didn’t have, hasn’t tuned into, hasn’t found out about
and if you’re going to stay alive and buoyant, and active and engaged
I think you’ve got to stay open to and alert to what is new.
And I’ve actually found it to be very chastening
and very sobering to work with actors who are half my age.
In fact I’ve found myself in a very uncomfortable position of realizing 'I really have to raise my game here'
'I’m not the one with the authority here'
this is something really quite startlingly challenging going on.
It now gives me great pleasure to present you with the certificate of the honorary fellowship
of the University of the Arts London.
Oh thank you very, very much, and as I made it quite clear earlier,
I never quite made it across the finishing line to get any sort of certificate really.
I think my cycling proficiency certificate is the last one that I have
and my experience of Drama Centre was the first time I ever just loved being on a course
getting involved in an institution
where they approved of me
and yet I still did not manage to get my degree or my diploma.
I have spent the last 30 years feeling terribly uncertified
so this is immensely important to me
and it really is a great honor.
I feel immensely privileged and grateful to you.
Everybody at University of the Arts London, thank you very much.