"The art of the stage actor and even of a stage director is evanescent. Nothing remains of it but a 'still' photograph or two (...) Not everyone can be a genius. Somebody has to be a Leon Askin - and that's me."

Leon Askin, born in Vienna in 1907 , fled from the Nazis to the USA in 1940. The private Leon Askin is portrayed: his daily routine, his contact with those around him, at work. During quiet moments, he discusses his thoughts about persecution, emigration, work, discipline, success, the image one projects to the world, his identity as a Jew, loneliness, the struggle for recognition and health, life acting - and also about death.