‘It was terrible’: Bill Nighy recalls ‘embarrassing’ letter he wrote to his father when he ran away to Paris
Veteran actor shared some childhood memories in a new interview
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Bill Nighy has shared the touching story of how he once ran away to Paris, aged 15, with his best friend.
The English actor recalled writing a two-page note to his father Alfred, a garage owner in Caterham, with plans to write “the great English short story” in the French capital.
The actor told GQ Style in a new interview that he’d made the journey without taking any underwear “because I’d read that Ernest Hemingway didn’t wear any”.
Nighy recalled arriving with his friend Brendan in Paris only to realise it was too late to find somewhere to sleep. Instead, they slept in the street, waking to realise they were under the Arc de Triomphe.
“It was two bits of writing paper,” Nighy said of the letter he wrote to his father. “And it said, ‘Don’t try and find me. I’ll be 17 soon, and I can no longer live under your repressive regime.’
“It was terrible, the most embarrassing piece of tosh you’ve ever read in your life,” he added. When his father died, in 1976, Nighy discovered that his father had kept it after all those years.
Nighy, who is set to appear in new film Living with Tom Burke and Sex Education’s Amee Lou Wood this year, recently went viral on TikTok after being spotted on the London Tube reading Sylvia Plath.
In a clip shared on the video app by user Emma Lawlor, the Love Actually star could be seen reading Plath’s seminal text The Bell Jar while sat down on the London Underground.
The footage delighted fans, with one commenting: “Not him reading The Bell Jar. I can’t with this man.” Read more here.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments