James often accuses me of not listening. And he’s right.
I am often guilty of thinking I have a better idea of what he’s going to say next and interrupting him to guess rather than just simply hearing him out and finding out first hand the nuances of what he has to say.
Especially since he’s a writer, this is an egregious crime. He thinks about words, he knows a lot of words, and it’s down right infuriating to him that I would interrupt him to put words in his mouth and think I know better what he’s going to say. I am busy trying to guess at what he’s going to say rather than hearing him and seeking to understand him. Pretty shitty, really.
I think this is probably somewhat akin to trying to think of my next line when my scene partner is speaking rather then hearing what they have to say and letting the line come to me in the moment. An egregious crime in the acting world and one that many amateurs never make it past. Which, quite frankly, lends to shitty acting.
I’m engaged in the conversation. But for the wrong reason: namely, if we want to really get down to it, to feed my own ego. And not, as I should be, on understanding and connecting to my partner.
Ego is an interesting thing. You need one if you’re ever going to make it as an actor.
An ego : Big enough that you can walk into an audition room and own the room. Big enough that you feel you are worthy of being watched. Big enough that you believe people should spend their time and energy watching you.
But if you have too big of one, you’ll quickly burn out – or never really achieve true greatness on an artistic level so you can truly listen and collaborate and understand and connect with your co-stars, director, etc.
And I think it goes without saying (but I’ll say it anyway) that behind that ego, there better be a bottle rocket of talent and joi de vivre that’s so downright watchable that it makes up for the fact that you think you’re so worthy of being watched.
It’s a tricky balance really.
And one that comes all the better, I think, when you really, truly, learn to listen in real life. Not just in the make believe world we actors would like to dwell in all the time.
The best actors are good listeners. Because, let’s face it, acting is a collaborative art.
So is life. It’s a collaborative thing. I’ll get there, James.
