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Thursday, September 13, 2007 |
| I’m Ready For My Close Up |
Today is my big on-screen debut, playing Private Carmichael, aid to Major Randolph Dobson-Hughes of the Calgary recruiting office, 1917. Just who is Carmichael? That’s what I’ve been asking myself for the last week as I watched our cast deliver some great performances. I’ve heard that a good way to intuitively play a role is to create the character by giving them a back story. When you do that, the motivations of the character are clear, and every action you carry out can then be informed by that; the way you perform your duties, address an officer, or even polish your spectacles. So after giving it some thought, I’ve created a past history for Carmichael.
Charlie Carmichael is an affable chap. The apple of his mother’s eye, a mother who's always tried to protect the runt of her litter from the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune. In this cosseted environment, Charlie has developed into a shy and retiring but diligent young man. Groomed to work under his father’s tutelage as a cloth merchant, he showed an early aptitude for bookkeeping. Myopic and obedient, he hasn’t had to make any real decisions for himself, slotting nicely into the mould his parents have created for him. Love? Well, let’s just say Carmichael has yet to experience that, despite the fact, his parents have been anxiously introducing him to suitable women. Carmichael has chosen to stave off unraveling the mysteries of marital life for the time being.
With the advent of The Great War, Carmichael saw most of his acquaintances called up to fight, stirred by patriotism, valourously seeking adventure, and then witnessed many return with horrific injuries. Some never returned at all. He has an idea that what’s going on in Belgium and France isn’t quite the glorious war they talk about in the papers. He certainly didn’t complain when his father pulled some strings to get him a cushy job pushing paper in a recruiting office, working for an obnoxious Major. Due to the fact that he’s very short sighted and flat-footed, he’ll never see the frontlines, but, it pains him to see those who are too young or who have physical impediments being recruited. He identifies with their situation, knowing how lucky he is to avoid the horrors of war. Despite his good intentions, he only has so much room to maneuver, so when David Mann is determined to enlist despite being rejected several times, Carmichael’s objections are silenced by overbearing Major Dobson Hughes, who is more than happy to sign up another recruit regardless of circumstance, as long as the paperwork is in order.
I am seen to by the hair and make-up departments then it is time to put on my costume. As I button up the tight woolly WWI uniform , I feel my transformation into Carmichael taking place. To complete the look, I don round wire glasses of the period, and begin to see through Carmichael’s eyes for the first time. I feel trapped inside what Novelist Stephen Crane called ‘the moving box’ of military discipline. I have signed my fate over to King and Country, and there’s no turning back. Thank god I’m not going to the front!
I think I have a pretty good handle on this Carmichael fellow and as I take my place in front of the penetrating camera lens, I rest easy with the knowledge that I am in good hands with Paul, who will be sure to rein me in should I begin to "chew the scenery".
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| About the Blogger |
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The motion picture Passchendaele, an epic set amidst the horror of war, was shot in Alberta from August 20th to October 23rd 2007, directed and written by Paul Gross. The film is now in post production and will premiere in Theatres fall 2008, thus culminating a lifelong dream of Paul's, who learned of this extraordinary period in Canadian history from his Grandfather, Michael Joseph Dunne. The Battle of Passchendaele represents a story of determination, commitment and triumph, and this defining chapter in the forging of a nation shall never be forgotten. |
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