ACTORS - PICK YOUR POISON

a scene from #Poisonebait (Bex, Naa Ashorkor)

Very, very, very nice to be back to constant internet and my blog. As I wait for these files to render, I'd like to share a brief word of advice to actors. Both the made ones and the ones yet to be 'made'.



I worked with a large variety of actors on Poisoned Bait. Every production I work on, I learn. I learn a lot. I make sure I learn and this was no different. This actually made me aware of one of my flaws as a director. I give up very easily. When I meet an actor who is just....bad, I give up. I do not care what they do to the character. I just want to be done with them and be gone.  Sometimes, I try to reign them in. It works, they listen and I get what I want. But when I've worked 15 hours and counting with 3 hours of sleep, I am not in the mood.  It comes back to bite me... that it does. But.... the spirit is willing but the body is weak.
When I say bad actors, they may be big names, but that does not mean they have any talent. They have tricks.

Lets discuss tricks of the trade:
They can cry on cue.
They have a particular facial expression for happy, sad, angry, passionate, bitter, scared, confused. (those are the basic emotions).
They have some words. Ex: Oh my God, my dear, my love, honey, for crying out loud, for heavens sake, hello, come on. 

They use these in every single film. ummm, are you playing the same character in every project?

When you use tricks to get by, you will soon become very predictable. Taking the audience for granted is a very dangerous path to tread. It lasts for a very short time. Keeping the audience in suspense is not only in storytelling, but with the actor as well. DARE TO BE DIFFERENT!

I had actors who came on set before studying the scenes for the day. No preparation the day before. They were so confident in their tricks.  They read lines and add some sort of highs and lows to the lines for some semblance of understanding and end of story. No depth.

Quite similar to our approach to work life in Ghana; Africa. In school, we chew, pour, pass and promptly forget. No life application when we get into the practical work place because whatever we studied, was just for the exams. No real understanding of what we studied. We exist by merely getting by. You are selling yourself short. You have no idea!

Bex was on this set. My DP turned to me on set and said, he's amazing. That, Bex is. When you pick up his sides for the day, it's laden with notes.  Inflections added to each line his character has. There was a scene where after each take, heck, during each take, I'd hold my mouth so tight so I don't laugh out loud. He was that believable.
Adjetey Annang made me prepare extra hard before getting to set. Dude knew the script better than I did. he knew the character better than I did. All I had to do was block his movement. He had Henry down. Those two were a delight to work with. They had no tricks.

When you have no tricks, everything, every character you play is fresh, it's new. A new side of you is revealed and you become an enigma.

The aspiration of every actor should not be stardom, but rather to become an enigma. Acting coaches should use you as a tool to educate their students. You should be used as an example. The audience should be fascinated by you.

That takes work. Forget the make-up, forget the clothes and shoes and bags and all those material things. They are just props. Leave that to wardrobe and art department to worry about. You, deal with your character. Research, create a life for your character.

A doctor who enters a surgery without refreshing his memory is bound to kill the patient. An attorney who does not study precedent cases before going to court loses the case.

Pick your poison.