Acting Tips

When I played Saul

In Pineapple Express

I said, fuck it,

Acting should be fun.

No more twisted

Self-centered

James Dean demons.

There was one thing

That was important:

Saul should love Dale.

That was the secret

That made Saul

So much more

Than Harold and Kumar.

Then I played Scott Smith,

Harvey Milk’s lover.

I’m still surprised

By the response

To that character.

The secret there:

Minimalism.

The film is called Milk,

Not Smith,

And that’s how I played it:

A supporting lover,

Thus, as a supporting actor

To support Sean

Whom I love so much.

In Howl I played Ginsberg,

And I was all alone.

My scenes were speeches

Given to an unseen interviewer

Like Shirley Clark’s

Portrait of Jason.

All I did was get down Allen’s

Cadence by listening to him

Read “Howl,” over and over,

All the versions

Over the course of forty years,

So many recordings.

He wrote the poem

And then the poem wrote him.

In 127 Hours I knew

The key would be show don’t tell,

Because the character just does.

I knew the audience

Would have an experience

Because I wouldn’t be telling

Them how I feel, I’d be feeling.

And when the character does talk,

He does it to his little video camera;

I look right into the lens,

Ostensibly talking to my family and friends,

But I’m looking right at the audience,

So it’s like a Shakespearean aside,

Without breaking the fourth wall.

And I talk about my feelings

In the most intimate way.

It’s like I’m talking to the people

In the theater, as if they’re all my friends,

And I’m telling them

Everything there is to know

About me.