Turner doesn't have to worry about that anymore, in large part because he has worked steadily on Broadway, Off-Broadway, and regionally. "There have been no lulls," he says almost apologetically. "There's not much that's interesting about someone who hasn't faced adversity."
He is enjoying the breakthrough role of his career, playing opposite Harry Connick Jr. in a newly conceived Broadway production of "On a Clear Day You Can See Forever." Turner plays David Gamble, a young gay man who wants to give up smoking and allows himself to be hypnotized by a psychologist (Connick) to achieve those goals. In the course of the hypnosis, he returns to a past life, and complications ensue.
Turner is having a grand time tackling the part. But then, he only takes roles in projects that grab him. As a result of his early success, he has grown "choosy," he says, not just because he has options or dislikes the audition process intensely—"though I do well enough at them," he says—but because he has many interests that take precedence over acting.
Among these: airplane flying, studying a foreign language (at the moment it's French), and traveling to Antarctica. "I've been to all seven continents," he says matter-of-factly. Turner is also deeply committed to the charity Artists Striving to End Poverty, a group that partners established and emerging talent with underserved kids to foster imagination, creativity, and life skills in the youngsters.
Despite Turner's track record, he is aware of how serendipitous the business is and, more troubling, how effort may have no bearing on outcome. Further, he notes, actors can be successful today and unemployed tomorrow. "There are no guarantees, and I've never wanted to put all my effort into something and then end up old with nothing," he says. "That's really scary. Also my father, who was a tinkerer, always said, 'Follow what you are interested in today.' I had thoughtful parents, and they made me think a lot about having a philosophy of life. I'm an experience collector."
"No Power"
A Manhattan native, Turner grew up in northern New Jersey, deciding in fourth grade that he wanted to perform when he and a pal entered a talent contest, sang "There Is Nothing Like a Dame" from "South Pacific," and brought down the house. In retrospect the experience was also his first acting lesson, he says. The audience went wild because two youngsters were championing the words of a sexy song with no idea what they were singing about, and though adult actors would clearly know the meaning, the actor's goal is to return to that state of innocence as much as possible—"to perform sleight of hand so that you are not in on the joke but committed to the idea of what you're saying," Turner says. "I'm fascinated by the mechanics of comedy, why emphasizing one word is funny while emphasizing another word is not. I like comedy. I'm an entertainer. I'm not Marlon Brando."
After graduating from Williams College with a dual major in English literature and music, Turner studied acting with George Morrison at the New Actors Workshop for two years. A career turning point was serving in 1999 and 2000 as a non-Equity actor at Williamstown Theatre Festival, where Jenny Gersten was associate producer (now artistic director). When her father, Bernard Gersten, executive producer of Lincoln Center Theater, asked if Jenny could recommend a reader, she suggested Turner.
He then worked as a reader in the casting office at Lincoln Center and landed a small role in Tom Stoppard's "The Invention of Love" as an ensemble member and Michael Stuhlbarg's understudy. Turner was one of those lucky understudies who had the chance to go on. He invited every agent in town, and although only three showed up, one agent was sufficiently impressed to sign Turner. "It's so hard to get anyone to come when you're nobody," Turner reflects. "But to those who see you when you're nobody, thank you, thank you. You can't thank them enough."
Turner's approach to a role is reading the play repeatedly and focusing on what the other characters say about his. "That's the big thing," he notes. "I used to think of a character as someone different from me. Now I see a character as part of me. At one time I thought of the wings as one place and the stage as another place. The key for me is blending the two spaces. Through relaxation that comes with repetition, I came to realize the stage is not a scary place for which you need to gird yourself. The theater is one big room, and you're there with your feelings. George used to say acting should be like a child playing in front of his parents but not changing how he plays because of his parents' presence."
Turner loved Morrison's approach, though he regrets that the class did not prepare him for the practical side of the business, specifically knowing how to negotiate the politics of collaboration and interpersonal conflict that come with putting on a show. "You learn these things through experience, but I wish I had been prepared earlier," he says.
Turner does not fantasize about future roles, mostly because he thinks it's pointless. Actors have no power anyway, so why dwell on it? he says. Still, he has intellectual goals and is committed to "being open to surprising myself," he says. "That's useful for me as an actor too. My advice to actors is to learn about as many different things as you can. Plays are rarely about actors."
"On a Clear Day You Can See Forever" is playing at the St. James Theatre, 246 W. 44th St., N.Y. (212) 239-6200. .
OUTTAKES
– Appeared on Broadway in "Arcadia," "Sunday in the Park With George," and "The Ritz," among others
– Was nominated for a Helen Hayes Award for "Spamalot" and "The Dog in the Manger"
– Has had guest spots on "The Good Wife" and "Lipstick Jungle"
– Received the BMI Foundation's Jerry Harrington Musical Theatre Award for outstanding creative achievement and, as a pianist, has played at Feinstein's and Birdland
