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Colin’s homework

I've been doing my homework: what does Andy think this holiday is all about? I feel that Andy sees this as an opportunity to start over; with his children, with himself, with his wife, with his life. With odd exceptions he hasn't seen his children for four years. As such he has no idea how to handle them. He has an agenda for the holiday which has little or no space for anyone's ideas but his own. Certainly not the unpredictable nature of children. He has to learn how to handle them, and to let them be themselves. His ex-wife will always be the mother of his children and he has to learn to deal with the fact that she may have moved onto a happier relationship. He has to start accepting what that means. His venture to Cornwall also invokes his desire to reconnect with happier times as a child himself. I think he wants to start again within.

Written by Colin Holt
Actor
January 25 2007 - 18:07

A Close Shave

As you may have noticed, Mark recently asked me to shave my head for the film... Thankfully he seems to dig the hair. As Batman nearly said, chicks dig the hair too. They keep running their fingers through it which I think compensates for the slight wariness that people have of you with such a close cut. So I'll be keeping it until March. Amazing what a difference a small change can make. Which brings me nicely onto my recent discussions with Mark. A lengthy phone call inadvertently triggered a bit of a rewrite. We were talking about certain scenes and behaviour which seemed 'out of character'. That's a well worn phrase for a reason, borne out of the fact that the characterisations are strong on the page and it's quite easy to pick up on where they seem to go off track. That's not to say that people don't do things that are unpredictable or spontaneous in real life, but in drama I believe you risk losing your audience if they perceive that their behaviour isn't 'truthful'. I hope that makes sense. It's why Mark and I have spent a lot of time talking about Andy's 'back story' - his biography that no one need know, and is not apparent in the story, but informs how he acts, thinks and deals with a given situation. Having been asked by Mark to say what I think the film's about, my homework this week is to determine what Andy thinks the holiday is about. There's a big part of my brain that is now 'Andy'. I am becoming someone else for three months, not least someone with short hair…

Written by Colin Holt
Actor
January 22 2007 - 04:03

An Actor’s Blog

Mark mooted this project to me two years ago, and now it's less than two months before we shoot... I daren't yet believe we're going to do it. You get used to the false starts and the changes of plan, and until I'm actually doing my first shot on my first day, I'm not taking anything for granted. But I can't wait. Things are looking promising. Mark has got me to cut all my hair off to see what it looks like, so he must be serious. Either that or he and producer Simon are exacting revenge for some drunken shenanigans I inflicted on them last year. But that's another story.

Written by Colin Holt
Actor
January 06 2007 - 19:52

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