The art and pleasure of acting 2003

One thing I really like about DVDs is the amount of extra material which is included in them. The extended version of Fellowship of the Ring is the best I've found so far. The longer cut of the movie is far better than the theatrical release to my mind plus there are 4 different commentary tracks and two full discs worth of additional content about the work that went into making the film.

I really appreciate the actors and crew putting so much time over the past couple years into just sitting and talking about why and how they do what they do. The more I learn about what goes into a project the more I appreciate it. In the case of Lord of the Rings, the love and respect that everyone involved brought to the project is simply phenomenal; the process is perhaps as awe-inspiring as the result.

More is shared by some of the actors on their personal sites. I've mentioned Sir Ian McKellen's site before and call your attention now to his many and varied essays. A new discovery this week is Billy Boyd's site which includes many audio interviews conducted by a friend of his who runs the site. Perhaps because Billy's talking to a friend, his tone in these interviews is easy and personal.

This evening I listened to interview 7 now where he talks about parts he'd like to play and what makes a part interesting. It reminds me of something an actor friend of mine told me once. I'd just watched him in a production of "Into The Woods" in which he'd played the baker and was commenting on how much of a wrenching ride the story was for that character and he kind of smiled and said "Yeah...well...I think I like it best playing a character who basically gets emotionally raped by the story." I had to laugh, he'd said it in such a dreamily cheerful way, but it really taught me a lot about how an actor stays engaged and excited by what he's doing.

The interviewer asked Billy about parts he'd like to play and that got me thinking "Who would I like to see Billy Boyd play?" The first story to come to mind is my favorite book, Little, Big, by John Crowley. It won the World Fantasy Award in 1981 and has drifted in and out of print since. A lovely book, but written in a somewhat convoluted way that makes it harder to get into the first time, but increasingly rewarding on re-reading it. It's sort of fantasy realism with a sense of the world in decline and, at the same time, great magic in the works. There are a couple characters that I could see him playing: either of the two main male characters Smoky or his son Auberon, each lost in their own way. I think he'd find either pleasing. Possibly also Uncle George Mouse, but some of his best scenes are when he's older, so maybe not.

If it hadn't already been done, and done so well, I would say Steerpike from Gormenghast.

The father (and the other father, of course) in Neil Gaiman's Coraline. Hmm, and as far as I know that isn't cast yet... better call Henry Selick. :) The audiobook with Neil reading it is absolutely lovely. I was fortunate enough to see him read it - the whole thing! - live in Berkeley, California last summer.

Hee hee, the "who would you cast as..." game is fun even when turned on its head!

I should note that Billy Boyd's site also includes a forum area which I advise you to venture into with caution. The fans are very enthusiastic which is in some cases nice and in other cases really scary. I truly hope that the ones who most radiate "I HAVE AN OBSESSIVE CRUSH" are very young because if they're not it makes me nervous. Perhaps that nervousness is fear of slipping into that kind of unreality. I've certainly spent some time in that realm at hard times in my life, but I'd like to think I've outgrown such stuff. Then again perhaps the nervousness is just a natural fear of sig file images incorporating hobbits, hearts and care bears.

Billy has my sympathy for this alarming side effect of fame. I get a little tiny taste of it every now and then when one of those letters shows up which could be summarized as asking something akin to "If Chris dies, can I be your new boyfriend?" but it's nothing compared to people who want to marry Pippin.

Comments

The art and pleasure of acting

One thing I really like about DVDs is the amount of extra material which is included in them. The extended version of Fellowship of the Ring is the best I've found so far. The longer cut of the movie is far better than the theatrical release to my mind plus there are 4 different commentary tracks and two full discs worth of additional content about the work that went into making the film.

I really appreciate the actors and crew putting so much time over the past couple years into just sitting and talking about why and how they do what they do. The more I learn about what goes into a project the more I appreciate it. In the case of Lord of the Rings, the love and respect that everyone involved brought to the project is simply phenomenal; the process is perhaps as awe-inspiring as the result.

More is shared by some of the actors on their personal sites. I've mentioned Sir Ian McKellen's site before and call your attention now to his many and varied essays. A new discovery this week is Billy Boyd's site which includes many audio interviews conducted by a friend of his who runs the site. Perhaps because Billy's talking to a friend, his tone in these interviews is easy and personal.

This evening I listened to interview 7 now where he talks about parts he'd like to play and what makes a part interesting. It reminds me of something an actor friend of mine told me once. I'd just watched him in a production of "Into The Woods" in which he'd played the baker and was commenting on how much of a wrenching ride the story was for that character and he kind of smiled and said "Yeah...well...I think I like it best playing a character who basically gets emotionally raped by the story." I had to laugh, he'd said it in such a dreamily cheerful way, but it really taught me a lot about how an actor stays engaged and excited by what he's doing.

The interviewer asked Billy about parts he'd like to play and that got me thinking "Who would I like to see Billy Boyd play?" The first story to come to mind is my favorite book, Little, Big, by John Crowley. It won the World Fantasy Award in 1981 and has drifted in and out of print since. A lovely book, but written in a somewhat convoluted way that makes it harder to get into the first time, but increasingly rewarding on re-reading it. It's sort of fantasy realism with a sense of the world in decline and, at the same time, great magic in the works. There are a couple characters that I could see him playing: either of the two main male characters Smoky or his son Auberon, each lost in their own way. I think he'd find either pleasing. Possibly also Uncle George Mouse, but some of his best scenes are when he's older, so maybe not.

If it hadn't already been done, and done so well, I would say Steerpike from Gormenghast.

The father (and the other father, of course) in Neil Gaiman's Coraline. Hmm, and as far as I know that isn't cast yet... better call Henry Selick. :) The audiobook with Neil reading it is absolutely lovely. I was fortunate enough to see him read it - the whole thing! - live in Berkeley, California last summer.

Hee hee, the "who would you cast as..." game is fun even when turned on its head!

I should note that Billy Boyd's site also includes a forum area which I advise you to venture into with caution. The fans are very enthusiastic which is in some cases nice and in other cases really scary. I truly hope that the ones who most radiate "I HAVE AN OBSESSIVE CRUSH" are very young because if they're not it makes me nervous. Perhaps that nervousness is fear of slipping into that kind of unreality. I've certainly spent some time in that realm at hard times in my life, but I'd like to think I've outgrown such stuff. Then again perhaps the nervousness is just a natural fear of sig file images incorporating hobbits, hearts and care bears.

Billy has my sympathy for this alarming side effect of fame. I get a little tiny taste of it every now and then when one of those letters shows up which could be summarized as asking something akin to "If Chris dies, can I be your new boyfriend?" but it's nothing compared to people who want to marry Pippin.

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