WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.520 --> 00:00:04.799 It's night Sided with Dan ray Don w BZY Constance 2 00:00:04.919 --> 00:00:17.000 News Radio. You want us to day with a grand jury? 3 00:00:17.039 --> 00:00:19.679 We will. What do you say, Johnny, what do you 4 00:00:19.719 --> 00:00:22.679 say any question? I take the Fifth Commandment? And if 5 00:00:22.719 --> 00:00:25.320 they offer you immunity to testify against your union brothers, 6 00:00:25.839 --> 00:00:27.559 I don't remember, don't remember what? 7 00:00:27.960 --> 00:00:28.239 Nothing? 8 00:00:29.920 --> 00:00:30.760 But you're forgetting? 9 00:00:30.839 --> 00:00:33.600 Detective, is that every IBS local on the East Coast 10 00:00:33.600 --> 00:00:34.759 has had its ass in front. 11 00:00:34.600 --> 00:00:37.000 Of a federal grand jury two or three times already. 12 00:00:37.159 --> 00:00:39.159 You want to throw your summonses, throw them. 13 00:00:39.560 --> 00:00:41.479 You want to subpoena our records. You don't even hear 14 00:00:41.520 --> 00:00:43.399 a subpoena no more. Our books have been open to 15 00:00:43.479 --> 00:00:45.200 the Justice Department for eight years. 16 00:00:45.359 --> 00:00:48.679 We're here through Bobby Kennedy, Tricky, Dick Nixon, Ronnie the 17 00:00:48.840 --> 00:00:51.240 Union Buster, Reagan and half a dozen other sons of 18 00:00:51.320 --> 00:00:52.359 bitches will be. 19 00:00:52.359 --> 00:00:57.679 Here through your week book. No problem, ah. Chris Barr 20 00:00:57.759 --> 00:01:01.280 is with us. How do you like that, Chris? How 21 00:01:01.280 --> 00:01:02.679 about that for a show open? 22 00:01:03.719 --> 00:01:04.680 Who is that guy? 23 00:01:04.799 --> 00:01:08.680 Oh my god, it's so good, dude, It's so good. Okay, 24 00:01:09.120 --> 00:01:12.519 Chris is joining us here, Chris Bauer. And what we 25 00:01:12.719 --> 00:01:14.200 like to do on this show is we like to 26 00:01:14.200 --> 00:01:18.799 bring on actors who are great actors who don't really 27 00:01:18.840 --> 00:01:21.840 get the credit they deserve or maybe get the spotlight 28 00:01:21.840 --> 00:01:23.359 the desert. Now this guy has it. I mean he's 29 00:01:23.359 --> 00:01:26.200 got one hundred and six credits. You know, we're gonna 30 00:01:26.200 --> 00:01:27.879 go through all your shows in your career. But like 31 00:01:27.879 --> 00:01:30.200 O'Malley is a really good friend of mine. So anything 32 00:01:30.239 --> 00:01:34.400 O'Malley does, I'm really into and like. And I love 33 00:01:34.519 --> 00:01:37.200 character actors. I mean I love like the Bowers and 34 00:01:37.200 --> 00:01:40.239 Wendell Pearce. You know that scene with Wendell Pearce who 35 00:01:40.519 --> 00:01:43.079 got to play Willy Loman on Broadway, which was awesome, 36 00:01:43.480 --> 00:01:47.319 I mean phenomenal, and he's great and everything he's in 37 00:01:47.599 --> 00:01:49.680 Like Brian Cranston's of the World, you know, he gets 38 00:01:49.719 --> 00:01:53.480 a leading role, you know, by playing a chemistry teacher 39 00:01:53.480 --> 00:01:56.239 that starts selling drugs. I mean, all of this great 40 00:01:56.280 --> 00:02:00.000 TV has just been great for great character actors like you. 41 00:02:00.760 --> 00:02:03.680 Thank you. I agree. I mean, I'm so blessed you 42 00:02:03.799 --> 00:02:09.400 kidding me, like all of us. You know, there's always 43 00:02:09.439 --> 00:02:12.599 been a Brian Cranston, whether it was a Gene Hackman 44 00:02:12.680 --> 00:02:16.080 before that John Riley. On occasion, it's like they let 45 00:02:16.120 --> 00:02:18.199 one of us in you know, there's a slot for 46 00:02:18.319 --> 00:02:20.960 one every now and then, and then you get to 47 00:02:20.960 --> 00:02:23.360 be nominated for an oscar maybe or suddenly. You know, 48 00:02:24.159 --> 00:02:26.599 everybody bends with the rules for what a leading man is, 49 00:02:27.479 --> 00:02:33.080 but in whether or not that ever happens. What a 50 00:02:33.120 --> 00:02:40.919 great life man being able to play all these different people, 51 00:02:41.560 --> 00:02:50.520 different classes, different places, different morality. That's my real education, 52 00:02:50.599 --> 00:02:53.639 if you ask me, I've learned more about being a 53 00:02:53.719 --> 00:02:58.000 human being from my work than I have almost from church. 