Your new movie Harvey
the Great - in a few words, what is it about, and what can you tell us about your
character in it?
If James Bond mated with the
Pink Panther movies, it would be Harvey
the Great, and I play the Goldfinger character, although in my case it’s
a gold mask. What did you draw upon to bring your
character to life, and how much of Richard Wayne can we find in John Smith? I
wish there were more Richard Wayne in John Smith! The luxury of
acting in a parody, and playing a villain, is I get to play a veneer.
It’s a very attractive veneer and a lot simpler and more polished
than I have ever been in life. How
did you get involved with the project in the first place? I
acted in Jesse’s film Polypore, and he asked me if I’d be interested
in participating in Harvey
the Great. To
what extent can you identify with Harvey
the Great's brand of humour? 100%. I’m
quite deadpan with a very goofy center.
What can you tell
us about your director Jesse Barack [Jesse
Barack interview - click here], and what was your collaboration
like? Jesse is a delight to work with. He’s
professional, kind, charming, respectful of actors, and most importantly
his work has a finish that looks so much higher-budget than it really is.
Do talk about the shoot as such, and the on-set
atmosphere! Guys this age have a bad reputation for being
lazy, snarky, and entitled, so I’m always so impressed by how polite and
hardworking the entire crew is. Everybody’s there to do a job and
have fun. Any future projects you'd like to share? I
just graduated from Boston Conservatory with an MFA in Musical Theatre,
and I relocated to NYC a month ago, so stay tuned! What
got you into acting in the first place, and did you receive any formal
training on the subject? I started acting, and studying
acting, in college, then put it away for a while. I returned to it
in my late twenties, from embarrassingly amateurish to increasingly
professional until I returned to school a few years ago to get a graduate
degree in performing. What can you tell us about your
filmwork prior to Harvey
the Great? I’ve worked mostly onstage, but have
done a few small independent and student films. I look forward to
more.
Assassins
photo by Max Wagenblass |
Besides
movies, you're also doing lots of theatre - so what can you tell us about
Richard Wayne, the stage actor, and how does performing on stage compare
to acting in front of a camera? It’s like the difference
between performing surgery and playing basketball. You're also a singer,
right? So do talk about that aspect of your career for a bit, and about
your preferred musical styles and influences? Yes, my
graduate degree is in musical theatre. Singing is even more central
to who I am than acting, although it’s sometimes described as acting
with music. I like any genre that tells a story or expresses
character through intelligent lyrics and well-crafted melody. How
would you describe yourself as an actor, and some of your techniques to
bring your characters to life? Acting, like singing, is
simple, but impossible to master. Technique is used to embody the
physical and emotional life of a character so fully that the actor can
live spontaneously as that character and make the words that are written
on paper feel improvised. Actors (and indeed
actresses) who inspire you? In no particular order Ian
McKellen, Cate Blanchett, Judi Dench, Hugh Jackman, Neil Patrick Harris,
Helena Bonham Carter, and Meryl Streep. I like actors who are
intelligent, versatile, transformative, and a little bit crazy. Your favourite movies?
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Feeling lucky? Want to search any of my partnershops yourself for more, better results? (commissions earned) |
The links below will take you just there!!!
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The
Sound of Music, The Lord of the Rings, Chariots of Fire, and
Evil Under
the Sun. Those four movies tell you all there is to know about me. ...
and of course, films you really deplore? I’m not being
coy when I say I never publicly criticize the work of other artists.
Buy me a Manhattan, and we’ll talk. Your website,
Facebook, whatever else? I’m ActingTall
everywhere, including my website: www.actingtall.com
Anything else you're dying to
mention and I have merely forgotten to ask? Can anyone get
me tickets to Hamilton? Thanks for
the interview!
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