Christopher Eccleston is British acting royalty starring in a range of roles throughout his career including taking on the role of BBC’s iconic Dr Who.
The 59-year-old Salford-born actor recently read A Kestrel for a Knave the book that inspired the 1969 film Kes for BBC Four believing it to be the “greatest British film ever”.
The popular Yorkshire classic tells the story of working class lad Billy Casper and his relationship with a young kestrel he adopts and begins training.
As a child inspired him to “smash down the ivory towers built by Oxbridge and public school and get into the arts world”.
“It changed my entire view of myself, of art and culture for working class people,” he said.
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Eccleston said he was “completely and utterly beguiled by the idea that a working class individual like myself and my brothers and my mother and father could have a wonderful skill and could have a dream to be lifted from the pit, as in Billy’s case, or the factories in my mum and dad’s and my case”.
Eccleston said that Ken Loach’s adaption of the book changed his view of “art and culture for working class people”.
Speaking to BBC North West Eccleston said it inspired him to “smash down the ivory towers built by Oxbridge and public school and get into the arts world”.
He continued: “It changed my entire view of myself, of art and culture for working class people. It was an absolutely transformative experience.”
He said that he was “completely and utterly beguiled by the idea that a working class individual like myself and my brothers and my mother and father could have a wonderful skill and could have a dream to be lifted from the pit, as in Billy’s case, or the factories in my mum and dad’s and my case”.
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Featured Image Credit: Photo © Gage Skidmoor (cc-by-sa/2.0)
