It's a challenge. From the first time I played the role I was amazed at the amount of talking the character does, and in order to know those speeches I have learned about reading them over and over and deconstructing them a little, something most comic sketches do not require. But it's very rewarding. A character like Cal Mackenzie Goldberg who I play in "Let's Do This!" (please do check it out on Adult Swim.com) is a more heightened character who I can improvise in. Saul takes some contemplation.
Related posts tagged 'Acting'
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Related posts tagged 'Acting'
We have a zero tolerance policy. If the kids or their parents aren't cool with what we do then they can't work on the show. Not trying to be dicks or anything, but we put it out there so we don't have to watch our mouths at all. You'd be surprised at how cool most people are.
I love playing a variety of characters, and really enjoy getting into the skin and brain of them. So getting to do those movies in the same year was particularly rewarding. They were months apart, and required completely different preparation. I actually had to get ground and mechanical instrument training for Knockaround Guys, since I had to convincingly be a pilot- I even had to operate the brakes on our landing. One of the most terrifying and empowering moments of my life. With Rat Race, I got to have silly fun with some of my favorite stars (including Breckin) and Jerry Zucker- who's responsible for some of my favorite things like Top Secret, Airplane, and Police Squad. It was a great ye...
I had a good time working on Dogma, with Kevin and the guys. The only thing I remember about it was being naked for a LOOONG time on the ground... I fall out of the sky naked, so...
Doing these other things [in art school] was a release, and I think it made me a better actor. Because when I was only acting, I was trying to do all of these things as an actor. I was on my own mission. I was acting for myself — to do a great performance for me, not for the movie. But that’s not my job as an actor. My job as an actor is to help the director achieve his or her vision. As soon as I got to direct my own films or escape the film world and into these other realms, when I came back to the film world, I could be pure about it. I don’t think my performance in Spring Breakers could’ve happened if I didn’t do all this other stuff.
I couldn’t have lent myself to that if I didn’t have...
Well, we didn't part well. I was sort of ambitious thinking that I could hire someone that had the intelligence to do a job but didn't have necessarily speech or couldn't quite hear or spoke in sign language. She was a bright person and witty but she had never been away from her home before and even though I tried to accommodate more than I understood when I first hired her, she was very young in her emotional self and the emotional component of being away from her home was lacking. I tried my best, but I was working all day. She was lovely and very smart, but there's a lot of frustration when you meet people who can't speak well. Being completely disabled in that area causes a great amount ...
someone asked "what movie was the most fun to act in" and deleted their comment, so here goes:
Well, I did a film with Jim Jarmusch called Broken Flowers, but I really enjoyed that movie. I enjoyed the script that he wrote. He asked me if I could do a movie, and I said "I gotta stay home, but if you make a movie that i could shoot within one hour of my house, I'll do it."
So he found those locations. And I did the movie.
And when it was done, I thought "this movie is so good, I thought I should stop." I didn't think I could do any better than Broken Flowers, it's a film that is completely realized, and beautiful, and I thought I had done all I could do to it as an actor. And then 6-7 mont...
BLACK SWAN used to be the most physically demanding part I'd ever done, until JUPITER ASCENDING. We trained for 3 months before production, and I learned how to be in en pointe, and how to be a ballerina. And then for JUPITER, you do maximum amounts of wirework training every day. So for BLACK SWAN, I trained by dancing every day for 3 months, and learning how to get en pointe in 3 months. Ultimately, it was all about learning how to pretend to be a ballerina. And I mimicked my ballet instructor more than anything.
I tried not to ever think of it as replacing Steve Carell. No character or person is replaceable. Everyone is different and we all bring our own set of strengths, skills, and foibles to the table. That mindset was really liberating and allowed me to focus simply on Andy and how he, as a character, would adjust to the new job. And that was definitely a big challenge. But a really fun and exciting one.
I think playing Oliver Sachs in Awakenings was a gift because I got to meet him, and got to explore the human brain from the inside out. Because Oliver writes about human behavior subjectively and that for me was the beginning of a fascination with human behavior.
That was so surreal because it was a bit like a bad drug flashback. And the joy about doing that movie was creating a character that lived vicariously through other people's lives. And now we have networks that do that.
The scripts is one of the greatest conceptual scripts I've ever seen. It's a script that was so unique, so original, and yet it got not acclaim. To me it was no question that it was the greatest script of the year. To this day people are talking about it, but they forget no one paid any attention to it at the time. The execution of the script, there were great people in it. It was a difficult movie to shoot because we shot in winter outdoors. If you ever get to go to Puxatawney, you should go, it is one of the few things that is BETTER than advertised. It's really something to see. But doing the movie, shooting the scenes over and over, it's like an acting challenge. It's like doing a play a...
My brother Brian was my first great influence. He made much of what I am possible. To this day, if I have a question about something ethical or about being an actor or entertainer or a person or something like that, he's a person who helped form me. Shooting scenes with him is delightful. The idea that the two of us get to entertain is a kick.
I think I am sometimes a poster child for arrested development in terms of I'm fascinated with toys and games. And I'm spontaneous. But no food fights. I'm gluten free. No, not really.
I've always been a fan of sci-fi. And so when the opportunity to work with the Wachowskis on a sci-fi film that is a fully original concept, that was really intriguing to both Channing and myself. And it's one of the first times you get to see the female be a heroine, versus a damsel in distress. She kicks ass, which is always a rarity in the industry. In sci-fi films, it's uncommon for the woman to be the badass. But the Lara Croft movies, Aliens... the fact you can count it is a problem versus all the action films where the heroes are always men.
Sean Bean was great! Huge fan of Game of Thrones! So bummed Ned Stark got murdered! So happy to work with Ned Stark! He's the chillest person ever. He's like... just a normal British guy whom you can just shoot the shit with.
I loved making FLETCH. Probably was my second most favorite movie to make, just because I was allowed to make up so much of the dialogue. I can't even remember learning any dialogue! I was just given the right by Michael Ritchie, a terrific director who's passed away, I'm sad to say, but he let me just go. And that's why I had such a good time doing it, and you know, looking back on that, I don't think I've ever been funnier in some ways!
And how was it making out with Natalie? I mean... when you have a kissing scene in a film it's not something you think about as a kissing thing. You have all these crew around. But she's a lovely kisser, very polite.
But here's a little-known fact: there's one person in the world that both Ashton and I have kissed, and that's Natalie Portman.
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