Christian Slater: Back from the Edge

by Nigel Goodall

Starring in the acclaimed cult films Heathers and Pump Up the Volume, and drawing comparisons to a young Jack Nicholson, Christian Slater was the embodiment of teenage cool. His position as an A-list star continued through the 1990s, with brilliant performances in films like Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, True Romance, and Broken Arrow that further established him as a formidable force in acting. But fame and success did not sit easily with the young actor, and his off-screen behavior earned him a “bad boy” reputation. Despite the tabloid headlines, the actor has remained successful; more recently, he has turned his talents to the theater, starring in the stage version of One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest as well as The Glass Menagerie. Nigel Goodall’s previous book was What’s Eating Johnny Depp?

Genres: Biography

262 pages, Hardcover

First published August 1, 2005

About the author

Nigel Goodall is one of the most respected celebrity biographers in the UK with more than 20 books on the movie and pop world to his credit. He has written about some of the biggest names in showbusiness including Elton John, Kylie Minogue, Ray Winstone, David Tennant and Winona Ryder, which combined, have sold over a million copies and won him a literary prize nomination.

Reviews

[Bustagroovy]

Mostly padded out with movie synopses, pretty dull overall.

[Jevron McCrory]

Christian Slater is a fascinating example of real talent and a promising career squashed by a series of bad movies and bad choices. It's not entirely his fault. No one actor can help how a film turns out but reading this book, it's shocking how unfortunate Christian has been in terms of box office success.

As intriguing as the subject is, sadly this is yet another mediocre biography on an actor that feels like it was banged out on an afternoon of tea, cookies and Wikipedia. There's no depth here. None. Even Christian's big films feel swept over. EVEN his shocking bad boy history doesn't feel explored. Worse, Nigel Goodall makes some BIZARRE conclusions at times and jumps to all manner of ludicrous arguments with no basis for his points of view at all!

I didn't know much about Slater until this. I don't feel like I learned all that much after reading this either.