Turtles Win Races
Hello
It’s been a while
I’ve been pretending to be a guy called Jack
In a film called Two Ugly People
Yes - I’m one of the ugly people
It was a massive few weeks
Filming in rural motels
Chinese karaoke bars
And country back streets at 4am.
If I put an imaginary whiteboard in front of me
And pretend the whole film experience is up there in front of me
A few key ideas pop up
One
I simply have no idea what acting is
Two
Human connection is everything
& Three
Turtles win races
Here we go
One
I say the following not to gloat but to prove what an idiot I am
I started acting at fourteen
I got into NIDA at eighteen
I was leading onstage at the Sydney Opera House by twenty five
I have worked with multiple Oscar winners & nominees
I have been nominated alongside Australia’s best
I help other artists around the world to give their work in their respective fields
As well as leading the screen acting lecturing at Australia’s most prestigious acting institute
So believe me when I say…
I really
REALLY
Feel like I should know what acting is by this point
But in all honesty
I don’t have a clue
I’m fucking stumped
Right now, I feel like I’m wrestling with a cloud
Mmm
Maybe there’s a hint
“Wrestling”
Like I’m trying to fight with it
Control it
Maybe that’s the point
That it’s not something to be fought with
Controlled
I can hear the great Eleonora Duse calmly saying
“There is no one way. Every actor must find their own way.”
Maybe I’m in a place where I need to unclench my fists
Let myself get lost in the grey mist of a craft which is never supposed to be leashed
Two
I have just had the privilege of working with a wonderful actress
Yes - she is the other ugly person
This actress has zero background with training or acting technique
And I was blown away
There is simply nothing more wonderful than working with someone who doesn’t know what they should be doing
Who doesn’t know how to please generic acting teachers or books on “how to get the part!”
Because their energy is focussed on only what is most important
Human connection
I have just had the greatest privilege of working with someone who only focussed on the most real of things
After twenty years of experience
I cannot tell you how refreshing it was to know
That at any point
No matter how scared, stupid, or lost in the scene I felt
I could look up
And there was a human standing opposite me
With open eyes
Who was brave and generous enough to be willing to connect as a living, breathing human
That shit builds trust like no other
And it has absolutely given a nudge to the direction ill head in with the 2024 NIDA students
Courageous human connection
To be clear
There is not a casting director I know
Who would prefer an actor to get the scene right
Rather than connect honestly with the person standing opposite them.
Three
A few nights into filming
We were doing a very long shot
A walk and talk
The night was getting on and as more lighting was being set up
I snuck aside to have a look at playback on the monitor
I saw two people
Walking along a beautifully lit corridor
Under the night sky
At a Mexican-themed rural motel in the Australian bush
The shot reminded me of something
And I immediately began to well up
You see
Eight years ago
I was sitting with the writer/director of Two Ugly People
In a dingy Newtown apartment
During a particularly cold and wet winter
I remember the obsessive conversations
The clarity and drive in his eyes
About what he wanted to contribute to the industry
The stories he wanted to give to the art of cinema
The on-screen relationships he wanted to build
The shots he wanted to paint with lighting and lenses
And all these years later
To watch someone I love realise a decade long dream
It clarifies for me one idea
How damn possible it is for people to build their dreams
When they do it slowly
To sail steadily toward a clear harbour on the other side of the world
Damn that’s dangerous
And bloody generous too
I think most actors vastly overestimate what they can accomplish in a year
But drastically underestimate what they can achieve in a decade
Remember
Steady turtles outlive frantic hares
Hope this helps
X