Dustin Hoffman is without doubt one of the best actors of his technology.
He’s additionally notorious for going all out to get into character.
In a single film the place Hoffman’s character will get held underwater by a bunch of killers, he rehearsed by holding his personal head underwater till he virtually drowned himself. It put him within the hospital on an oxygen tank.
In Marathon Man, Hoffman performed an obsessive runner. Earlier than his operating scenes, he would run all out for a mile simply so he was out of breath for his scenes.
His co-star in that film was legendary actor Sir Laurence Olivier.
The 2 actors revered each other on set however their strategies had been polar opposites.
Olivier didn’t see the purpose in technique appearing. When Hoffman went overboard to get into character, Olivier famously quipped, “Why don’t you simply act?”
So long as the completed product is sweet I don’t care all that a lot about actors get into character.
Jeremy Robust appears to share some similarities with Hoffman in his portrayal of Kendall Roy on HBO’s Succession.
Robust has put in one of many nice TV appearing performances of all-time. Kendall is unlikeable but Robust nonetheless makes you root for him. He’s spectacular at enjoying a spoiled wealthy man.1
This scene within the season 3 finale floored me:
Brian Cox performs Kendall’s father, Logan Roy, on the present. His feedback on Robust’s appearing strategies make him sound just like the Olivier to Robust’s Hoffman.
Cox mentioned in an interview, “I’ve labored with intense actors earlier than. It’s a very American illness, I feel, this incapacity to separate your self off whilst you’re doing the job.”
Possibly Robust felt he needed to go all out to make it to this place since he spent so a few years toiling in obscurity making an attempt to make it as an actor with little success.
A latest GQ profile checked out what occurred when Robust lastly obtained what he needed:
Earlier than, he was toiling, if not fairly within the unknown, then the not-exactly-known. Off-Broadway performs and bit elements in large motion pictures, however no breakthroughs. He spent years in a studio condo that had “one chair, one set of fork and knife, a espresso cup, some books, a pile of scripts.”
Now, he has a household. Three daughters along with his spouse, baby psychiatrist and documentarian Emma Wall. Ages 4, two, and one, they had been all born whereas he labored on Succession. He has an Emmy and the luxurious of selection on the subject of roles. Presumably a number of extra chairs and forks and knives. “The distinction,” he says, “is anyone lastly giving me the ball.”
The factor about getting what you need, although, is that it often comes with some baggage you didn’t cut price for. That entire monkey’s paw state of affairs.
For Robust, that meant being cracked open publicly. He swiftly went from Jeremy Robust, that man you want on that TV present, to Jeremy Robust, tortured actor who’s typically overly intense to the purpose of mania and delusion.
“Final 12 months this time,” he says, “I form of cratered a bit.”
He appears at his friends, who’ve filmed 5, six, seven initiatives whereas he was within the Succession trenches. He envies “that freedom to only shoot your self out of some totally different cannons. Generally Kendall seems like the identical cannon again and again.”
Generally getting precisely what you needed can result in unintended penalties.
Fame and fortune sound nice however it’s not all enjoyable and boar on the ground if you turn into wealthy and well-known.
Ben Affleck and Matt Damon had been on The Bill Simmons Podcast this week and I cherished each minute of it. I’ve been watching their motion pictures for therefore lengthy that I virtually really feel like I’ve recognized these guys for 25 years.
The Good Will Looking duo opened up about among the challenges of changing into well-known (edited for readability):
Affleck: We all the time say I’m going to be wealthy and well-known as if the 2 are synonymous in a means. These are the 2 issues that may ship happiness. However the aspiration to be well-known is absolutely form of lacking it as a result of it makes life bizarre.
Damon: Individuals turn into bizarre as a result of your echolocation, your radar, you may have a greater likelihood of changing into bizarre than not changing into bizarre. However it’s such a mindf*ck, proper? As a result of the world doesn’t deal with you a similar. So it’s like, how do you not turn into bizarre? It’s a lot tougher.
My brother all the time had this concept that I actually suppose is true, which is that you just retard sort of socially and emotionally for the time being you turn into well-known. You cease rising. You cease rising as a result of your subjective expertise adjustments solely, proper? It’s by no means the identical. Like, your expertise of the world, and that’s the thoughts f*ck.
I’m not saying we should always really feel sorry for the wealthy and well-known.
They’re fairly far down the checklist by way of folks that ought to obtain our sympathy.
However it’s fairly telling that so many individuals who obtain a sure stage of wealth and fame appear to finish up unfulfilled or sad.
Don’t get me fallacious, most of us would take the cash and fame if we may get it. Hope springs everlasting.
I simply suppose it’s essential to acknowledge that outward measures of success don’t mechanically translate into inward emotions of happiness.
Life is usually extra sophisticated than it appears.
Additional Studying:
Everyone Struggles
1If they’ll stick the touchdown on the ultimate season, Succession is shifting into the dialogue with Breaking Unhealthy, The Sopranos and The Wire by way of finest TV reveals of all-time.
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