Robert Henrey: 'I was the child in The Fallen Idol' I was the child in the film The Fallen Idol, directed by Carol Reed and starring Ralph Richardson. It was a dark film, based on a Graham Greene story, and when it was released in 1948, it was an instant box-office success. This is a picture of me as an eight-year-old boy with Ralph, who was about 45; he's signing autographs on set - at the spot on the steps where he pushes his wife to her death - and I'm looking at what he's doing with intense curiosity. I was chosen for the film when Carol Reed saw my photograph in a book my parents, who were writers, had published about our lives in France. I wasn't an actor - but my parents thought it would be an interesting experience so they agreed. We started filming in September and it continued to the following March - so quite a long time. My memory was that it was a very professional activity - you turned up on time, dealt with everyone very civilly and then left when you were told to go home at the end of the day. So when people ask me what Ralph Richardson or Carol Reed were like and if they were nice to me, well yes they were, but they were cordial to everyone and that was it. There was quite a lot of downtime on set while they positioned cameras or changed lighting, and in that time I had a governess who would teach me. My parents didn't think she was very good, and whether I learnt anything during that time is debatable. This is on set at Shepperton studios and my big memory of this film was how delighted I was to see that everything was made of plywood and linoleum. I loved being able to walk behind the set and see it was fake. Another strong memory I have is being supposed to smile at one point, and for whatever reason I didn't want to. So Carol Reed got a magician to come on set to perform for me. I remember this poor man walking up the staircase with his bag of tricks that were just for me. I remember thinking I should just smile now. When the film came out I was propelled into the spotlight. Children have a natural tendency to tease those who are different, and so I was fair game for ridicule. I soon began to regret being a child actor because I just wanted to be ordinary, like everyone else. As a teenager I struggled with what the experience did to me and I tried - unsuccessfully - to pretend it never happened. But as an adult (I'm 74 now) I recognise that it was a really interesting experience and I can finally look back on it and think it was neat. But it has taken me a long time to come round. Through Grown-up Eyes: Living with Childhood Fame by Robert Henrey is out now