The legendary actor tells Katty Kay that his parents would have much rather he became an accountant or insurance broker, but finally came around when they saw him perform on stage.

With a shelf filled with awards, including Screen Actors Guild trophies, Emmys, a Golden Globe, a Tony and a pair of Olivier Awards, 86-year-old Sir Derek Jacobi has proven to be much more than "the classical Shakespearean actor of our generation," as BBC special correspondent Katty Kay describes him during an interview at his home in London.

Sir Derek credits a serendipitous combination of luck and talent for his decades-long career, which includes roles in blockbusters like Gladiator and its 2024 sequel, and stints on sitcom Frasier, for which he won the 2001 Emmy for outstanding guest actor in a comedy series.

"Somehow, I was born to be an actor. That's what I feel. There was never any alternative," Sir Derek says about first appearing on the stage at the age of 17. He was born in north-east London to a father who ran a sweet shop and a mother who was a secretary. "That's what I wanted. That's what I thought I could do. That's what I enjoyed."

Enjoying the spotlight was just a part of his success. Sir Derek notes that after he found himself at the Birmingham Repertory Theatre (which he affectionately calls the Rep) in 1960, there wasn't anything else that matched the euphoria of basking in an audience's applause. It was a far cry from what his parents had hoped for. Like most, they'd expected their son to go into a field with stability, like accounting or insurance.

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"I always thought… I wanted to be an actor. I had no talent for anything else," he says. "Hamlet confirmed it." After reciting one of the doomed prince's monologues to Kay, Sir Derek admits that most of his roles have disappeared into the ether, but the work of the Bard has stayed with him since those early performances almost 70 years ago.........

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