54 00:03:00.280 --> 00:03:03.199 That totally, because as we go through your career here, 55 00:03:03.439 --> 00:03:06.400 you've you've been able to go from you know, from 56 00:03:06.439 --> 00:03:10.039 Frank to you know, a sheriff who's a drug addict, 57 00:03:10.080 --> 00:03:13.680 to you know, a wrestler. I mean, while Bill is like, 58 00:03:14.199 --> 00:03:18.080 I mean I love that guy. I mean he was phenomena. 59 00:03:18.080 --> 00:03:19.439 I mean, I mean you must have like died and 60 00:03:19.439 --> 00:03:22.199 gotten hemming when you got to play that. But again, 61 00:03:22.280 --> 00:03:24.360 our guest is Chris Bauer. You guys know him, You've 62 00:03:24.360 --> 00:03:26.639 seen him in a million things. But I want to 63 00:03:26.680 --> 00:03:32.000 start with the Wire because, uh, at that point in time, 64 00:03:33.520 --> 00:03:36.159 you know, and I read the you know, I've read 65 00:03:36.159 --> 00:03:38.360 all about the David Milchers of the world and the 66 00:03:38.400 --> 00:03:41.800 guys on the Wire you know who you know, knew 67 00:03:41.840 --> 00:03:45.400 Baltimore went on to work on NYPD, NYPD Blue. I 68 00:03:45.439 --> 00:03:51.159 believe television just changed with the Sopranos with the Wire, 69 00:03:51.560 --> 00:03:53.599 you know, and even Amy Ryan, you know, I forgot 70 00:03:53.599 --> 00:03:55.919 all about her. I mean, she's awesome, She's been in movies, 71 00:03:55.919 --> 00:03:59.000 Sharon Bossy. But but just tell us about that time 72 00:03:59.120 --> 00:04:01.080 and how the wire and went down and why it 73 00:04:01.240 --> 00:04:04.159 was the damn good oh man. 74 00:04:04.719 --> 00:04:11.919 You know, well, David Simon's the you know, the DNA 75 00:04:12.000 --> 00:04:15.000 of the Wire and homicide before that, and he was 76 00:04:15.039 --> 00:04:19.800 a crime reporter for the Baltimore Sun and a really 77 00:04:20.040 --> 00:04:24.120 uh you know, hardcore old school journalist, feet on the ground, 78 00:04:24.600 --> 00:04:27.759 went to the crime scenes, and I think he's gonna 79 00:04:27.839 --> 00:04:31.439 he was a really brave, smart guy with a conscience, 80 00:04:32.800 --> 00:04:38.879 and his body of work certainly speaks to that. The Wire, interestingly, 81 00:04:41.319 --> 00:04:48.399 such a kind of fascinating study in having faith in quality. 82 00:04:48.600 --> 00:04:55.000 Really because at the time I had come to that 83 00:04:55.079 --> 00:04:59.199 project because they asked me to audition when they were 84 00:04:59.199 --> 00:05:04.879 doing the pilot with a part of McNulty, and I 85 00:05:04.920 --> 00:05:09.439 read that script for the pilot and thought it was 86 00:05:09.480 --> 00:05:11.639 the best thing I'd ever read. And I meant, like 87 00:05:12.759 --> 00:05:16.720 the quality of the writing, and I came from theater, 88 00:05:16.839 --> 00:05:20.279 so I had a couple of amazing larks where I 89 00:05:20.319 --> 00:05:23.360 had relationships with David Mammott and John Patrick Shanley and 90 00:05:23.399 --> 00:05:27.240 these writers that are, you know, world class authors. So 91 00:05:27.279 --> 00:05:31.000 I knew good writing when I saw it, and that 92 00:05:31.120 --> 00:05:33.560 was very evident in the pilot of The Wire. I 93 00:05:33.680 --> 00:05:38.680 was hungover. You know, I swing about fifteen pounds one 94 00:05:38.720 --> 00:05:41.720 direction or another depending on the month, right, And I 95 00:05:41.720 --> 00:05:46.319 think when I went in, brother, don't we all maybe 96 00:05:46.319 --> 00:05:48.720 it's depending on the meal for the weekend. Yeah, And 97 00:05:48.920 --> 00:05:54.480 it's unbelievable, but I think that I was definitely looking, 98 00:05:54.839 --> 00:05:57.079 you know, more on the haggard side when I went 99 00:05:57.120 --> 00:06:00.920 and read for the pilot, because the following year with 100 00:06:01.040 --> 00:06:03.040 the second season, when they offered me the role of 101 00:06:03.040 --> 00:06:07.519 Frank