“My father was a tailor. He worked from seven o'clock in the morning until seven at night. At least when he got home, my mother always cooked him a very good dinner. Lots of potatoes, I remember; he used to knock them down like a dose of salts. He needed it, after a 12-hour day.”

English playwright, screenwriter, director and actor

Harold Pinter was an English playwright, screenwriter, director and actor. Born in 1930 and active for more than 50 years, he became one of the most influential modern dramatists in British theatre and received the 2005 Nobel Prize in Literature. He is best known for plays such as The Birthday Party, The Homecoming and Betrayal, all of which he later adapted for the screen. He also wrote screenplays for films including The Servant, The Go-Between, The French Lieutenant's Woman, The Trial and Sleuth, and worked across radio, stage, television and film as both director and performer.