Miranda Birch Media

Stories that change attitudes and reach new audiences

  • Facebook
  • Google+
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter
  • Home
  • About
  • Services
  • Case Studies
  • Testimonials
  • Blog
  • Contact

Interviewing Sir David Attenborough. (Obama was my warm up act. No pressure…)

In 2016 I was lucky enough to talk to Sir David about his brother, Lord (Richard) Attenborough, for the University of Sussex.

Attenborough IMG_4056 crop4

Original image by Parlourwood

Richard Attenborough was an Oscar-winning director and versatile actor who appeared in more than a hundred films. Perhaps less well known is his long and fond association with the University of Sussex.

It began in 1968, when he was directing his first feature film, ‘Oh! What a Lovely War’. He recruited students as extras to play soldiers being sent to the trenches.

Two years later he became Pro-Chancellor and then Chancellor from 1998 to 2008, delighting audiences during graduation ceremonies.

To celebrate the newly renovated Attenborough Centre for the Creative Arts the University commissioned Parlourwood to create a tribute to Lord Attenborough.

As part of this, I was asked to interview Sir David.

You don’t need me to tell you that over the course of his career, David Attenborough has captured the private moments of every type of living organism on this planet. A broadcasting giant who’d just been interviewed by the President of the United States at the time, Barack Obama.

I’ll be honest. I was a bit nervous.

Professional accolades.

I needn’t have worried. I was soon drawn into the parallel stories of two driven and focussed brothers.

When you list the milestones of their respective careers, the Attenboroughs’ achievements, often in tandem, are highly impressive:

1940s: David receives a scholarship to Cambridge; Richard wins one at RADA and, a few years later, enjoys his breakthrough acting role as Pinkie in ‘Brighton Rock’.

1960s: Richard’s feature film directorial debut, ‘Oh! What a Lovely War’ attracts critical acclaim; David becomes controller of BBC Two and commissions ground-breaking programmes such as ‘Monty Python’s Flying Circus’ and ‘Civilisation’.

1970s and 1980s: David writes and presents the first trilogy of ‘Life’ films – ‘Life on Earth’, ‘The Living Planet’ and, in 1990, ‘The Trials of Life’. Richard’s film ‘Gandhi’ wins Academy Awards for Best Director and Best Picture, and there are Golden Globe nominations for ‘Cry Freedom’ and ‘A Chorus Line’.

Personal insights.

The film not only celebrates Lord Attenborough’s artistic achievements. It also sheds light on why the role of Chancellor at the University was so important to him. As you’ll discover, when you watch Sir David, it goes back to their childhood:

My father was an academic and very scholarly. He simply couldn’t understand that my elder brother – his first born son – was failing in standard exams – which my father thought were child’s play. He was failing of course because he was spending all his time in the theatre…

My dear brother, he had one thing that was quite misguided, and that was, that he had that impression, (which stemmed from the time when he was an early teenager from what his father said to him), that he had not come up to the mark in terms of academic achievement. And the fact that he transcended all that, very, very early on, didn’t convince him. He still always thought that there was an ideal up there, which was an academic one and he hadn’t reached it.

So the awards which he really valued were the academic awards. And he really valued being involved in an academic institution of the stature of Sussex. It meant a huge amount to him.

A different side to the Attenborough story.

So if you’ve grown up enjoying Sir David Attenborough’s narrative style, watch this film. It includes a brilliant photograph of the two brothers dressed as charladies – “the ladies what come to oblige”.

I’ll say no more. See it for yourself.

Related posts:

  • Daphne Todd: the Big Painting Challenge and why boilers and bricks deserve their moment of fame.
  • The story behind your business values. Not sure what it is? Or what it’s worth? Read on.
  • Be understood the first time. Use DIY.
  • Don’t dry up #3. Content saved from the cutting room floor.

Filed Under: Purpose stories, Storytelling tips Tagged With: human interest, inspirational speakers, new side to Attenborough, stories about celebrities, stories about famous people, stories in pictures, video stories

Miranda Birch

About Miranda at Miranda Birch Media: your marketing will make a deeper impression once I interview the people who will help your organisation to grow: leaders, clients, volunteers and staff. From these conversations I unearth the themes (clients call them ‘nuggets’) that will land most powerfully with your target audiences. As your content mentor, I’ll also help you turn these nuggets into client case studies, About and Home pages, thought-leadership articles and other content that will prove you’re as good as you say you are.

One last thing… There’s another ‘Miranda Birch’ out there, who writes books about ‘dominance and submission’. This is not me and has nothing to do with my company Miranda Birch Media. I’d love you to dominate your niche, but not in the way she means! Email me now and we can have a chat about where you want to get to and how I can help.

Read More...

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Get new insights about your business every week.


    Recent posts

    • Company values. Are they a match for you?
    • Is your firm an osteopath in disguise? (Perhaps it should be.)
    • You’d never want to make your customers feel stupid, would you? But many well-meaning companies do…
    • Win that business. Write as you speak.
    • Have you told your ‘before’ and ‘after’ stories yet?

    Copyright © 2021 Miranda Birch Media | Terms & Conditions | Privacy Policy
    Website by Steve Watson

    We use cookies to make this website better. If you continue to use this website you are agreeing to their use.AcceptCookie policy