Animal Acting
Acting coach Jean-Louis Rodrigue believes actors should get back in touch with their primal nature, and explains how he helps them achieve this goal.
Jean-Louis Rodrigue
Jean-Louis Rodrigue is surrounded by twenty young actors swinging and muttering lullabies with their eyes closed. With his loud voice and confident posture, he looks like a charismatic guru. Right now, he’s teaching them the “Alexander Technique”. Like he did with Hilary Swank, Kirsten Dunst or Leonardo di Caprio.
What is this “Alexander technique“ you’re teaching?
It’s a method invented hundred years ago in Australia by an actor named Alexander. It’s based on psychophysical re-education. Our bodies are more and more disconnected from our brains and the brain dominates the body. But I think it’s a mistake. We are all animals and we should go back to our natural cells.
Do you think that all actors should take courses or is it enough to be gifted?
An actress like the wonderful Olivia de Havilland never had any training but she won two Academy awards. But times and technologies changed and today you’re supposed to be able to do very different things: theatre, films, mixed media.... The more training you have, the better it is.
What is a good actor?
A good actor is human. He makes me believe in him and in the story. He serves at the same time the director, the character and the audience.
Do major actors like to “go back to school”?
I work with many Academy award winners and they all feel exhilarating. They know that the more they learn about themselves, the more they will be able to challenge and transform themselves. Otherwise they would do the same thing all the time.
What was the most challenging experience in your career?
I worked with Josh Brolin when he had to play George Bush. But I’m definitely not a Republican. To help him find the humanity of his character, I had to forget about my personal judgment and accept that everybody has good intentions and a moral point of view.
You’re working with Leonardo di Caprio. What can he still improve?
Leonardo is a very gifted actor but now he has to do something that he had never done before: playing a man into the middle of his seventies. I think that exploring unusual places and working on his body and his breath can help him. He loves to learn actually, and that’s why he’s so good.
Don’t you miss acting?
Not at all. I started as an actor and I did that for many years. But discovering the Alexander Technique – which I did for personal reasons – really changed my life. I got fascinated by it and now I want to share it with the most actors I can.
Like young actors from the Berlinale Talent Campus?
Definitely! This is the third time I come and I’m not tired of it. This international atmosphere, all those people whose first passion is filmmaking, it’s very unique. I think everybody is an expert here.
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