Sabadka, I was only thirty six years old and 102 00:06:09.600 --> 00:06:11.680 we closed the deal and I started reading the scripts, 103 00:06:11.680 --> 00:06:14.600 and I panicked because I thought, this guy's got like 104 00:06:14.639 --> 00:06:19.000 a twenty something old son, and he's been around for 105 00:06:19.040 --> 00:06:21.879 a long time, and he's got to be at least 106 00:06:21.920 --> 00:06:24.279 fifteen years older than I actually am in life. And 107 00:06:24.319 --> 00:06:27.560 I must have really looked bad a year ago. 108 00:06:28.680 --> 00:06:34.120 I mean, I look like yeah, whatever impression I made, 109 00:06:34.439 --> 00:06:36.600 they thought it was totally plausible that I could play 110 00:06:36.600 --> 00:06:40.000 a late forties dock worker, you know, with a grown child. 111 00:06:40.079 --> 00:06:46.360 So you know, I have found that, uh, necessity is 112 00:06:46.399 --> 00:06:49.319 the mother of invention and in the desperation behind that 113 00:06:50.000 --> 00:06:54.240 leads to some of the best creative choices. And very quickly, 114 00:06:55.399 --> 00:06:58.000 you know, all my focus went into I had a 115 00:06:58.040 --> 00:06:59.959 fitting with that costume designer. I said, we got a 116 00:07:00.079 --> 00:07:02.000 make me look gold, we got to make me look 117 00:07:02.040 --> 00:07:06.800 out of shape. And I tell that story because there 118 00:07:06.879 --> 00:07:10.759 was such a there was just such a kind of 119 00:07:10.839 --> 00:07:14.920 stroke of luck for me with the whole experience of 120 00:07:14.920 --> 00:07:19.759 the wire because I was actually on another show at 121 00:07:19.759 --> 00:07:21.839 the same time. It was unheard of at the time 122 00:07:21.879 --> 00:07:24.600 to be able to do two shows, especially going from 123 00:07:24.720 --> 00:07:29.480 network to premium cable like that, right, and the Heaven's 124 00:07:29.519 --> 00:07:31.639 really parted in a way I think to give me 125 00:07:31.720 --> 00:07:35.199 that shot also known as my wife said, you got 126 00:07:35.199 --> 00:07:38.199 to figure out how to do both these shows. I mean, 127 00:07:38.240 --> 00:07:41.639 it's unbelievable how much how influential she's been in my 128 00:07:41.720 --> 00:07:44.199 career in ways like that. I got to give her credit. 129 00:07:44.240 --> 00:07:48.279 But the experience of doing the show was I would 130 00:07:48.279 --> 00:07:51.000 imagine the same as it is for anybody who's running 131 00:07:51.560 --> 00:07:57.560 a good small business kind of under the radar, slightly 132 00:07:57.600 --> 00:08:03.519 off grid. There was no holly vibes. There was no uh, 133 00:08:04.800 --> 00:08:10.319 nothing extra, nothing superficial about the production experience. It was 134 00:08:10.360 --> 00:08:12.319 an amazing It was kind of like being on a 135 00:08:12.319 --> 00:08:15.360 good football team, you know what I mean? 136 00:08:15.480 --> 00:08:19.040 Right, Well, the great thing about streaming and about cable 137 00:08:19.160 --> 00:08:22.120 is it gave opportunities to people who look like real people. 138 00:08:22.720 --> 00:08:22.920 You know. 139 00:08:23.000 --> 00:08:25.800 That's why these shows work, you know, in my opinion, 140 00:08:25.800 --> 00:08:29.279 and that's why you know, my wife who has a 141 00:08:29.319 --> 00:08:35.440 real job and uh, you know, unlike us, when she 142 00:08:35.440 --> 00:08:37.840 she sits down and watch TV at night, she just says, 143 00:08:37.879 --> 00:08:42.440 I just want to watch Marishka Hartigaye and zone out. 144 00:08:42.600 --> 00:08:45.039 And I go, okay, everybody on that show is a 145 00:08:45.039 --> 00:08:49.039 freaking model, and you know what, good for them, right, 146 00:08:49.120 --> 00:08:52.039 I mean, I'm like, good for them. That's great, you know, fine, awesome. 