Veteran actor Larry Lamb has spoken openly about confronting his own mortality as he approaches his 78th birthday this October.
The Gavin and Stacey star revealed that thoughts of death increasingly occupy his mind.
“The older I get the more I think about how much I love life, but the more I think about how much I love life, the more it makes me think about death,” the 77-year-old confessed.
Using a vivid metaphor to describe his awareness of life’s finite nature, Lamb explained: “Somewhere out there – I see it now and again, flickering down the end of its kind of long, nicely illustrated tunnel there’s a sign, and it says, ‘Way Out,’ and I know that’s the way I’m going.”
The actor, who resides primarily in Normandy, has developed an annual tradition with a friend of maintaining graves at a local cemetery.
This practice has prompted profound contemplation about his own eventual fate.
“It all started me thinking more about facing it realistically, because sadly, I don’t want to sign up for that bit at all, but in the end you are going to have to,” he reflected.
To manage his lifelong fear of death, Lamb has turned to creative expression. He and a friend compose poems addressing mortality, which he finds therapeutic.
“It really makes it much easier for me to deal with, because I was always very frightened of it, and it was full of mystery,” he told MailOnline.
The father of four finds profound motivation to persevere through his relationships with his children: television presenter George, 45, and daughters Vanessa, 56, Eloise, 26, and Eva, 22.
When unable to return home for Father’s Day, his youngest daughters arranged a delayed celebration.
“My two baby daughters – both in their twenties – insisted that we have a belated celebration the next Sunday,” he shared.
These occasions hold deep significance for the family. “It just becomes more and more obvious to me that it’s an opportunity for them to write me a card or a letter and to tell me exactly how much they love me, and why,” Lamb revealed.
Their expressions of affection strengthen his resolve: “I sat there basking in their love, in the sunshine and just realising how lucky I was, and what makes me, and drives me to keep doing whatever I can, to stay alive for as long as I can to give them a dad for as long as I can.”
Lamb also shared memories of his friendship with Dame Maggie Smith, who passed away recently.
Their paths first crossed during his early acting days at the Shakespeare Festival in Stratford, Ontario.
Years later, they reconnected at a London club gathering honouring a deceased colleague.
“Our eyes met across a big room… she smiled at me and mouthed, ‘Larry Lamb,’ and we walked across to each other and we hugged,” he recalled.
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During their reunion, Smith confided her own struggles with ageing: “She just said, ‘I hate being old.'”
Though they maintained telephone contact afterwards, they never met again in person.