In 1984 Antony Sher hailed as the most exciting actor of his generation by the ÊObserverÊ made his debut ä on homemade crutches ä as the infamous Richard III in the Royal Shakespeare Company production of the play. He would go on to win the Laurence Olivier and Evening Standard Awards for best actor. In his own words and sketches he chronicles his personal and professional journey to this award-winning performance from the moment he was offered the role to opening night in the critically acclaimed book ÊYear of the KingÊ now available in this special 20th anniversary edition.ÞFrom his brainstorm to use crutches to bring the king's deformity to life to his research for the role which included watching interviews with psychopaths reading about mass murderers and speaking with doctors and physically challenged individuals to his visit to his homeland of South Africa to his experiences in working with the Royal Shakespeare Company the reader is given a front-row seat to Sher's physical and mental preparation ä or rather transformation ä for his landmark performance as the bottled spider.