147 00:08:52.480 --> 00:08:53.559 You know I want to get. 148 00:08:56.000 --> 00:08:58.039 You're gonna get yeah, yeah, sure. 149 00:08:57.919 --> 00:09:00.799 Yeah, okay, yeah yeah, I'm not waiting by the phone, brother, 150 00:09:00.879 --> 00:09:03.559 let me tell you. But you know, like I just 151 00:09:04.519 --> 00:09:07.279 I like to see repeople like as I always revisiting 152 00:09:07.320 --> 00:09:09.960 your scene on the wire or you mentioned like homicide, 153 00:09:10.120 --> 00:09:12.559 like homicide with and I have to ask you about 154 00:09:12.600 --> 00:09:15.320 Andre Brower, you know, the late Great. I don't know 155 00:09:15.360 --> 00:09:16.440 if you ever had a chance to work with it, 156 00:09:16.559 --> 00:09:19.000 but I mean these are real people, like like you 157 00:09:19.120 --> 00:09:22.480 mentioned that, Okay, you were thirty six, but you put 158 00:09:22.480 --> 00:09:24.679 yourself in that scene in the trailer, which a lot 159 00:09:24.679 --> 00:09:27.320 of people have seen, but it's all set up. I mean, 160 00:09:27.360 --> 00:09:30.279 the cops driving up to talk to the people look 161 00:09:30.399 --> 00:09:34.399 like real cops. Wendell Pearce looks like a real human being. 162 00:09:34.759 --> 00:09:37.360 You know, the guy in the construction hat, he looks 163 00:09:37.399 --> 00:09:40.759 like a real human being. They're all real people put 164 00:09:40.759 --> 00:09:44.639 in dynamic situations and that's why this stuff works. Like 165 00:09:44.679 --> 00:09:46.799 I can understand that you're thirty six, I get it, 166 00:09:47.039 --> 00:09:49.559 But you put you in that ratty sweater, you put 167 00:09:49.559 --> 00:09:52.519 you in that trailer right, you probably don't have any 168 00:09:52.559 --> 00:09:54.879 makeup on you, and they give you crappy lighting. I mean, 169 00:09:54.919 --> 00:09:57.279 even Amy Ryan, who I am a huge fan of 170 00:09:57.360 --> 00:10:00.840 and I think is beautiful in that scene, she can't 171 00:10:00.840 --> 00:10:02.519 look beautiful because it's not gonna work. 172 00:10:03.639 --> 00:10:06.600 Well, no, and that's that's you know again, credit to 173 00:10:07.480 --> 00:10:11.279 David Simon, Bob Colesberry and they rest in peace. You know, 174 00:10:11.360 --> 00:10:14.840 he was the producer who kind of made sure everything 175 00:10:14.879 --> 00:10:20.080 went well. George Pelecanos, all the writers, Rothielle Alvarez, they 176 00:10:20.120 --> 00:10:22.600 were not gonna you know those guys. I mean, the 177 00:10:22.639 --> 00:10:26.679 thing about them is like there is no artifice. The 178 00:10:26.759 --> 00:10:31.600 aesthetic is we believe people are interesting enough on their 179 00:10:31.639 --> 00:10:36.399 own to justify your attention, and what they're going through 180 00:10:37.279 --> 00:10:41.080 is relevant enough to justify your attention. Everybody doesn't look 181 00:10:41.360 --> 00:10:43.480 have to look like they just jumped off the billboard, 182 00:10:43.960 --> 00:10:45.759 you know, and everybody doesn't have to have a twelve 183 00:10:45.799 --> 00:10:49.200 pack to be a sort of to have some status. 184 00:10:49.279 --> 00:10:52.919 They're real people. And my whole career has been like that. 185 00:10:53.440 --> 00:10:59.360 I mean, I just I I am so vain until 186 00:10:59.399 --> 00:11:00.159 I get to work. 187 00:11:00.759 --> 00:11:03.639 That's interesting. Can you hold that thought? Do not? I 188 00:11:03.720 --> 00:11:06.799 have to take a break hold that thought. The great 189 00:11:06.879 --> 00:11:09.120 Chris Bauers where there's you know it from the Wire 190 00:11:09.200 --> 00:11:13.360 and True Blood on Heels. He's great, and we're going 191 00:11:13.440 --> 00:11:15.279 to continue talking about that. I want him to continue 192 00:11:15.279 --> 00:11:16.759 that thought right after this on WBZ. 193 00:11:17.799 --> 00:11:20.799 Now back to Dan ray Line from the Window World 194 00:11:20.919 --> 00:11:23.919 night Side Studios on WBZ News. 195 00:11:23.759 --> 00:11:27.840 Radio, Chris Bauer portrays a drug addicted sheriff whose image 196 00:11:27.840 --> 00:11:31.679 is anything but sexy on HBO's hit series True Blood. 197 00:11:32.279 --> 00:11:37.080 And they didn't write a guy who's like, you know, 198 00:11:37.240 --> 00:11:40.960 a part time sheriff and like a full time bodybuilder. 199 00:11:41.360 --> 00:11:48.600 You know, he's he's a lonely, frustrated, emotionally confused authority 200 00:11:48.639 --> 00:11:51.480 figure with some serious substance abuse issues. 