The showbiz autobiography genre is now so ubiquitous that we know what to expect: a heavily edited version of events, often ghost-written. If you want to really know that celebrity, the truth won’t be found in their book. The preservation of image, and ego, forbids it.
Scottish actor Scott Kyle’s autobiography goes well and truly against the grain. It’s Not Where You Start begins not with triumph, but with the rug being well and truly pulled out from beneath him. Fresh off an award-winning run of Des Dillon’s play Singin’ I’m No A Billy He’s a Tim, the playwright pulls Kyle aside to say he will be taking the play forward, without him. Kyle has no choice but to go to the after-party, and face his friends and family. It’s called show-business for a reason.
Born into a working-class family, Kyle frames his life story with the idea that “people like me weren’t supposed to be successful”. Against a background of domestic abuse, street violence and substance misuse, Kyle has a point. Sadly, this is not a statistic that has improved over time. Even now, only 16% of people working in the arts come from working-class backgrounds.
Kyle’s volatile, unsettled childhood takes up most of the book, and with good reason. Kyle vividly draws a picture of life in impoverished Rutherglen, keenly observing character and scene. Having to dodge street gangs, living with the constant threat of Mum’s latest boyfriend, ominously referred to as “Thug”. The tone teeters on a knife edge. But it’s not all bleakness. Kyle shows an early talent for football and is encouraged to take it further. In many moments where Kyle shows how poverty limits, to get him the football boots he needs for practice, his Mum takes out a payday loan.
His route into performing is circuitous, but what Kyle takes from his childhood is a self-reliance. Eager to create his own opportunities, he sets up a production company. Job leads to job, and we see Kyle emerge as a film and television actor, with a recurring role in Outlander, and a villainous turn in Ken Loach’s comedy The Angel’s Share.
What is notable about Kyle is how he is able to pivot through the industry: he moves from acting, stage management, directing and teaching. The restlessness of his childhood has translated into an ability to recognise when something needs to change. His autobiography stands out simply because of its honesty. Success, for Kyle, was not guaranteed but earned. It can only be a matter of time before Kyle adds writer to his inexhaustible CV.
It’s Not Where You Start takes inspiration from an old Broadway musical, Seesaw. The other half of the lyric, “it’s where you finish”, is very much Kyle’s attitude to life. Kyle refuses to gloss over the hardships he experienced, and the inequality that still exists. The authenticity in not turning away from humble beginnings, or even outright failures, is not only refreshing, it makes for a far superior book.
Available to purchase from Luath Press
The Reviews Hub Star Rating
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