For most performers, a big challenge of portraying a character is embracing the mindset of a figure who has a different backstory from their own. In the case of The Actor, though, star André Holland had not only the challenge of embodying a different persona, but it was also a persona who had lapses in his memory and failed to recognize his own identity. In this sense, both Holland and the character he was playing were just as in the dark about his backstory, creating all-new layers of challenges for the performer. Similarly, the overall heightened tone of the experience presented star Gemma Chan with both challenges and newfound opportunities to experiment. The Actor is set to land in theaters on March 14th.
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“That was one of the things that really excited me about this part. My process tends to be, ‘Who is this person? What can I learn about them? Tell me everything about their backstory.’ If there isn’t one, I’ll make it up. That’s the way that I was taught to work. And in this case, there was nothing to go on,” Holland expressed to ComicBook about playing a character unaware of their own identity. “And even the things you could find, I said, ‘Well, that is a part of his backstory, but he’s not aware of it, so how does that help?’ I think the trick for me, or the key thing, was figuring out a way to make his process of trying to discover his backstory still feel active and not feel like a passive exercise. But it was really a lot of fun, and then to have him discover little things along the way and figure out how that impacted him, it was a real challenge, but one that I really enjoyed.”
Not only does the film unfold in a different era, the movie itself embraces the tonal and stylistic aesthetic of a bygone time, which is reflected not only in the environments, but also the performances.
“It was interesting because the filming of it and knowing the vision that [director] Duke [Johnson] had for what he wants to achieve stylistically and technically from the scene transitions, the very practical effects of opening the set up, then walking out onto the street, things like that, it was great. It felt like a real opportunity to do something different that I’d never done before on film,” Chan expressed of the unconventional filming methods. “And coming from a theater background myself, that will appeal to me. Duke made it really clear that he wanted me to bring, he really trusted me to bring that emotion and vulnerability to Edna that would hopefully anchor her amongst this heightened surroundings.”
Holland added, “There was so much trust on set, I think, and encouragement for us to do our thing. I think we found something really beautiful. I feel so damn proud of the movie, and I think people are gonna really love it, man. I just can’t wait for it to get out into the world.”
The Actor is described, “Based on the novel Memory by Donald E. Westlake, The Actor finds Paul Cole (Holland) stranded in a mysterious small town with no memory of who he is or how he got here. Without a sense of identity or purpose, he starts from scratch and begins courting a local costume designer Edna (Chan). As bits and pieces of his past slowly emerge, he attempts to find his way home, but time is slippery, appearances can’t be trusted, and it’s unclear which of his identities is real.”
One of the challenges of Holland’s Paul is that he struggles to differentiate between his own lived-in experiences and the experiences he has brought to life as a performer. Both actors addressed the characters they’ve played that they’ve had a harder time differentiating from their own identities.
“Just something that jumps to the top of my mind, a film I made with Steven Soderbergh where we improvised a lot of, Let Them All Talk, we improvised a lot of the dialogue, and he really wanted us to bring a lot of ourselves to that role,” Chan shared of the character she’s most connected with. “That was the one that really resonated and stayed with me. It was a wonderful experience.”
Holland added, “Mine will be another Steven movie, or Steven show, The Knick, this character Algernon Edwards that I played, it stuck with me. It changed my life, changed my career, and it’s one that I’m still trying to figure out a way to bring back, because it just feels so unfinished. There’s still so much more to discover.”
The Actor lands in theaters on March 14th.