201 00:11:52.080 --> 00:11:53.320 I will talk to people, and this. 202 00:11:53.360 --> 00:11:54.279 Is not uncommon. 203 00:11:54.320 --> 00:11:57.759 Who are True Blood fanatics have seen every episode three 204 00:11:57.799 --> 00:12:00.799 times and it's ten minutes into the commerce before they. 205 00:12:00.720 --> 00:12:04.720 Go, oh are you are? You're Andy Belfering in the chapter? 206 00:12:05.759 --> 00:12:05.879 Uh? 207 00:12:06.000 --> 00:12:08.120 And the real guy is with us, the guy that 208 00:12:08.159 --> 00:12:11.480 played Andy in True Blood. And it ties into what 209 00:12:11.519 --> 00:12:13.840 we're you're saying here. Chris Bauer, one of the great 210 00:12:13.919 --> 00:12:16.720 character actors. You know, you mentioned you're vein until you 211 00:12:16.759 --> 00:12:19.759 show up at the set. I think that is a 212 00:12:20.720 --> 00:12:23.399 that is a brilliant piece of advice for an actor. 213 00:12:24.759 --> 00:12:26.840 Oh yeah, well, I mean I got to let go 214 00:12:26.879 --> 00:12:29.600 of everything, and I would you know, That's that's what 215 00:12:29.639 --> 00:12:31.960 I would suggest anybody does who's going to go do 216 00:12:33.159 --> 00:12:37.759 some legitimate work. I mean, it's it's a fascinating experience. 217 00:12:37.840 --> 00:12:41.960 On one hand, you know you have to master it. 218 00:12:42.200 --> 00:12:44.679 Let's say, you get you know, if you're lucky enough 219 00:12:44.679 --> 00:12:46.879 to have you know, if you're a hitter and you 220 00:12:46.919 --> 00:12:50.279 have enough you see enough pitches, you start to know 221 00:12:51.360 --> 00:12:53.159 what ball's coming at you and what you're going to 222 00:12:53.240 --> 00:12:54.960 do with it. But you can't really do that until 223 00:12:54.960 --> 00:12:57.320 you get the swings right. So it's tricky with that acting, 224 00:12:57.480 --> 00:13:01.879 especially working on camera. If you're lucky enough to get 225 00:13:02.000 --> 00:13:07.240 enough shots at it and you start to frankly know 226 00:13:07.279 --> 00:13:12.960 how to do it, well, what's so? What's It's such 227 00:13:12.960 --> 00:13:16.759 a paradox because you start to realize that the less 228 00:13:16.840 --> 00:13:20.759 you do, the better it is. Now, Now, am I 229 00:13:20.799 --> 00:13:22.840 not just going to do less in terms of the 230 00:13:22.879 --> 00:13:26.000 scale of my performance, But I'm going to listen to 231 00:13:26.080 --> 00:13:31.519 my thoughts less. I'm going to listen to my ego less, 232 00:13:31.559 --> 00:13:36.360 and all that attention is instead going to go into 233 00:13:36.399 --> 00:13:43.440 the words, the text, the scene, the other actor, and 234 00:13:43.679 --> 00:13:46.200 and and it's you know, good news. Bad news. Good 235 00:13:46.240 --> 00:13:52.679 news is people respond. Bad news is you can't really 236 00:13:52.720 --> 00:13:53.559 take credit for. 237 00:13:57.559 --> 00:13:58.440 You just showed up. 238 00:14:00.440 --> 00:14:02.720 You showed up and you let something happen. You didn't 239 00:14:02.720 --> 00:14:04.039 get in the way right. 240 00:14:04.080 --> 00:14:06.440 Right, Well, I was going to ask you next about 241 00:14:06.440 --> 00:14:09.320 your process, because I geek out on the acting and 242 00:14:09.360 --> 00:14:11.320 the movie stuff. And my friends all roll their eyes 243 00:14:11.320 --> 00:14:12.720 at me and they say, come on, you just get 244 00:14:12.799 --> 00:14:15.080 up and say your lines. I go, no, that's bull crap. 245 00:14:15.320 --> 00:14:17.120 There is so much more to it than that. You 246 00:14:17.200 --> 00:14:20.720 just don't You don't understand the amount of work that 247 00:14:20.720 --> 00:14:24.120 that put person put into making that look easy. So 248 00:14:24.159 --> 00:14:25.799 what's your process? 249 00:14:27.320 --> 00:14:30.279 Well, preparation, preparation, preparation, How. 250 00:14:30.159 --> 00:14:32.000 Do you prepare? Bring it down for me? How do 251 00:14:32.000 --> 00:14:32.480 you prepare? 