E.C. Authors David Licata and Rolando Teco recently embarked on an extended conversation on the subject of fame. Here's part five of their exchange:
In the last post, Rolando asked David the following question:
RT: In your film, Tango Octogenario, you deliberately cast two non-actors. Is
this something you'd do again? At one time I thought this might be a strict
rule of thumb of yours, to cast only non-actors in speaking roles, but since
then I suspect you may have relaxed your notions of what actors vs.
non-actors can bring to a film.
DL: I would work with non-actors again, but I would cast them in select
supporting roles, probably very small ones. Tango Octogenario was a very
specific case, and I chose non-actors because my priority was telling this
story through their dance, not their dialog or their gestures unmotivated by
music. They also had to be in their 70s or 80s, so the chances of finding
good, mature actors who were also fine milongueros was remote. I think
working with non-actors is the flip side of what you’re saying about
Defiance and having a supporting cast of excellent, recognizable character
actors.
When you have non-actors in a film (and it’s usually pretty obvious
from the first line or gesture that you’ve cast non-professionals), the
audience is prepared to experience a different kind of film, a different
aesthetic. The film becomes less about fine acting and more about something
else, a kind of “realism,” and, if you’re lucky, the audience isn't
distracted by the lack of acting skill. Hopefully the audience comes away
with a sense that they have witnessed something authentic, not staged, that
they have seen real people doing something they do in real life, not
something they do just for the camera. At the same time, the audience is
aware they're not watching reality TV, so it creates this world that's not
pure reality but not pure fantasy either. It's one of those lines I enjoy
treading.
That being said, there really is nothing like working with good actors,
whether they are famous or not, and I look forward to my next narrative film
and the opportunity to work with them again. I am awestruck by how they
transform themselves and makes us believe they are these characters. I
marvel at the detail they bring on set, at what they can do with their
bodies and faces, at their intelligence and insight. That’s the stuff you
don’t usually get with non-actors. They are magicians, really, and I love
that.
So, Rolando, your next film project--will you be looking to attach celebrity
actors or not?
(to be continued...)
