Director motivated by his fear of failure

SIR PETER Jackson, one of the most successful film directors of his generation, has revealed he is driven by a fear of failure.

The director of the Lord Of The Rings and The Hobbit films, inset, made the admission as he joined fellow film-maker Steven Spielberg in becoming a recipient of Blue Peter gold badge, the show’s highest accolade.

The Oscar-winning director, 57, was celebrated by the long-running programme for being an inspiration to children. Accepting the prize, Sir Peter said he had struggled with the responsibility of directing feature films, like his most recent effort Mortal Engines.

He told presenter Radzi Chinyanganya: “The first thing I ever won when I was young was a film competition on a TV show that was very much the same as Blue Peter and that actually gave me the confidence to carry on. Every time you make a film you are scared, but you should never let fear concern you because you should be scared. Being scared is the best motivational tool you can have.

“Every time I drive to set I know the second I stop and get out of the car I will have the responsibility for shooting a scene and all these people are going to be expecting me to have all the answers and I don’t have the answers, but I get very good at acting and pretending I do. So don’t be worried if you are scared.”

Sir Peter was made a Knight Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit in 2010 for services to the arts. Six years before that, he won an Oscar for directing The Return Of The King, the final part of the Lord Of The Rings film trilogy.

Presenting the award, Chinyanganya said: “On Blue Peter we are all about one word – inspiration – and we think you personify that.”

Viewers can watch Sir Peter receive his badge during Blue Peter on CBBC at 5pm today.