Main content

Robert Powell

Michael Berkeley鈥檚 guest is actor Robert Powell. With music by Janacek, Stravinsky, Bach and Bob Dylan.

Robert Powell is one of our best-known actors, with a career that began in the late sixties and exploded into almost instant fame; since then, there have been some fifty films, including 鈥淭he Thirty-Nine Steps鈥 and 鈥淭he Italian Job鈥, numerous theatre roles, and television appearances which have included six years on Holby City. For many people, though, he will always be Gustav Mahler thanks to Ken Russell鈥檚 1973 biopic; for some, he became a memorable representation of Jesus Christ, thanks to his starring role in Zeffirelli鈥檚 six-hour epic.

Robert Powell begins by choosing Mahler鈥檚 famous Adagietto from the Fifth Symphony. He listened to Mahler non-stop when rehearsing for the role, but was still surprised by some of the eccentric things Ken Russell asked him to do: he will never forget floating for hours in a freezing lake. He talks about the impact of early fame, conjuring up the excitement of the King鈥檚 Road in the 鈥渟winging sixties鈥, and meeting his wife, Babs, who danced with Pan鈥檚 People. And he tells the story of how, when he was playing Jesus, he delivered the Sermon on the Mount and 鈥渟omething really extraordinary happened鈥. These days he is a devoted grandfather, making up for the time he couldn鈥檛 spend with his family when he was away filming. Other music choices include Stravinsky, Bach, Janacek, and his hero Bob Dylan.

A Loftus Media production for 麻豆约拍 Radio 3
Produced by Elizabeth Burke

Available now

32 minutes

Last on

Sun 26 Mar 2023 12:00

Music Played

  • Gustav Mahler

    Symphony no.5 (4th mvt: Adagietto)

    Orchestra: Amsterdam Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra. Conductor: Bernard Haitink.
  • Leos Jan谩膷ek

    Sinfonietta (1st mvt)

    Orchestra: London Symphony Orchestra. Conductor: Sir Simon Rattle.
  • Igor Stravinsky

    The Soldier's Tale (final scenes)

    Ensemble: Columbia Chamber Ensemble. Conductor: Igor Stravinsky.
  • Bob Dylan

    Don't Think Twice, It's All Right

  • Johann Sebastian Bach

    Toccata and Fugue in D minor

    Ensemble: Jacques Loussier Trio.
  • Ariel Ram铆rez

    Misa Criolla (Kyrie)

    Choir: Estudio Coral de Buenos Aires. Conductor: Ricardo Hagman.
  • Kaiser Chiefs

    Ruby

Broadcast

  • Sun 26 Mar 2023 12:00

What makes Boogie-woogie piano legend Jools Holland tick?

What makes Boogie-woogie piano legend Jools Holland tick?

For Private Passions, Jools Holland revealed his piano history to Michael Berkeley.

11 things we learned from Harry Enfield鈥檚 Private Passions

11 things we learned from Harry Enfield鈥檚 Private Passions

Harry doesn't usually give interviews 鈥 but he couldn't say no to Michael Berkeley.

Archive Unlocked: Two Decades of Private Passions

Michael Berkeley introduces memorable interviews from Private Passions' archives.

Podcast