Hear Sir David Attenborough Reflect on His Prolific Career

Naturalist, television host, and all-around treasure Sir David Attenborough turned 90 on May 8, and the BBC appropriately rolled out the broadcasting equivalent of a red carpet with a series of programs honoring his past and present work.

Among them was Attenborough at 90, a one-hour interview with the man himself. While that particular interview is geo-blocked for those of us outside of the United Kingdom, the BBC did post a five-minute interview with Attenborough on YouTube, which you can watch above.

In it, Attenborough talks about his approach to work, how much things have changed in his decades-long career. You can see footage from his upcoming Life That Glows show about bioluminescence, as well as never-before-seen footage from his 1954 show, Zoo Quest, displayed in glorious color. That footage shows a very young (and may we say, very handsome) Attenborough—a visage he still connects with, even at 90; Attenborough says, “That’s what I think I look like. And when I get up in the morning and I see that my hair is grey and my face is haggard, or one thing or another, I don’t say ‘Oh that’s what you look like now,’ I say, ‘Oh that’s a bad morning. You know you really look like that young boy who’s running around bare to the waist and wrestling with pythons.’”

In celebration of the big day, the BBC also made a few delightful stop-motion animations to pair with footage from Attenborough’s career, in which you can see him meet gorillas, a lyrebird, and penguins.

[h/t The Kid Should See This]

Banner image credit: BBC // YouTube