Josh Waldhorn’s The Summit expedition may have ended, but it inspired him to follow in his late father’s famous footsteps.
The 53-year-old native of London, UK is the son of Gary Waldhorn, an actor known for his roles in The Vicar of Dibley, Brideshead Revisited, The Professionals, The Bill and Heartbeat.
“He was a Shakespearean actor, really, but he was known for sitcoms,” Josh said during a chat with Chattr prior to his elimination.
“I grew up in the schools of theatre with all sorts of famous people. I was even in a play with him, Waiting for Godot which was a very famous production.”
Amidst the company of his father’s co-stars Dawn French, James Fleet, and Four Weddings and a Funeral star Richard Curtis, Josh and his family attended a memorial, flying back to the UK to pay tribute to Gary who passed away at 78 in January 2022.
There were also video messages from celebrities like Dame Judi Dench and others, which added an extra touch of love and warmth to the event.
Succession star Brian Cox’s advice for Josh Waldhorn
At the age of 10, Josh foreshadowed his passion for acting while starring alongside his dad in Godot in 1980.
Now, with aspirations of reviving his thespian talent, he reached out to Succession’s Brian Cox for guidance.
The tale began with a charming anecdote of growing up with Brian’s son, Alan Cox, who then ventured off to become Watson in Young Sherlock Holmes.
More recently, while Brian was down under for a literary festival in Melbourne, Josh left a note with the box office for him, which resulted in a 90-minute conversation between the two and Brian said to him, “You know, why don’t you [get into acting]?'”.
Josh confessed that since performing has “been in his blood”— having even had roles in a few TV series and a couple of short features — that The Summit would help him get back in front of the screen.
“I’ve been quietly hoping that this show [The Summit] might give me a reason to just get on with it,” he said.
Josh Waldhorn applied for The Summit after his father died
Gary’s passing left Josh in a “dark place”, so he embarked on The Summit for an “adventure”.
“One of the things I really would like to be seen as from this show is that I’m an inspiration to all the millions of people out there that are in a dark place in their lives,” he said.
“It’s proof that you can come out of that and that you can find your way out and you can have a renaissance. That you can find yourself again and take on an adventure and get out of your comfort zone.”
The Summit continues Monday, May 29 at 7.30 pm on 9 and 9Now.
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