Wednesday, March 7, 2012
9 Pro Tips for Landing That Action Star Gig from John Carters Taylor Kitsch
Taylor Kitsch is about to have a very big 2012. In addition to carrying Disneys ambitious sci-fi adaptation John Carter as the titular Edgar Rice Burroughs hero, a Civil War veteran transported to Mars, hes also fronting Peter Bergs alien invasion actioner Battleship and starring in Oliver Stones Savages later this year. But as Kitsch revealed to Movieline, the John Carter job wasnt easy to get - and the toll it took on him during production was a challenge in itself. So who better to offer pro tips on nabbing the spotlight and handling the pressure of becoming an action hero than Kitsch, on the eve of a new chapter in his career? It should be noted that Kitsch is no stranger to action, having appeared in films like Snakes on a Plane, The Covenant, and X-Men Origins: Wolverine already in his six-year career, and no stranger to the spotlight thanks to his beloved turn as Tim Riggins on Friday Night Lights. But John Carter marks his first starring role and by far his biggest film to date, a sprawling epic set on a vast alien world envisioned in great detail by director Andrew Stanton (Finding Nemo, WALL-E). So how did Kitsch land the coveted role? What does his John Carter role share in common with his last one, as the late South African photojournalist Kevin Carter, in The Bang Bang Club? All this and more as Taylor Kitsch shares his pro tips on landing (and keeping) that action hero gig. 1. Dont think of yourself as an action star. Thats you guys labeling me, so me saying yes to that I cant say yes to that because I refuse to put myself in that bubble. You saw Bang Bang Club, thats no action movie. We hope to keep throwing you curveballs so you cant put me in a spot like that. 2. Ignore the hype and the naysayers worry about putting pressure on yourself to do the work so you can sleep at night. The pressure is what I put myself on in the sense of getting and doing the best I can, and having no regrets with what I put into it. Thats the pressure. The pressure now is that you can overthink everything, from how its going to do and how people are going to perceive it, you, this and that. If you want to drive yourself crazy over that you can, but I think thats why you put so much into it. So you can lay down at night and be okay with what you did and be like, you know what? I still wouldnt change it. If you say Im fucking shit, I still wouldnt change it. 3. Be picky. Taking on a blockbuster gig is a huge commitment, so make sure youre doing it for the right reasons. Hopefully you feel that, you see it. You see the emotion and the energy that it takes to really do what it deserves, potentially. I think thats what its about, and thats why Im so picky with the jobs. Im all in. Im never going to do a job for the sake of working. So were at a point now of looking at the next job, or whatever that is, and my people, my team, have been with me from Day One. If I dont work for a year, Im OK with it. Were not going to do it unless we have to do it. "I was and still am okay with doing indies for the rest of my life. I dont need to be in the spotlight; if anything, Ill push it away even more. I live in Austin. I love the work. I love the storytelling, and thats what the first meeting represented. I could play so many parts in this one character, from the Western, from the guy that doesnt give a shit, to the guy whos finally come full circle and become the leader that hes pushed away for so long. I love that, and I love working with an Andrew Stanton, a Willem Dafoe, a Mark Strong, a Sam Morton, a Thomas Haden Church, a Lynn Collins." 4. Make sure there is a "there" there. "Man, I will be shit if you give me nothing to play. [...] Any actor will tell you, the more you can give me, the more depth I can escape into, the better its going to be on every level." 5. Flawed characters are more interesting to play, and are worth diving into headfirst -- even if it takes a lot out of you. "Its not the war thing, but the more interesting guys I grew up watching -- I like watching the more flawed guys than the perfect guys, and thats more interesting for me to play. Thats more real to me. I love that and I love bringing people into a performance and it takes so fucking much out of you to do it honestly, but its worth it. Kev Carter you wont meet a guy more flawed. That crushed me." 6. Remember to maintain balance with the emotional and physical demands of carrying a tentpole especially when they require regular, long-term maintenance of action-hero muscles. I was beyond exhausted in this film. Yeah, six day weeks is what killed me. I think I just pushed myself -- I dont regret it because you see it, but at times I could have had a better balance, maybe, just because waking up that early so often and the lack of sleep and pushing yourself that much, to have that much energy onscreen for seven months, to be at that aesthetic! Itd be a lot easier if I had one shirtless scene and I could just get toned for that then be OK and balance it out, but it was 11 months that I was on that diet and training regimen. Its very unreal to do that and to look that way, obviously, but its what I guess I demanded out of myself. This goes back to Kev [Carter, of the Bang Bang Club], too. No one asked me to lose a pound, I wanted to. 7. That said, dont worry too much about how you look, stud. Fuck, man. You never want to be that conscious in a scene. Thatd mean Id be so totally out of John Carter mode, if Im really that conscious of how I look and the lighting. Thats really bad. [But] you definitely have to do what you have to do to put yourself in the moment so its connecting to whatever it is. I think youve just got to get to a point where youre okay with how you look and what youre doing and you leave it and let it lay. Whatever it is, I look at that scene and it is what it is 8. Go out for a role knowing its yours to lose. The audition process for John Carter was particularly grueling, with five actors and five actresses vying for the same roles over the course of two intense days. Man, I was just so focused, I was so myopic with it. I prepped so much for that audition. Ive always been an underdog and I came in on this gig that way, but it was like I felt it was mine to lose. I went in with that thinking really, if I can go in all out on this, Im going to go in and kill it as much as I can. But it was a tough process, for sure. Two 14-hour days and youve got to remember, whats bizarre about getting roles and auditioning for the most part is you do your prep and everything for the most part after you get the role. Its like OK, now Ive got to sit down and really sketch this guy out. Its a trip. 9. Whatever you do, do not go out partying the night before a big audition. I wont call the guy out, but I know and it gave me more oomph, put it that way, knowing that this one guy that was up for it was out partying quite hard the night before or two nights before. No matter what, I hear about that and I know I got ya, man. Its like, good on ya for making it a little bit easier on me. John Carter is in theaters this week. Read more on the film here. Follow Jen Yamato on Twitter. Follow Movieline on Twitter.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment