In Tough Acts Berkoff writes in fascinating detail about many of the legendary directors and actors he has worked with, including Stanley Kubrick, Mikhall Baryshnikov, Christopher Walken, Sylvester Stallone, Leonard Rossiter, Roman Polanski, Eddie Murphy, Joan Collins, Christopher Plummer, Stella Adler, Brad Davis and Al Pacino. Berkoff vividly captures the unique and intense kind of closeness that develops during the rehearsal period and the run of a play or the time of a film shoot and the volatile and unpredictable encounters that this sudden and intense intimacy can produce. Full of first-hand stories and observations of the stars he has worked with creatively and seen in the raw, and based in part on his detailed journals, Tough Acts is a compelling read which provides an intriguing insight into the vivid and intense experiences that make up Steven Berkoff's enthralling and often surrealist world.