Guilt!
Guilt is a big part of my Anton appreciation - it’s rather strange. I feel like a bit of a fraud half the time. I am a very neglectful webmaster - not updating the site for years; I haven’t even seen all the AW films that are available at reasonable prices (I’ve got La Ronde and Queen of Spades waiting to be watched right now); and I couldn’t hand-on-heart say that AW was absolutely my number-one all-time peerlessly perfect favourite actor (to paraphrase something David Mamet wrote about AW, he is - and so is Roger Livesey, Peter Barkworth, and maybe one or two others). There are probably people who are more passionate about his work, and know more about the films and plays he was in, so I feel rather embarrassed when communicating with other fans and film buffs. And that’s another thing - I don’t know what is about three rungs below ‘buff’ in film knowledge, but that’s where I am. Hmm. The thing is, I think he’s an astonishing and under-appreciated actor, and finding out more about him is simply enjoyable for me. It’s a selfish thing. It’s like being a detective on a case, without the mess and palaver of a murder to worry about. That’s not a noble quest - but it is fun, which is much harder to resist.
