Academy Award Best Supporting Actress Melissa Leo Is A Strong Actor And A Strong Person
I noted these two acting tips she revealed during the Academy Awards, and on Oprah’s Oscar show the next day.
Lesson 1– It’s up to the actor what acting choices are made, and how simple or complex the character is.
Even if the script has a limited character as written.
The first Melissa Leo acting tip came across my twitter feed. Here’s a snapshot of it.
You may think that I am interpreting an acting tip in this tweet, where there really isn’t one. Alright, guilty,of reading between the lines maybe. But that’s what actors do. That’s an essential ingredient in great acting. Therefore, I maintain that this is a good acting lesson. Melissa Leo is intentionally revealing something about her own acting, in this tweet.
Even simpleton characters, if written that way in the script, can gain lifeful depth by how the actor chooses to play them. I’m not saying an actor should change and alter the character, but I think that real-life complexity can only be good. That’s different.
[Sometime I may write about Mark Wahlberg's acting performance in THE FIGHTER, and that will exemplify what I am referring to here, a lot better.]
Lesson 2- Forget Your Auditions As Soon As It’s Finished
On Oprah today, Melissa Leo held her Oscar in her hand, as she talked about her acting career and being a mother. She said that she not only easily spouts the F-word, as the world heard last night. But she also allowed her son to do the same, as long as he refrained from using it in front of his grandmother.
What really struck me was that she also said she lived two hours outside of NYC so as to raise her son outside of the big city! Which meant that she drove 2 hours into Manhattan for auditions!
I don’t know if you have ever been in traffic driving into and out of New York, but I have. It’s heinous. It can be backed up for miles in all directions. I used to think it was harsh to have to take a subway to auditions when I lived in New York, and I have complained about Los Angeles and how it is so spread out, which made the driving to auditions a real drag. Especially for voiceovers, and how there are so many that an actor doesn’t book, so it’s a stress drain and a monetary drain. (This is the reason that I give to the legions of people who consistently suggest that I return, at least, to doing voiceovers again. My mouth has just been clapped shut from ever saying that again…just today, while watching an Oprah episode. The one on the Oscars…)
Melissa Leo said that she trained herself to forget about every audition after she left the audition. Even with the 2 hour drive.
To do that takes tremendous self-discipline. Followed up with constant diligence about not slipping back into renumerating. Most actors replay every little micro-second of auditions, and some actors can obsess about an audition, or every audition…for a long time subsequently. It’s natural to do so when the actor wants passionately and deeply to work, as a professional actor. (No shame if that’s what you do, it’s a great majority of actors who do this.)
Remember, in THE KING’S SPEECH, how Lionel Logue’s wife reacted when he told her about his Hamlet audition?
That Melissa Leo was strong enough to do this audition-forgetting, to really accomplish this, is an indication of how committed she is as an actor. It reveals a uncommonly strong commitment and self-discipline; also an ability to have a concentrated focus. So much about developing a fine acting craft has to do with training the mind.
As is developing the right mindset to be able to be a fine professional actor, and audition well.
Conversely, the powerful discipline that Oscar winner Melissa Leo was able to be consistent about, in the course of her acting career; in order to successfully train her brain to ‘forget her audition’ after she leaves the room, must have contributed to her ability to hang in. She herself has talked about how difficult it has been at times in her career. And if you saw her self-purchased Oscar ads, then you know that she had been not only rejected from acting parts due to her age and gender, but also from magazine covers and spreads. (To publicize THE FIGHTER.)
Best,
Dana
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Photo credits ©AMPAS®
I really like your first lesson. I’m a believer that there is no such thing as a small role. By breaking down a script and giving a great performance and actor can force a role to be as big as they’re willing to make it.