252 00:14:33.519 --> 00:14:37.120 I would say, you know, the sort of broad strokes 253 00:14:37.919 --> 00:14:45.519 like checklist. That's a must every job is being so 254 00:14:45.720 --> 00:14:54.120 familiar with the words that there is zero chance for 255 00:14:54.399 --> 00:14:59.799 physical tension to manifest while I'm trying to remember what 256 00:14:59.840 --> 00:15:04.519 it as I'm supposed to say, like the words, because 257 00:15:04.240 --> 00:15:08.759 tension now we're getting. I mean, listen, you're talking the 258 00:15:08.799 --> 00:15:10.679 right guy if you want to get nerdy about acting, 259 00:15:10.759 --> 00:15:15.000 because I'm so obsessed with with it. It's my vocation 260 00:15:15.399 --> 00:15:18.480 and it's frankly the one thing that I do well. 261 00:15:18.519 --> 00:15:20.799 And you know, I guess you only need one. But 262 00:15:22.480 --> 00:15:29.080 it's physical tension is an interesting I won't go down 263 00:15:29.159 --> 00:15:29.919 the rabbit hole. 264 00:15:29.799 --> 00:15:33.559 Too much, but please do because it's my show, So 265 00:15:33.759 --> 00:15:36.559 please do this yeah, that's it. 266 00:15:36.840 --> 00:15:39.279 Go okay, let me get I'll give you a quick 267 00:15:39.320 --> 00:15:43.360 anecdote I worked. I did a whole play in New York. 268 00:15:43.679 --> 00:15:46.440 Writer named Jez Butterworth, one of the best writers in 269 00:15:46.480 --> 00:15:49.600 the world. There's a world premiere play of his, and 270 00:15:49.639 --> 00:15:53.159 I was playing a character that a big hit in 271 00:15:53.240 --> 00:15:57.000 New York. And this character was, you know, from about 272 00:15:57.000 --> 00:16:01.159 two hundred miles outside of London, very idiot, syncratic accent, 273 00:16:02.759 --> 00:16:09.559 and known for his lack of charisma. So the other 274 00:16:09.679 --> 00:16:14.919 characters are describing this character as boring, right, And well, 275 00:16:14.960 --> 00:16:17.559 how do you do that? Because you can't literally be boring. 276 00:16:17.879 --> 00:16:24.240 It's impossible, because you know, drama doesn't justify unremarkable people. 277 00:16:25.159 --> 00:16:28.879 People who are in the architecture of performance are remarkable 278 00:16:29.320 --> 00:16:33.320 no matter what for some reason, maybe even in their plainness. 279 00:16:33.840 --> 00:16:36.919 But I found it really hard, and so I told myself, 280 00:16:36.919 --> 00:16:40.080 you know what, I'm gonna do absolutely nothing. I'm gonna 281 00:16:40.120 --> 00:16:43.840 do the minimal of what's required, and I'm going to 282 00:16:43.919 --> 00:16:47.600 be completely relaxed. I'm gonna let my body relax. I'm 283 00:16:47.600 --> 00:16:50.639 gonna scan it for physical tension anywhere I find some. 284 00:16:50.759 --> 00:16:53.320 I'm gonna let go. And I got a couple months 285 00:16:53.320 --> 00:16:55.919 into that performance, and I was just patting myself on 286 00:16:56.000 --> 00:16:58.120 the back because it was, like I said, it was 287 00:16:58.200 --> 00:17:01.240 kind of a hit to play. And I was just, 288 00:17:01.360 --> 00:17:04.960 you know, so sure that I was making progress in 289 00:17:05.000 --> 00:17:08.319 my little experiment. And one night we're in the middle 290 00:17:08.319 --> 00:17:10.680 of a scene. It was me and Emily Mortimer, great. 291 00:17:10.400 --> 00:17:14.119 Actor from Newsroom. 292 00:17:13.920 --> 00:17:15.839 Yeah among many many of you. 293 00:17:16.119 --> 00:17:17.519 Oh my god, I love her. 294 00:17:18.160 --> 00:17:22.440 If she's extraordinary, And I'm like, god, I'm so relaxed. 295 00:17:22.480 --> 00:17:25.839 I'm so relaxed while I'm in the scene. And I 296 00:17:25.880 --> 00:17:29.799 looked down and my three fingers on my left hand 297 00:17:30.920 --> 00:17:35.119 are curled into a tight little ball. The rest of 298 00:17:35.119 --> 00:17:38.240 my body totally relaxed. You could have, like I mean, 299 00:17:38.359 --> 00:17:40.480 you know what I mean, Like you could have knocked 300 00:17:40.519 --> 00:17:42.839 me over with a You could have flicked me and 301 00:17:42.880 --> 00:17:45.680 I would have fallen over. I was so relaxed, but 302 00:17:45.799 --> 00:17:49.680 I wasn't because all that tension just curled up down 303 00:17:49.920 --> 00:17:53.279 and just collected down on this little part in my hands. 