A “flamboyant, happy actor”
I’ve observed over the years that there is a certain breed of actor, often professionally successful, who seems generally to perform in a more theatrical style. Sometimes this particular cat has an entertaining or creative way of expressing himself, developed and honed over the years. He considers this style as very useful for professional work—it’s an automatic kind of behavior, a rote way of working. I have a love for these actors, for sure, but the possible bad news is my observation that they are not as personal as I believe they can be. Because they can often be successful, this actor can present quite a challenge to a teacher trying to develop a more personal, more real, more down-to-earth approach to their work. Here’s a conversation I had with such an actor, while driving a fast car rather recklessly down the freeway.
MILTON: You’re a good actor, but there’s something missing.
ACTOR: What is it?
A silence ensues, as Milton continues his reckless driving.
MILTON: Well, it’s something to do with you as a person. This sounds funny, but it’s you that’s missing.
Long pause.
ACTOR (panicked): It’s me, isn’t it? There’s something wrong with me. Right?
MILTON: Take it easy. Could you make sure that your door is locked? I don’t want an actor suddenly throwing himself on the freeway at seventy miles an hour.
ACTOR: Well, fuck! It’s me that missing in my acting. Wow. No one’s ever said that to me, that’s for sure.
MILTON: But look, you’re successful, you may not want this talk.....
ACTOR: Fuck that! Don’t back off of it. Let’s go. We’re there. This is the moment. Keep going. Can you drive a little slower?
Milton continues speeding.
MILTON: Well, you said you wanted to do The Entertainer....
ACTOR: Yeah, my concept is I was going to do it as the sorrowful clown.
MILTON: That’s good, but the sorrowful clown can become a generality. What I want to see is you and your personal struggle as an actor. Your sadness. Your entertainer. Personal. The real deal.
ACTOR: The real deal. I mean, it’s not like I’ve tried to avoid bringing the real deal. Have I...?
Pause. Milton just drives.
MILTON: Look, not every part you play should be based in a theatrical, flamboyant quality. For example, you know all about shoemakers, your father was a shoemaker from Ohio, but if I were going to do a film about a shoemaker from Ohio, you would want to play the rich count who was bringing his boots to be repaired. The count coming off his yacht to bring his elegant, flamboyant boots into the simple shop, but not the earthy shoemaker.
ACTOR: That’s funny—because nobody has ever believed that I’m actually from Ohio. It’s like they go off this image I give them—everyone asks, “Are you from Vienna? Paris? Venice?,” some exotic place. And it’s not like I correct them, do I? It’s not like I say proudly, “I am from Ohio!” I have created this actor image—the count, the marquis, the baron, some old phony vaudevillian—and I’m stuck with it.
Both sit silently. The actor stares out the window into the distance.
ACTOR: Twenty years of faking, pretending. I’ve lost my authenticity.
MILTON: Right—that’s true to a certain degree. The vaudevillian is delicious, but it isn’t really you. We want you. We want your essence.
ACTOR: When Picasso does the Guernica, his essence is right there. We know what a Spanish peasant feels about the Fascist destruction of a Spanish town.
MILTON: And Goya said, “The soul of the painter is in every stroke.”
ACTOR: I remember when we went to the museum to see that Picasso exhibit. The Guernica always stayed with me. It’s like Picasso’s personal horror is in that horse, in that woman’s face. His personal feelings come through in his art. Is that what you’re talking about?
MILTON: Starting to sound pretty good to me.
ACTOR: I’m getting it I think. The personal connection to a role. It’s like the personal connection makes a seamless bond between the actor and the character. I can always be the flamboyant guy when I want to, but it isn’t something I’m stuck with, an automatic way or a habit.
MILTON: Bingo! That’s it. I couldn’t have said it better myself.
ACTOR: It feels like I’m starting all over, like I have to learn to walk all over again. Watching myself.
MILTON: Well, part of what I’m doing as a teacher is to try to get the actor to see himself coming down the pike, see who he is, what he puts out there, his flaws as well as his strengths, then when needed he can change.
ACTOR: It’s a little scary, to be honest.
MILTON: Don’t worry, Strasberg used to say, “You were eating apple pie, so now try cherry pie. You can always go back to apple.”
ACTOR: Yeah. But it’s still like I’m starting over.
MILTON: Not really. You have many professional victories, no one can take that from you. This is about the future.
ACTOR: Yeah. If you don’t kill us with your driving today, my next scene is going to be different. Get ready for me. The Ohio, no-bullshit me!