Albert Finney

Hershman has managed to gather a huge amount of information and distill it into a book that is not only respectful but full of insights into what makes this unstarriest of stars able to produce brilliant work without appearing to break a sweat. - Kathryn Hughes, Mail on Sunday He was a Salford-born, homework-hating bookies son who broke the social barriers of British film. He did his share of roistering, and yet outlived his contemporaries and dodged typecasting to become a five-time Oscar nominee and one of our most durable international stars. Bon vivant, perennial rebel, self-effacing character actor, charismatic charmer, mentor to a generation of working-class artists, a byword for professionalism, lover of horseflesh and female flesh Albert Finney is all these things and more. Gabriel Hershmans colourful and riveting account of Finneys life and work, which draws on interviews with many of his directors and co-stars, examines how one of Britains greatest actors built a glittering career without sacrificing his integrity.