Putting the Rabbit in the Hat

Reviews and more on my blog, Entering the Enchanted Castle I got interested in this from the review at annabookbel.net – unlike Annabel, I've never seen Cox onstage or even on film (except in Braveheart, where I must have seen but didn't consciously notice him), and I don't watch TV so haven't seen him in his current hit show. Still I enjoyed his memoir about his life in the theatre, later emphasizing more movies and TV since he chose to go Hollywood and become a successful character actor. The earlier part of the book was more compelling; later on it became very fragmented and name-droppy. Aside from repeated self-castigations for being such a bad husband to his first wife and bad dad (and it seems he really was), there wasn't much coherence to the thoughts his personal life or inner journey. Often reads like he's talking to you over a beer, with his conversational asides and quips. The most interesting musings are about acting as a form of “expiation,” but he's never able to make it quite clear exactly what he means by it, except that he does it and Ian McKellen doesn't.