Celebrity

Nigel Havers’ definition of ‘luck’ had people facepalming all over the internet

John Plunkett. Updated November 19th, 2021

There’s good luck and there’s good luck, and then there’s the sort of good luck enjoyed by Nigel Havers, according to the actor’s Metro Q&A.

The star was asked whether he had any idea Chariots of Fire, the 1981 Oscar-winning Olympic drama which he starred in and was produced by David Puttnam, was going to be such a big hit.

And his answer appears to be nothing out of the ordinary until the unexpected twist in the tale which is surely deserving of an award all its own.

‘Incredible definition of “luck” from Nigel Havers in today’s Metro,’ said writer and critic Caspar Salmon, who went viral after sharing this excerpt from the Q&A on Twitter.

And just in case that’s tricky to read …

‘Did you have any idea that Chariots of Fire would be such a huge hit?’

‘Absolutely not. When you make a film like that on a tiny budget, you don’t expect much to come of it but everyone took such care over it that when it did break out, I thought it deserved to because so much love had gone into it.

‘But it’s luck isn’t it? My dad was in government at that time [as Margaret Thatcher’s Lord Chancellor] and [producer] David Puttnam asked him if he could wangle it to be the Royal Command film.

‘Dad happened to meet the guy who decides that the next day – you need God smiling on you.’

Indeed you do.

And here are just a few of the comments it prompted.

Just in the interests of balance and all that, there were also people saying this.

And while we’re talking Nigel Havers – not a phrase we get to use very often – there’s no better time to remember when he won the battle of the video call backgrounds.

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Source Twitter @casparsalmon