Cinema Today: A Conversation with Thirty-nine Filmmakers from around the World

3. Working with Actors

48 The process through which an actor transforms a character that exists on paper into a fully realized, complex, and persuasive being is elusive and variable. At the very least, an actor should possess enough emotional intelligence to comprehend the complexities of the character and enough intellectual intelligence to understand how that character fits into the canvas of an entire film. Aside from those minimal requirements, though, acting talent and the acting process are difficult to define, so filmmakers can be confused as to the best way to work with their actors. Generally, a filmmaker’s approach to directing actors reflects his or her overall working style. Some directors want no input at all from the creative team and expect every person working on the film to apply his or her professional expertise toward fulfilling the director’s intentions , to take direction and carry it out. These directors may trust in the actors’ professionalism, believing that they can develop their characters on their own and draw whatever guidance they need from the script. The director may lack time or inclination to hold discussions and rehearse. It can also be the case that the director does not know how to work with actors in order to get the best possible results. At the opposite end of the spectrum are directors who not only instruct actors on blocking—exactly how and where to move before the camera—but also give precisely inflected line readings that dictate every nuance of the performance. The actor/directors among the filmmakers interviewed here, those most qualified to speak on this most vulnerable of a film’s relationships, 3 Working with Actors WORKING WITH ACTORS 49 argue that neither extreme is ideal. They prefer a collaborative relationship that allows actors creative freedom balanced with guidance and positive reinforcement that only the director can provide. Filmmakers often try to cast actors in roles that reflect their real personalities, not only to ensure that the actors merge with the characters emotionally and intellectually, but also to engage the actors in helping the director explore the truths of the character more fully. A single weak performance can bring down an entire film, so many filmmakers describe the ideal casting as a marriage between actor and character. Yet the greatest actors are often chameleons who assume different personalities as easily as most of us change clothes. A fine film actor should be able to play any character that suits his or her physicality, not just those similar to his or her real-life persona. And many wonderful actors are terrible auditioners because their techniques may involve working internally over time to absorb all the facets of a character before they are performance-ready. Judging actors on how well they read a scene from the script in an audition may not provide as much information as a director would want. Asking an actor to improvise a scene from the script in character can be helpful, not necessarily to judge how well the actor improvises, but to reveal his or her interpretation of the role. However, an actor may have more to offer than the director was able to grasp in the improvisation, so even that casting process can result in missed opportunities. A few filmmakers insist on viewing an actor’s reading, improvisation, or initial interview on film or video, because the camera lens is transformational. Many actors who appear small and drab on first impression in real life become powerful and charismatic figures on-screen. All these considerations lead some directors to avoid auditions and rely more on viewing previous performances on film clips or entire films. Yet casting an actor based on past performances also presents pitfalls. The actor may be capable of playing many different characters, but his or her body of work thus far may not yet demonstrate that full range. Unless the filmmaker senses some quality in the actor that has not been exploited yet, that actor may not be cast. That’s why some filmmakers work with the same actors in film after film. They know these actors’ capabilities, have established smooth working relationships, and can rely on them to deliver what each film needs. CINEMA TODAY 50 Like directors, actors differ in their preferred working styles. Some want to discuss their character interpretations; others keep the process private and seek direction only in regard to blocking...