PHILIP VOSS
The young actor playing Acomat suffered for his art during the making of Marco Polo.
Philip Voss is acknowledged as one of the country’s fi nest classical actors, having excelled in leading parts for the Royal Shakespeare Company and National Theatre. Playing the villainous bandit Acomat in Marco Polo was an early entry in his 50-year screen career. “It was extraordinary,” he recalls. “It was done in Lime Grove in a very small studio. The set I was on was about a yard square. We lived in a cave, and I emerged when Derren Nesbitt returned from one of his travels with just a few blades of grass in front of me. And that was the set! It was a wonderful experience, actually. Derren used to play games to keep us all amused and occupied.