In the Moment: My Life as an Actor

In the Moment is an intimate memoir by the quintessential actors actor. Ben Gazzara established his name at the Actors Studio in 1952. Working under Elia Kazan and Lee Strasberg, alongside Marlon Brando and James Dean, and gaining success with mega-stars like Marilyn Monroe, Gazzara helped to introduce a new acting style to the world. More importantly, however, the Actors Studio launched his career as a leading man when he was handpicked by Kazan to originate the role of Brick on Broadway in Tennessee Williamss Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. Soon Gazzara achieved national fame in the film Anatomy of a Murder. Launched into a career in which he worked and played with Frank Sinatra, Orson Welles, Laurence Olivier, Shelley Winters, Lee Remick, Woody Allen, and Audrey Hepburn, who was for a time the authors lover, Gazzara may be best known for his early work in independent film, collaborating on a string of off-beat, experimental movies by John Cassavetes. In the Moment takes readers onto the movie sets, revealing for the first time how these and other much-loved films were created. More recently, Gazzara has sprung into the second phase of his career by appearing in newer independent films.