Film Courage: You’ve said that acting allows you to be many things that in your personal
life you may not be able to be but on camera you can be that.
I’m paragraphing this.
Bill Duke, actor, filmmaker, author: I think all of us are everything and people say how
can you say that I’m a woman with a child, I’m not a bad person.
Okay…suppose someone just came up and hit your baby in the head with hammer.
What would you call your response then if you picked that hammer up.
I’m not saying you’re anything but you’re everything and if you’re hired to do a job
the director doesn’t hire you act like that person, the director hires you to become that
person.
And that something that most people don’t understand about acting, acting is not…that
word is annoying because acting is not pretending, acting is becoming.
It’s surrendering to the spirit, whatever that character you are describing is.
There is a thing called stage fright, that’s where you are right in the middle, where you
are giving part of yourself up to be part of the character, but your ego and fear and
paranoia is watching how you give it up and tries to control the shape of that giving
up.
Real actors like the ones I adore, Kate Winslet, Meryl Streeps, Denzel when he is really in
it and, the Sam Jacksons, Philip Seymour Hoffmans and the Jeffrey Rights and when those people
go there is nobody there except that character, that’s admirable and that’s courage.
People don’t understand because some days you’re not in control of it, you have to
ride.
You have to trust.
And the person you trust is the director “Am I riding right?”
You don’t stand outside because you don’t stand outside and look at your ride.
And that’s what real great actors do.
Philip Seymour Hoffman is one of my favorite actors.
Film Courage: Can someone still be great and have stage fright?
Bill: The can be great and have stage fright?
They can be really good and have stage fright.
To surrender totally to the moment and to totally respond to what the other person you
are acting with is doing, that takes courage.
Your not watching yourself anymore, you’re watching the person you are with in the scene.
You’re not watching how you react to what they do.
You’re responding like we are talking right now.
I’m not trying to be a special anything.
I’m just responding to what you are asking me.
That’s what acting should be.
Film Courage: So overcoming stage fright being less sort of this defiant rebel “Oh, I don’t
care what people think of me.”
And more being so immersed in the moment that all of that is…you don’t see it?
Bill: One of my great acting teachers when I was a very young actor asked a simple question
and he said “I’m going to make it real simple for you.”
He said It’s like falling into darkness backward.
Imagine just falling into darkness backward.
No control of your landing, if you’re going to be caught or not, just falling.
And then he says “Well suppose there’s a rock back there?
Or suppose there is an I don’t know no pillows and just hard floor?
The writer is saying to you “I want you to fall into darkness backward.
I’m giving you all the description about who this character is.
We’ve had rehearsal and discussions on who this human being is.
I do not want you to describe them to me.
I want you to become them by falling into darkness backward.
Can you do that?”