Alexander Knox (1907-1995) was a distinguished stage and screen actor,
who is best remembered today for his title performance in the 1944
production of Wilson. He was active both in London's West End and on
Broadway, and began his Hollywood career in 1941 with The Sea Wolf.
Because of his liberal activities in the film community, including
co-founding of the Committee for the First Amendment, Knox was
"grey-listed," and forced to settle permanently in the United Kingdom,
where he became a familiar figure both in films and on television. On
Actors and Acting collects together Knox's writings, published and
unpublished, on various performers with whom he worked or was familiar,
and on the art and craft of acting. Knox writes on Laurence Olivier, a
close personal friend with whom he appeared in the memorable 1940
production of Romeo and Juliet. He discusses his performance as Wilson.
Other actors and actresses about whom Knox has many original things to
say include Sara Allgood, Dana Andrews, George Arliss, and Walter
Huston. Anthony Slide, a film historian and a personal friend of
Alexander Knox and his wife, actress Doris Nolan, edited On Actors and
Acting. Slide contributes a lengthy career overview and has also
compiled a complete filmography, documenting Knox's screen career from
his first film, The Gaunt Stranger in 1938, through his last, Joshua
Then and Now in 1985.