Luke Evans – My Unexpected Journey book review: A sensitive soul, a deep thinker and a great wit

When Luke Evans makes his big break in the world of showbiz, he makes an interesting revelation. He may be mixing with the stars, but behind the glitz and glamour of fame lie ordinary people. 

Here lies the joy in Evans’ memoir: that the moment the red satin curtains are pulled back, there is a human with a lot of heart.

Now don’t get me wrong – if you like a celebrity anecdote, Evans does not disappoint – there’s a cast of characters spanning the heights of Hollywood – everyone from Charlotte Church to Cher makes an appearance – with many a warm and witty observation from the part of Wales’ favourite raconteur. 

There is more than your fair share of the well-trodden realm of fame and excess too – parties on yachts in Southern France; tumultuous relationships with supermodels; and tensions behind the camera with troubled co-stars that will more than feed any reader’s hunger for a little celebrity gossip.

But where this memoir soars is in perhaps what has also made Evans such a successful actor – there is a clear delineation between life in the spotlight and life offstage. You may well think you know Luke Evans, the handsome face from the movie poster, but this read reveals so much more: a sensitive soul; a deep thinker and a great wit.

Indeed, Evans comes from humble beginnings as a working-class lad from the Valleys. As a writer and storyteller, he is a keen observer of character that is – dare I say – reminiscent of Dylan Thomas. The aptly titled Act One recalls growing up gay – the twist here that Evans was raised as a Jehovah’s Witness. 

His reminiscing isn’t just entertaining – it’s clear from his childhood quips that he was born to be on the stage – but brave, quick to question a religion that has clearly so impacted both he and his family’s lives. His struggle is a moving one and just like his singing voice, his writing is captivatingly emotion-fuelled. Seemingly ever the optimist, every tragedy is tinged with hope.

His incredible rise from school play star to screen makes for a compelling read, but it is elevated by the fact that Evans approaches life with wide-eyes. Walking in his footsteps, every new experience becomes an excitement as he tours the reader around backstage life with excitement and glee. 

It’s clear that he loves the worlds of both theatre and cinema, and his writing offers a fascinating insight into the workings of the creative world – charting the making of everything from Taboo to The Hobbit to his debut album, At Last.

Whilst Evans was harangued by some for what they perceive as not coming out publicly earlier in his career, what becomes apparent is that this is because he has always wanted to be an actor – and not just a gay actor. His groundbreaking accolade as a performer who has managed to break into the world of action movies and romantic leads is truly remarkable in an industry where he still recognises it isn’t easy to be gay.

If you begin the memoir feeling impressed by the star’s astonishing rise to stardom, you finish it feeling struck by the fact that Evans is simply a very lovely man making the most of life and grateful for every little bit of it. Inspired, one can’t help but feel it might be time to make more of our own unexpected journeys through life. After all, everybody has to start somewhere…