I recently had the opportunity to spend some time with actor William Fitchner, whose work you probably know from Black Hawk Down, Dark Night, The Perfect Storm, Entourage, and Prison Break. His remarkable career didn’t come easy and it didn’t happen over night. It was a labor of love.
Like many actors, he waited tables and tended bar while attending acting classes and when he had auditions he decided that he had to do something special, something that was uniquely his own. He understood that each of us is an individual and that what we do in our creative work must be a reflection of who we are.
As dancer Martha Graham said, “There is a vitality, a life-force, an energy, a quickening that is translated through you into action. And because there is only one you in all of time this expression is unique.” She continued “It is not your business to determine how good it is, nor how valuable nor how it compares with other expressions. It is your business to keep it yours clearly and directly.”
For the actor this means that regardless of the roles you audition for or play, you need to bring something unique and your own to the work. Or as Fichtner suggests, make it your business to find interesting elements in the script and in the character and bring them to the table. The words belong to the writer, so you have to bring something to those words or you have contributed nothing.
To do this, you must be willing to try something new, something different. If you only do what the script seems to call for, you are going to do what every other competent actor is going to do, play an obvious intention and give a good line reading. So search the script for the contradictions, the humor, the sadness, and the subtle shifts and then play them honestly, in your own way.
When you audition or perform, take risks. Do something unexpected and do it with commitment and honesty. And check out William Fichtner’s work. He is a fine actor and by watching him you are sure to learn about the craft of acting.
Eric Barr. All rights reserved
