Steven Berkoff admits to Lloyd Evans that, despite his reputation, he’s not tough at all
On the waterfront. This, literally, is where I meet Steven Berkoff to discuss his stage adaptation of the classic Fifties movie. Berkoff’s east London office is a sumptuous, spotlessly clean apartment with wraparound views of the grey-green Thames. He strolls in, direct from rehearsals, wearing dark loose baggy clothes. I’d expected a brash, superconfident whirlwind but Berkoff is softly spoken, pensive, hesitantly friendly. He even asks if I mind him smoking a roll-up. ‘Of course not.’ But he doesn’t have one. Instead we sip coffee at a vast polished black table.
There’s something melancholy in the lined complexities of his face, and his pale, brilliant blue eyes haven’t quite the unnerving intensity they once had. I ask why he chose this project. ‘Often plays come into your orbit for unspecific reasons.
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