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I__ having my lunch when I hear a familiar hoarse shout, __y Tony!_ I whip round, damaging my neck further, to see Michael Gambon in the lunch queue. _Gambon tells me the story of Olivier auditioning him at the Old Vic in 1962. His audition speech was from Richard III. __ee, Tone, I was thick as two short planks then and I didn__ know he__ had a rather notable success in the part. I was just shitting myself about meeting the Great Man. He sussed how green I was and started farting around.__s reported by Gambon, their conversation went like this:Olivier: __hat are you going to do for me?__ambon: __ichard the Third.__livier: __s that so. Which part?__ambon: __ichard the Third.__livier: __es, but which part?__ambon: __ichard the Third.__livier: __es, I understand that, but which part?__ambon: __ichard the Third.__livier: __ut which character? Catesby? Ratcliffe? Buckingham__ a good part __ambon: __h I see, beg your pardon, no, Richard the Third.__livier: __hat, the King? Richard?__ambon: _ _ the Third, yeah.__livier: __ou__e got a fucking cheek, haven__ you?__ambon: __eg your pardon?__livier: __ever mind, which part are you going to do?__ambon: __ichard the Third.__livier: __on__ start that again. Which speech?__ambon: __h I see, beg your pardon, __as every woman in this humour woo__.___livier: __ight. Whenever you__e ready.__ambon: _ __as ever woman in this humour woo__ __ __livier: __ait. Stop. You__e too close. Go further away. I need to see the whole shape, get the full perspective.__ambon: __h I see, beg your pardon _ Gambon continues, __o I go over to the far end of the room, Tone, thinking that I__e already made an almighty tit of myself, so how do I save the day? Well I see this pillar and I decide to swing round it and start the speech with a sort of dramatic punch. But as I do this my ring catches on a screw and half my sodding hand gets left behind. I think to myself, __ow I mustn__ let this throw me since he__ already got me down as a bit of an arsehole_, so I plough on _ __as ever woman in this humour woo__ ____livier: __ait. Stop. What__ the blood?__ambon: __othing, nothing, just a little gash, I do beg your pardon __ nurse had to be called and he suffered the indignity of being given first aid with the greatest actor in the world passing the bandages. At last it was done.Gambon: __hall I start again?__livier: __o. I think I__e got a fair idea how you__e going to do it. You__ better get along now. We__l let you know.__ambon went back to the engineering factory in Islington where he was working. At four that afternoon he was bent over his lathe, working as best as he could with a heavily bandaged hand, when he was called to the phone. It was the Old Vic.__t__ not easy talking on the phone, Tone. One, there__ the noise of the machinery. Two, I have to keep my voice down __ause I__ cockney at work and posh with theatre people. But they offer me a job, spear-carrying, starting immediately. I go back to my work-bench, heart beating in my chest, pack my tool-case, start to go. The foreman comes up, says, __y, where you off to?_ ____e got bad news,_ I say, ____e got to go._ He says, __hy are you taking your tool box?_ I say, __ can__ tell you, it__ very bad news, might need it._ And I never went back there, Tone. Home on the bus, heart still thumping away. A whole new world ahead. We tend to forget what it felt like in the beginning.