304 00:17:54.000 --> 00:17:57.920 Strasburg used to do this with people. Find where the 305 00:17:57.960 --> 00:18:00.599 physical tension is is it above your eye eyebrow? And 306 00:18:00.599 --> 00:18:03.759 now when you go watch and I watch this all 307 00:18:03.799 --> 00:18:07.799 the time, watch our fellows while they're doing their work. 308 00:18:07.839 --> 00:18:12.839 There's certain people who have a mask almost of physical tension. 309 00:18:14.160 --> 00:18:19.920 Still great performances, still, you know, really well received. But 310 00:18:20.000 --> 00:18:22.359 I'll look and I'll see the physical tension, and I'll 311 00:18:22.440 --> 00:18:27.920 know that something is inhibiting their full surrender to that character. 312 00:18:29.720 --> 00:18:33.720 So letting go. Man, it's the most dangerous thing. It is. 313 00:18:34.039 --> 00:18:38.000 It's such a counter it's it's such a counter strategy 314 00:18:38.519 --> 00:18:40.640 to the mission of your ego, which is to look 315 00:18:40.759 --> 00:18:44.319 like you know what you're doing, no matter what, justify 316 00:18:44.440 --> 00:18:47.359 why you're there, no matter what. It's true for a 317 00:18:47.359 --> 00:18:49.359 lot of us in life, let alone, when they're pointing 318 00:18:49.359 --> 00:18:56.559 a camera at you. It elicits this this almost compulsive 319 00:18:56.640 --> 00:19:02.440 habit to simultaneously play your character and remind everybody that 320 00:19:02.559 --> 00:19:07.839 you're really interesting, you're funny, you're worth listening to. In 321 00:19:07.880 --> 00:19:11.559 other words, there's this insecurity that comes with a human 322 00:19:11.599 --> 00:19:16.480 being that is really put on blast when you're standing 323 00:19:16.480 --> 00:19:19.839 in hot lights with a camera pointed at you. And 324 00:19:20.759 --> 00:19:26.319 the most interesting thing, in the most rewarding part of 325 00:19:26.319 --> 00:19:29.759 my creative growth has been integrating that, letting it exist, 326 00:19:30.160 --> 00:19:34.000 letting it be okay, like it's just an ugly moment 327 00:19:34.039 --> 00:19:36.119 for that character. Hell yes, it is, well, guess what 328 00:19:36.119 --> 00:19:39.920 it's going to look like. It's gonna look ugly. And 329 00:19:40.680 --> 00:19:43.640 you know, someone in the audience. I remember I was 330 00:19:43.680 --> 00:19:45.839 doing a play and I was playing a character whose 331 00:19:45.920 --> 00:19:51.200 nickname was Skinny. I was fat at the time, and 332 00:19:55.000 --> 00:19:58.799 this first time this lady or first time this other 333 00:19:58.920 --> 00:20:01.160 character had called me skinny. Oh I'm skinny, Come over him. 334 00:20:01.200 --> 00:20:03.680 I know that I heard this lady and the audience 335 00:20:03.720 --> 00:20:12.200 go skinny. Yeah, he's not skinny, right, And and you 336 00:20:12.200 --> 00:20:16.119 you that's such a tea little example. But we when 337 00:20:16.160 --> 00:20:18.559 we're doing this at the highest level, in my opinion, 338 00:20:19.200 --> 00:20:22.680 we completely open ourselves up and expose ourselves to whatever 339 00:20:22.759 --> 00:20:24.000 the audience is going to say. 340 00:20:25.039 --> 00:20:28.799 Well, it's the ultimate it's the ultimate level of vulnerability. 341 00:20:29.799 --> 00:20:30.279 Yeah. 342 00:20:30.319 --> 00:20:32.599 That's why. You know, when my friends and I try 343 00:20:32.599 --> 00:20:34.759 to tell them about acting, they don't understand. I said, 344 00:20:36.720 --> 00:20:40.200 you have to realize that you could suck, you know. 345 00:20:40.720 --> 00:20:43.039 I mean, that's the big thing. Like, and I've heard 346 00:20:43.119 --> 00:20:46.440 other actors say it, whether they like, you know, my 347 00:20:46.559 --> 00:20:48.359 first five. You know, I'm gonna go out and I'm 348 00:20:48.400 --> 00:20:51.440 going to do this and there's gonna be some takes 349 00:20:51.440 --> 00:20:54.799 that just don't work. But in order to get to 350 00:20:54.839 --> 00:20:57.200 the one that does. That's what you