Acting Without the Drama

July 30, 2008.  I ran cross-country in high school.  I have since recovered from such masochistic inclinations, but at the height of my stupidity, I remember finishing up a ten-mile run.  I was coming back towards the field house, and there was a girl standing outside that I thought was really cute.  The parking lot was surrounded by posts that had wire cords running in between, which I proceeded to jump over, so that I could run past said girl.

I didn’t make it.

I’m sure she has no recollection of the gangly youth that landed in a tangled, sweaty heap in front of her, but I certainly do.  This is just one of many memories of me being a complete and utter dork.

I used to think that being a dork was a bad thing.  I have since realized that it’s actually kind of beautiful.  Being cool takes a lot of effort and really isn’t all that fun.  Admitting to and embracing my dorkiness takes a lot of pressure off my shoulders.  Now I can laugh alongside the many other snickers in the room that happen pretty much any time I open my yap. 

The desire to be cool is one of the biggest traps for an actor.  You see it all the time.  An actor in a film does something for the sole purpose of looking good.  It’s not motivated.  It’s not connected.  It’s just cool.  But really, when you step back and take a closer look, it’s not so much with the coolness.  I have a beautiful example here, but…you know…libel.

I will give you a counter-example.  Harrison Ford in The Fugitive.  He’s sitting at a table, being grilled by a bunch of Chicago’s finest, and he is trying to tell them about the one-armed man.  He gets so upset, so filled with fury, that he is quite literally foaming at the mouth.  He looks deranged.  Far from cool.

And yet, that performance, for me, was so moving.  Ford was so willing to just go there. He wasn’t afraid to look foolish or out of control in the moment.  In allowing himself to be a dork, he transcended mere cool and found something better.  He found strength.

So, today I will embrace my dorkage.  Join me, won’t you?  It’s so much more fun on this side.

And we have cookies over here.

Cool guys can’t eat cookies.

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