The Legendary Actor - Chapter 75

Renly divides “Buried ” leading man, Paul Conroy, into two levels of performance.

The first part is the expression of emotions, fear when fear, panic when panic, despair when despair, this is the typical expressionist acting; furthermore, the same emotions of fear are presented in different ways at different stages, when Paul has just found himself buried alive, when Paul fails to call for help with his cell phone, when Paul realizes that death is imminent …. These delicate and fragmented episodes are a severe test of basic skills.

The emotions conveyed by every detail change will be different, and the audience may not be able to describe it in words for a while, but after the character is combined with the plot, the empathetic emotions will be definitely expressed, making watching the performance an enjoyable experience.

Alfred Hitchcock once stated that all of his works require the use of expressionistic acting and reject the use of method acting. The reason is simple: for horror, thriller, comedy, and the like, emotional accuracy is the first ingredient.

Although this is a familiar territory for Renly, it is not an easy task, because Paul’s emotions in “Buried” are in a state of turmoil, and the turmoil in the confined space becomes more and more intense and oppressive as time progresses, like a powder keg that is constantly being compressed.

What’s more, although Renly has been in the business for two lifetimes, most of the time, he is still not experienced enough to act, well on paper that is.

The second part is character exploration, which tests the actor’s understanding of the character and interpretation of the script, which is no longer limited to the character, but also the relationship between the character and the society, the background of story creation, the source of the core theme, and so on.

In “Buried”, the war in Iraq is the backdrop, while the financial crisis in the U.S. just after the real estate bubble is the true underlined background, and Paul’s decision to accept a job with an Iraqi contractor is not only about him, but also about society.

For example, when Paul contacted the FBI, they asked him not to tell the media, ostensibly because they were worried that the media’s malicious speculation would diminish Paul’s chances of escape, but in reality, it was because of the issues in Iraq, where American civilians had been killed one after another, and because the US citizens was already blaming the government for the quagmire in Iraq, and the financial crisis was making people even more unsatisfied.

So, the FBI’s attitude, Paul’s anger, anxiety, and helplessness, all can be presented differently. As Renly said, whether Paul was a civilian or a rich man, a man or a woman, in the United States or in Iraq, would all lead to different results, and Paul himself knew this, so naturally his reaction would be different, and the details, manner and content of the performance would be different.

If the expressionists are about control, the methodists are about letting go, about letting go of the ego, letting oneself be fully involved in the character, blurring the lines between oneself and the character, between reality and fantasy, and putting oneself in the character’s shoes. For the audience, the connection between them and the characters will be closer, and the shock will be overwhelming.

This is a whole new field for Renly. In his last life, he spent ten years of his life in a hospital bed, but before that, he lived a completely routine life, which was boring.

Ultimately, reality is different.

So, in terms of experience, Renly is really only “twenty”. If he were to try method acting, Renly would have to start from scratch.

Now, Renly is trying to combine the two acting styles to find a completely new way of acting, giving his character a new touch. If anyone knew what Renly was thinking, they would either call him a madman or despise him for his lack of self-awareness.

Even his expressionist acting skills are far from being perfect, and the idea of fusing the two acting styles is a fantasy. Even veteran actors like Meryl Streep and Daniel-Day-Lewis don’t dare to say they can do it, let alone Renly.

But Renly has no such worries. Since he has been reborn once, since he has decided to keep pushing the limits of performance, since he has chosen this path, why not go crazy? What’s more, innovation is about stepping out of the box and imagining things. If you just follow the rules and the methods of your predecessors, you’ll never be able to walk your own path, will you?

In his second life, Renly did not come here to be conservative.

From Renly’s point of view, the fundamental skills of the expressionists are undoubtedly an advantage, like the foundations of a ten-thousand-foot tall building: solid, stable, and precise, but on the whole, the expressionists’ control is too strong, too artificial, and it is lacking in spirit.

On the other hand, the methodists are too casual, not only are they prone to overexerting themselves, and also the whole character will collapse if they misunderstand the situation.

To put it simply, all the performances of the expressionists are rehearsed in advance, and the actors know what they are doing, and then they are in the right place at the right time, in the right way, giving the right performance, with solid basic skills that make acting a pleasure.

All the performances of the method school are unpredictable. After the actors have truly integrated themselves into the role, they put aside all the restraints and jump into the performance, but no one can know the effect before watching the monitor. They tend to lose control, or even get lost. Once the actor is in character, it is difficult to control, it may not be completely accurate, it may even be too exaggerated or it may be slightly underdeveloped, but the fusion of reality and fantasy can bring a soul-stirring viewing experience.

Therefore, it is Renly’s goal to merge the two acting styles, to complement each other, and to create an acting style of his own.

Rodrigo, as a director, is naturally not that thorough in his study of acting, but he also knows that it is not easy to present both levels as Renly said – more precisely, it is an incredibly difficult task, which even first-rate actors who are famous for their acting would not dare to boast.

It’s good to be ambitious, but only if you’re realistic; being over-ambitious can only lead to broken dreams.

Rodrigo looked at the confident and relaxed Renly, his eyes wavered for a moment, and then he stood up with a start, “Give me a minute.” Without even a word, he took off running, whirling and disappearing into the crowd, but in a moment, in the blink of an eye, Rodrigo was back in sight, sprinting back with a gait, as he sat down again in front of Renly, “Here.”

Rodrigo handed Renly a small notebook, but before Renly could take it, Rodrigo took it back, “Wait.” He bowed his head and began flipping through the book, thinking deeply as he did so. After two instances of hesitation, he nodded to himself in the affirmation, then showed the book to Renly, “You read the script and then we’ll try it out. ”

In front of Renly’s eyes was the script of “Buried”.

Renly took the script and smiled, “So, are we finally getting down to the nitty-gritty now?” Rodrigo’s calm and collected demeanor made him more and more curious.

In the formal audition process, casting directors test actors in a variety of ways: they may just chat, they may have the actor perform something they prepared, or they may have a conversation about a specific topic … However, the most common is a scene from the script chosen on the spot, testing the actor’s ability to react, the actor’s ability to read the script, and, of course, the actor’s line work.

This is what Rodrigo is doing now.

He watched Renly’s actions intently, with some apprehension, some anticipation, some curiosity, and some excitement in his heart. No matter what kind of drug and whatnot Renly was selling, for him, a live performance was the best way to test how much weight Renly had, and whether he was a mule or a horse.

He did not immediately start to read out his lines, but first went through the two pages of the script to understand the causes and consequences; then decided on a part and read it carefully; and on the third time, he read his lines in a low voice. The whole process was fast, but the pace was unhurried and well controlled, and the professionalism of the gesture was immediately apparent.

Suddenly, Rodrigo remembered what Renly had mentioned when we had just met, and was glad that he hadn’t watched “The Pacific”, so it was a good thing he didn’t have a fixed impression.

Was this really the case?