For a sixteen year old schoolboy fromBromley, Kent, the school boardnotice was a siren song to the start of

a career that has spanned nearly 45 yearsand shows absolutely no signs of slowingdown. In fact Michael York has no plans toretire. In late December, a few days beforeChristmas, he has finally returned to hishome high in the Hollywood Hills above LosAngeles overlooking the Sunset Strip, wherethis interview took place, after a charged butenjoyable 2008. “My father had a successfulcareer at Marks & Spencer” says Michael, byway of explaining his own personal workethic, “But 60 was the mandatory retiringage in those days in Britain and the emotionalstress of giving it all up was considerable.”

In a profession with no cut-off point,Michael is driven to stretch and practice theactor’s art constantly, almost without pausingto take a breath. Unsurprisingly, he lookeda little weary but still slim and fit whilerecounting a 12-month work schedule thatwould stun an ox.

INTERVIEW ! By Stuart Rowland

APOLLO 12

If the answer is “YES!” to the question“do you want to act” and you are agedbetween 13 and 21, the National YouthTheatre, Britain's Premiere youth theatrecompany, is just the place for you!

In an exclusive celebrity interview for Apollo Executive Review,

Stuart Rowlands talks to

I like to keep testing the waters…Michael

York

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“In late December 2007 I got back to LosAngeles after filming in Russia, Germany,Poland and Israel”, he remembers. “2008got off to a quick start with the continuednarration of a new audio version of theentire Bible – a huge undertaking that wouldtake most of the year to complete. This wasfollowed by a recording of Alan Paton’sextraordinary classic tale of apartheid inSouth Africa, Cry the Beloved Country. Nextwas a project very dear to my heart -performing with the Long Beach Operacompany on a very daring double bill,Strauss Meets Frankenstein” .

By March, Michael and his wife Pat wereheaded east to Maine where Pat, a celebratedand published photographer, was shootingrenowned American ‘pop art movementicon’ artist Robert Indiana for a new book.

June and July were spent in England nearBath filming part one of a German backedmini-series for television telling the tale ofauthor Rosamunde Pilcher’s Four Seasons,with Michael co-starring with Senta Berger,Tom Conti and Juliet Mills and “luxuriatingin the wonderful Englishness of it all”. MidAugust saw Michael and Pat back in theUSA with Michael performing at the BardFestival in up-state New York followed bythe Ravinia Festival outside Chicago wherehe teamed up with old friend and Ravinia’smusic director, James Conlon, who is alsothe current music director of the LosAngeles Opera.

APOLLO 13

I like to keep testing the waters…l

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Paul 11. Among other extraordinary locations,it had involved spending a day in a SistineChapel brightly illuminated with movielights. When asked if he was CatholicMichael laughed, replied no, but said hewasn’t asked for credentials before signing on.

Still in October and only three days afterhis Papal encounter, Michael flew back to theUnited States to make a guest appearance atthe 2008 Hot Springs Documentary FilmFestival in Arkansas. November saw him in a‘chilly’ Poland shooting The Mill and the Crosswith Charlotte Rampling and Rutger Hauer,scheduled for release in 2009. AfterwardsMichael and Pat returned to Los Angeles for abrief three day visit before winging their wayback to New York for the launch of Pat’slatest photographic tome, Fame and Frame,featuring stunning photographs of the art andentertainment worlds, including a youngAlbert Finney, David Bailey, David Hockneyand Michael… whew!

“I like to keep busy” says Michael ratherredundantly, “Many actors don’t, but I like tokeep testing the waters.” And happily hisbent for pastures new is shared by Pat as theytravel together constantly, most recently forher exhibitions in Hong Kong and AbuDhabi. For Michael York it’s now been morethan 60 movies and 80 television productionsplus numerous stage performances, recordingsand the writing of five books. When asked ifthere were roles he regretted turning down orroles he had accepted but regretted, he says “Idon’t think you can live by those standards of

MICHAEL YORK !

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Late August saw Michael in Merida, Spainperforming in Antony & Cleopatra withSusannah York in the Roman arena (5000spectators, no microphone and perfectacoustics!), before he and Pat flew to Venicein early October for the PordenoneInternational Silent Film Festival whichfeatured the European Premiere of the docu-mentary Mary Pickford, The Muse of theMovies, narrated by Michael. With a quickbreak to host an acting Master Class inAntalya, Turkey, Michael then winged his wayback to Italy for an audience with His HolinessPope Benedict XV1 at the Vatican where hepresented a documentary about Pope John

“I like to keepbusy. Manyactors don’t,but I like tokeep testingthe waters.”

MICHAEL YORK !

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logic. For example I turned down the roleopposite the lovely Ali MacGraw in LoveStory. If I had been in that role it wouldn’thave been the same film and perhaps not assuccessful. I go by my instincts, if it doesn’twork out you have nothing to regret. Youhave made the choice and you live by it.”

Michael has played some memorableroles in such films as Cabaret with LizaMinnelli, or the swashbuckling D’Artagnan inThe Three Musketeers with the irrepressibleOliver Reed; Murder on the Orient Expresswith an all-star cast was another success, aswas Logan’s Run with Jenny Agutter andThe Island of Dr. Moreau, where he starredopposite Burt Lancaster and a sometimesoverly friendly 10 foot tall Kodiac Bear. Hismost recent movie role successes include allthree Austin Powers movies.

These days Michael takes pleasure innarrating with great orchestras such as theFort Worth, Los Angeles or ChicagoSymphonies. He conducts his Master Classesin acting several times a year all over theglobe and continues to take on stage, TV andmovie roles. However, says Michael whoseclassic, recognizable English accent is in greatdemand to narrate audio books includingrecordings of C.S. Lewis’s The Chronicles ofNarnia, Aldous Huxley’s Brave New Worldand a new version of Alice in Wonderland. “Ofevery expression of acting that I undertaketoday”, says Michael, “audio recording takes

the most punishing concentration work of allespecially if I have a book with numerouscharacters. If it’s a really great book it’s analmost excessive responsibility to do it justice– but its rewards are in equal proportion. I’mhappy to say that Cry the Beloved Countrymade the list of recommended audio booksfor 2008, which is always a nice pat on thehead. However, although it’s pleasant to lookback on things, what really turns me on islooking forward to what lies ahead.”

Stuart Rowlands is a Welsh born publicistliving in the Hollywood Hills and the formerhead of Global PR for IMG. His clients haveincluded the Nobel Peace Institute, theQuebec Tourist Board, the Government ofGhana, Island Records and Honda'sinternational motorcycle racing programme.He is a former rock concert publicist wholists some of the bigger riots to his credit.

Michael York sat for thisexclusive interview on themorning of New Year’s Eve2008. His 2009 schedule isalready shaping up nicelywith at least four trips toEurope on the calendarincluding production of Part2 of ‘The Four Seasons’mini-series back in England.However before he leavesLos Angeles yet again he isscheduled to play thecomposer in ‘IntimateLetters’, a play based on theletters of Leos Janacek tohis young muse, again forthe Long Beach Opera.