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GR: The last film a lot of people seen you in was Yellow, how was BLT different in
experience for you? JT: Yellow was the first movie I did, and I was flying by the seat of my pants. After Yellow, I went straight back to acting class because at that point I was a hit-or-miss actor. If the role was right, I was good. If the role wasn't right, I would suck so bad I'd go home and cry. By the time I got to BLT, I was more mature, confident, and daring in my acting. BLT also was different because I had a role that had an arc. Virgil was a roller-coaster ride. Also from the start, I felt BLT had a shot at making it and breaking away from the hundreds of indies that never see the light of day. BLT was a blessing because it re-inspired me. |
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GR: Have you seen Happy Together? Does that look like Buenos Aires? JT: I haven't seen Happy Together yet, but I was speaking to a filmmaker here who said that when he saw Happy Together, he couldn't believe that it took a foreign filmmaker to shoot Buenos Aires so beautifully. That that was the way he would have liked to film B.A. I think I'll go rent it. GR: Is acting natural for you or were you schooled? JT: I think I have some natural ability, but I'm definitely trained. I'm not one of those actors who's never taken a class like Jodie Foster or DiCaprio. I trained for years in L.A. with an acting teacher and in improv theater. I think acting is like anything: it can be learned. It's not a mysterious thing that you have or don't have. People say to me sometimes that you have to be an extrovert to be an actor, but I was very shy as a kid and kept away from anything to do with performing. Even to this day, I get so nervous and self-conscious I wonder why I put myself through the pain. GR: What do you think of theater compared to film acting? JT: I love theater but I haven't done much of it. I grew up watching films and that's what I fell in love with first. I like acting in film because you can do things you can't in theater. It can be more subtle and real. I like the theater for the discipline and because you go through the whole story in one go as opposed to filming a story in bits and pieces over a few months. Also in theater you have the audience reaction which is wonderful. After a good performance there's no feeling like it. I think there's a misconception that theater actors are better actors, I disagree. I think there are good theater actors who can act well in theater but not in film. And good film actors who can act well in film but not theater. There are some that can do both. |