have to do. 351 00:20:57.720 --> 00:20:59.880 And one of the things that I thought I found frustrating, 352 00:21:00.079 --> 00:21:02.920 like in broadcasting sometimes you know, we were like you 353 00:21:02.960 --> 00:21:04.599 got to do one or two takes and then you're done. 354 00:21:04.839 --> 00:21:06.160 You know, we got to get it done. It's got 355 00:21:06.160 --> 00:21:09.279 to and there's no room for experimental growth. I mean, 356 00:21:10.119 --> 00:21:13.000 you have to you have to throw the crap against 357 00:21:13.039 --> 00:21:15.400 the wall. That's the tough part of auditioning. As you know, 358 00:21:15.720 --> 00:21:17.039 you know, you go in, you get one or two 359 00:21:17.079 --> 00:21:19.200 cracks at it. Whereas if you get cast in a 360 00:21:19.240 --> 00:21:21.559 part and somebody says, you know you're gonna play Andy, 361 00:21:22.079 --> 00:21:24.880 I mean when you're working on that character, I mean, 362 00:21:24.920 --> 00:21:28.720 how many times do you throw the bad stuff out? Right? 363 00:21:28.839 --> 00:21:31.920 I have a crate, Yes, yes, I mean that's certainly 364 00:21:32.319 --> 00:21:35.960 I would say an accurate description of the day to day, right. 365 00:21:36.319 --> 00:21:39.839 But I've had so many experiences and this is what 366 00:21:39.880 --> 00:21:44.519 I'd like to put in a bottle where I get 367 00:21:45.440 --> 00:21:49.119 this is why the preparation is so important, learning the lines, 368 00:21:49.359 --> 00:21:52.480 breaking down the scene, understanding the art of the character. 369 00:21:53.000 --> 00:21:55.319 You got to always look at your character. As you know, 370 00:21:55.680 --> 00:21:58.079 I'm sure you've heard this before, but like, what is 371 00:21:58.119 --> 00:22:01.839 the note in the chorus that youraracter is playing. For example, 372 00:22:01.920 --> 00:22:05.599 Andy and True Blood. If I saw the cast as 373 00:22:06.440 --> 00:22:09.799 a band, basically every now and then, I got to 374 00:22:09.839 --> 00:22:12.599 play the e string, you know what I mean, Like 375 00:22:12.680 --> 00:22:16.039 I was going to play pretty much the same note, 376 00:22:16.279 --> 00:22:21.799 which was this sort of buffoonish frustration with the circumstance, 377 00:22:23.240 --> 00:22:25.839 which is kind of a device because I was the 378 00:22:25.880 --> 00:22:28.000 only I was I was the proxy audience. I was 379 00:22:28.039 --> 00:22:29.480 the guy who was going to go, are you kidding me? 380 00:22:29.680 --> 00:22:32.559 That guy just just run by me naked, right, So 381 00:22:32.599 --> 00:22:34.839 I had to do it, and I had to do 382 00:22:34.880 --> 00:22:40.680 that over and over. But if I didn't do that, 383 00:22:40.759 --> 00:22:43.480 it would throw the music off your job, you know 384 00:22:43.519 --> 00:22:48.079 what I'm saying. It was my job so preparation, getting 385 00:22:48.119 --> 00:22:49.599 all that stuff out of the way, saying you know 386 00:22:49.720 --> 00:22:53.799 exactly where you're supposed to pitch your performance. There are 387 00:22:53.839 --> 00:22:56.480 there have been times when I walked through a door 388 00:22:57.960 --> 00:23:00.759 and I'll tell you what wild and heels and we 389 00:23:00.839 --> 00:23:04.440 maybe talk about that later. But like perfect example, immersed 390 00:23:04.480 --> 00:23:07.920 myself in the research, did the right preparation. I had 391 00:23:08.039 --> 00:23:12.000 no idea what that character was going to sound like, 392 00:23:12.359 --> 00:23:17.640 move like, how he would react, but it just it 393 00:23:17.759 --> 00:23:22.279 just came out. It's just like, so I I believe 394 00:23:22.359 --> 00:23:25.119 there's a way we can prepare if we get relaxed 395 00:23:25.160 --> 00:23:29.559 and concentrated enough where you kind of do it perfectly 396 00:23:29.599 --> 00:23:30.279 the first time. 397 00:23:31.079 --> 00:23:33.039 Wow. Really, that's. 398 00:23:34.400 --> 00:23:34.720 Wow. 399 00:23:35.079 --> 00:23:37.160 I mean, I mean, if you bottle it up, you're 400 00:23:37.200 --> 00:23:40.599 going to be a billionaire, you know, I mean, and wow, 401 00:23:40.640 --> 00:23:42.400