I have to say, with a great amount of honesty, that one of the most influential people in my life has to be the late Jeremy Brett. Although I have never met the man, his inner strength, dedication and overall positive outlook on life have influenced me in ways I could never imagine.

 

 

Mr. Brett, in his lifetime, endured many hardships, including suffering from Bi-Polar Disorder, heart disease and the loss of his wife to cnacer. Many people, if faced with all these problems, would not be able to continue living and would look for an easy way to end their suffering. Not Jeremy Brett. Mr. Brett, despite all the hardships he was forced to endure, managed to somehow pull through each and every one of them. It seems to tme that he had a well of inner strength that never ran dry. Even when things looked bleak in his life, Mr. Brett always found inner strength and was able to cope with and ocer come the obstacles in his path.

 

 

I admire and respect Mr. Brett for always surviving, always facing any obstacles head on and always having the inner strength to deal with problems. I have, on many occasions, attempted to follow his example. When my uncle passed away, I grieved, but thanks to Mr. Brett's example, I found the inner strength to cope with my personal tragedy and overcome it. I applied Mr. Brett's personal motto, 'upward and onward' to my own life and managed to survive all the hardships in my life thus far. Mr. Brett's personal strength and positive outlook on life is not the only influence he had on me.

 

 

 Mr. Brett, a famous actor, never allowed fame to go to his head. He handled every critical acclaim with flair and grace, but never once did he allow fame to inflate his ego to unimaginable proportions. He remained humble and always strived to do better. He knew that 'famous' was merely a title, not a way of life. I too, like Jeremy Brett, attempt to never let praise go to my head. When people compliment me or compliment the work I've done, I try, like Mr. Brett, to accept their praise with grace and not allow it to affect my ego. Although praise makes anyone feel good about themselves, I try to follow Mr. Brett's example and remain humble, realzing that there are people who are better than I.

 

 

Inadvertently, Mr. Brett has also influienced my writing. Mr. Brett always considered himself a 'becomer,' which means he bacme the character that he was playing. In 1991, in an interview, Mr. Brett described his acting style thus: "In other words, you become the person you're playing...if I'm the sponge--you squeeze the liquid of yourself out and draw in the liquid of the creature or the person you're playing." (www.brettish.com) I studied Mr. Brett's acting style and decided to see if I could apply his theory of 'becoming' a character to my writing. After several weeks of practice, I realized that with enough mental effort, I could 'squeeze out' the liquid of my own personality, for the time being and replace it with the personality of my character. The results of these efforts were positive! My characterization became tighter and my characters seemed much more real. It seems that Mr. Brett was correct in saying that you must become the character you are playing (or in my case writing about) in order to make them come alive. Mr. Brett has been a source of both inspiration and strength for me. By following his example, I was able to overcome personal tragedies as well as breathe life into the characters in my fiction.

 

 

Mr. Brett is certainly a man that should be honored and admired. HIs example has influenced my life for the better and helped shape me into the young woman that I am today. I close with a quote that I keep close to my heart. "We are Spiritual Beings who can achieve all we set out to do."~Jeremy Brett

 

 

This website is my attempt at keeping his memory alive and thanking him for the positive influence he has been in my life. Thank you Mr. Brett!