Andrew Adamson
London-based writer-director; The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian, Shrek
I have found that, no matter how sure I am of who a character is, I always rewrite several times after reading with an actor. With every actor this process is different. Some actors need to put the costume on and pick up a prop before they inhabit the character; others need hours of conversation and discussion. As a director, you need to understand your character and your actor and figure out what you need to be able to offer to bridge any gaps between the two.
Because I tend to write as well, I usually create a backstory for every character before ever meeting with an actor. Most actors like to work with this and fill in the gaps. I have had cases where major story and plot changes have been made because an actor has said to me, "I would never do that," and then articulated why -- from their character's perspective -- something feels false or out of character.
Claude Lelouch
Paris-based writer-director; Roman de Gare, Le Courage d'Aimer
First of all, I tell [the actor] the whole story of the character, the backstory, before the script starts. And I ask him to allow me to film more the unconscious side of his character than the conscious side, which is what I'm more interested in. Most actors will give a director their skill, their know-how, and I am more interested in their humanity, in their human side, and I will only go to their skill if I cannot capture their natural humanity.
Thomas McCarthy
New York-based actor-writer-director; The Visitor, The Station Agent
For me, it is a process. For example, on The Visitor we rehearsed for about two weeks. I do try to shape these characters as much on the page before I hand it to anybody, but once we get into the rehearsal I really try to keep shaping the dialogue and the script to really fit these actors. Especially when you're writing with an actor in mind, as I did with Richard Jenkins, then have a couple of weeks in a room with them, you can really start to get to some of the subtleties of character and personality, stealing a little bit from him and then giving him some tips and pointers along the way about how to get to who this character is. In that way it's a pretty organic process, so by the time we get to the set, there isn't a lot of hemming and hawing about what character work we need to do; it's just a bit of gentle prodding here and there. You want it to feel both organic and specific.
Rob Minkoff
Los Angeles-based director; The Forbidden Kingdom, The Haunted Mansion
There are essentially three elements to building a character. The first and most important is the screenplay. The writer has imagined something very specific, although not always with a particular actor in mind. Once the actor has been cast, the role may go through some conceptual changes. When the actor reads the script, he or she usually has something in mind for how they plan to play the character. And finally, the director must keep the vision of the entire film firmly planted in his own mind to keep all the elements unified.
I like to meet with the actor after he or she has read the script to hear their thoughts. In this way I can gauge whether my own ideas and theirs are simpatico. I like to talk not only about the microcosm of their characters but of the story in its entirety to engage the actor creatively.
Tommy O'Haver
Los Angeles-based writer-director; An American Crime, Billy's Hollywood Screen Kiss
It depends on the actor, really. On An American Crime, Catherine Keener and Ellen Page had very different processes. Ellen delved into research, on the true-life character she was playing and victims of abuse. She shaped the character from that research. Catherine wanted to start from scratch. She created her character of a psychologically unstable mother through lots of discussions with me: where might this woman have come from and why would she begin doing this? Two different approaches but both managed to make for a consistent acting style throughout the film.
Nicholas Stoller
Los Angeles-based writer-director; Forgetting Sarah Marshall
Since I'm primarily a writer, I start by making sure that the actor feels like the writing is correct for him or her. In auditions and rehearsals, I like to incorporate lines that are improvised. We had a long rehearsal process for Forgetting Sarah Marshall. This was very helpful for the actors to help find their characters. I'm not precious with the script. If something feels off to the actor or to me, then I make sure it's rewritten rather than trying to justify the line or scene to the actor.
In addition, I make sure everything is played dramatically. If we played the breakup [in Forgetting Sarah Marshall] as a comedic scene, it would have no emotional heft to it and would ironically lose all its comedic power. The key to great comedy is that there be a central truth and emotionality. The actor and I always go back to the central questions of, Would this happen? Would I really do this? Is this realistic? Therefore, I make sure that the actors are finding real, three-dimensional, sympathetic characters versus playing caricatures who spout one-liners. Even a character as comedic as Paul Rudd's surfer guy has an inherent humanity and lost sadness that only enhances the humor of those scenes.
Sarah Kuhn can be reached at sarahkuhn@backstage.com.