 | halfbloodprincess78 |
| | Ho trovato quest'articolo del periodo in cui era a Dublino, non l'avevo mai letto, parla anche della sua infanzia è molto toccante. Credo sia una delle poche cose che ho letto in cui parla di se stesso e della sua carriera. Fonte: PAG 394 Traduzione a cura di Giulia NerucciWednesday, 6th October, 2010
Alan Rickman: “Does it have to be so dark?”
posted by Tom Lowe
On Tuesday evening, 5th October, Players Theatre packed out with eager students, desperate to partake in an audience with the legendary Alan Rickman. The room echoed with excited banter and the occasional squeal of delight before a door closed, a light went out, and someone, somewhere, started a domino effect of “shh” throughout the crowd. With deafening silence achieved, every pair of enthusiastic eyes were glued to the door. It creaked open to reveal the charming Matthew Smyth, chair of DU Players, who had the honour of introducing Professor Snape, Colonal Brandon, Hans Gruber, or whatever loved and adored character he was to the room of fanatical fans.
As soon as his figure appeared in the doorway, the applause erupted. He made his way toward the stage in what seemed to be slow motion. He oozed of confidence, intelligence and that mysterious sex appeal as, eyes glued to his destination, he smiled to himself, acknowledging the significance of his presence among us mere muggles. Sporting some bizarre and rather pathetic facial hair as part of his current role in John Gabriel Borkman, he maintained his image of a period character or sinister villain that we all know and love him to be. While interviewer, Miles Dungan, calmly decanted water into two separate glasses, un-phased by the continuing applause, it was clear that there was only one thing on the audience’s collective mind. The Voice.
“Does it have to be so dark?”
There it was, as unchanged from the screen as we had hoped, cruising across the theatre as smoothly, intensely and slowly as it had done in all of our fondest memories of his performances. The fact that such a drawl could deliver something funny became outrageously hilarious as laughter tore through the silence, shocking us into a further state of awe and left the entire room hanging on his every word for the following hour and a half.
Miles Dungan guided Rickman from his early childhood days to the highest points of his professional career with great ease, Rickman answering each question carefully and intelligently, greatly aware of his audience – all students and a great deal of aspiring actors – a group that Rickman has a lot of experience with due to his high involvement in RADA.
The interview began with Rickman’s early life, first touching on the tragedy of his father’s death when Alan was only eight years old. Having never been asked about this before the emotion behind his response was touching and combined with Rickman’s acknowledgement of his Irish and Welsh roots, “full of guilt”, established an immediate familiarity between him and his eager audience. The loss of his father had left him confused, with “no voice”, and barely able to recognise his previously colourful mother in her mourning attire. Rickman wasn’t even allowed to attend the funeral which was considered “too painful, too adult” for a child. He confirmed that this loss shaped the rest of his life.
Moving on to the progression of his career as an actor, Rickman discussed the earlier years and difficulties that he encountered with a refreshing honesty and sense of humour. He began working with the Royal Shakespeare Company 4 years after leaving RADA but “couldn’t wait to get out of there” due to what he described as “a lot of shouting”. He suitably “ran screaming” after about a year.
Once we got to discussing Rickman’s films, he treated each with honesty and non-preferential fondness, an admirable expression of his respect for other peoples’ work. He admits that he got his first role as Hans Gruber in Die Hard because “they honestly needed someone cheap. And nobody came cheaper than me.” He charmingly confessed that “there was no acting required” when it came to falling off the Nakatomi building – that expression on his face was quite real. Rickman seemed to still be surprised that this role had set a standard for screen villains claiming this was not a title he was looking for, especially because of his lack of skills with guns. “They make you blink. It’s not a good look for a terrorist.”
The Irish roots resurfaced during the discussion of Rickman’s portrayal of Eamon deValera in Michael Collins. His intelligence and respect for history became apparent during his discussion of the research and homework he did that resulted in his refusal to “judge Dev”, convinced that not only did Dev not have the power to have been involved in Collins’ death but that the relationship between them was a “fascinating love story”. Despite the potential for the expression of such opinions to be misconstrued as arrogance, Rickman delivered his thoughts intelligently but accessibly, earning even more respect from his eager listeners.
Discussing his literary roles, Professor Snape and Colonal Brandon, seemed to be of great interest to the audience. While commenting that Snape “doesn’t get out much” and is often “stuck in a corridor”, he expressed an obvious fondness for co-stars, Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint when he mentioned the privilege of watching three 12 year olds become 21 year olds. One couldn’t help but imagine the gentle father-like figure watching out for our favourite onscreen trio despite the hideous wig and generally evil demeanour. Bless.
Of course, when the matter of Colonal Brandon arose, people began to swoon. Emma Thompson’s screenplay of Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility was quite the success among Austen fans, romantics and basically all women, largely due to Rickman’s astoundingly romantic performance. “Give me a task or I shall run mad.” Incredible. English students began to quiver as he declared himself a devotee of Austen’s, describing her as “the greatest”, “the most muscular writer that you could find, and the funniest.” How he made such a dull and boring character come to life as magically as he did shall remain a mystery, as his only answer was to remain faithful to the part. The part is quite rubbish, so he’s obviously doing something rather special.
Rickman answered students’ questions carefully, highly aware of his audience. He offered brilliant advice to all students, telling us not to worry about the decisions we have to make about our lives at such a young age. “Don’t worry, it’s not finite.” However, what he shared of his knowledge of the acting world in theatre and film as well as acting itself, was clearly appreciated most by the drama students present. Acknowledging that the world of the film world isn’t the real world, it will “eat you up” and that it “is a profession that rewards excellent cheekbones,” certainly contrasted with his view of theatre; a more real world that “will happen if you commit.” It was clear that he favoured naturalist acting where you “really answer, really listen” and “hear it freshly every night.” He discourages practicing in front of a mirror: “Who gives a shit?” and firmly believes in the immediacy of natural acting: “Somebody says something and you need to respond.”
Rickman is currently playing the lead role in John Gabriel Borkman in the Abbey Theatre. Describing it as “ a way of touching some Irish roots but “very difficult”, his naturalist approach shall prevail as the play “will never be the same twice.” He describes the play as “enormous”, saying that “where you go in that two and a half hours is indescribable”. Having charmed us with his refreshingly honest outlook on the world in which he works, his intelligence, sense of humour and of course, that voice, his portrayal of John Gabriel Borkman is sure to be another astounding performance from the legend that is Alan Rickman.
By Rachael Shearer Edited by chiara53 - 30/6/2022, 19:56 | | | |
| |
|
