Facebook Twitter Instagram
    • Services
    • Aircheck for Actors
    • Demo Reels
    • Audition Prep/Self-Tape Reader
    • Website Design
    • Mailing Labels
    • Contribute
    • Industry Links
    • Advertise
    Daily Actor
    • Acting Tips
      • Actors on Acting
      • Advice Columns
      • Acting Quotes
      • Audition Tapes
      • How To Become An Actor
      • How to Memorize Lines
    • Monologues
      • Monologues from Plays
      • Monologues from Movies
      • Monologues from Musicals
      • Comedic Monologues
      • Dramatic Monologues
      • One Minute Monologues
      • Monologues for Women
      • Monologues for Men
      • Monologues for Teens
      • Monologues for Kids
      • All Monologues
    • Acting Resources
      • Acting Resume
        • Acting Resume Template
      • Acting Classes
        • Los Angeles Acting Classes
        • Las Vegas Acting Classes
        • San Diego Acting Classes
      • Acting Schools and Colleges
        • Los Angeles
        • New York
        • BFA Acting Schools
      • Casting Websites
      • Headshot Photographers
        • Los Angeles
        • New York City
        • Headshot Printing
      • Acting Techniques
        • What is Method Acting?
      • Stage Directions
      • Demo Reels: Everything You Need to Know
    • Interviews
      Featured

      Interview: Jeremy Davis on Playing Olaf in ‘Frozen’, Costume Mishaps and Making the Role His Own

      January 19, 2023
      Recent

      Interview: Jeremy Davis on Playing Olaf in ‘Frozen’, Costume Mishaps and Making the Role His Own

      January 19, 2023

      Interview: Casting Director Kim Coleman on ‘Five Days at Memorial’, Self-Tape Tips and Portraying Real People

      January 11, 2023

      Interview: David Christopher Wells on His Role in ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’, Being an Understudy and Getting His MFA

      December 27, 2022
    • Actor Blogs
    • Reviews
      • Movies
      • Theater
      • Books
      • Products
    • Actor Services
      • Airchecks
      • Demo Reels
      • Website Design
      • Mailing Labels
    Daily Actor
    Home » Actors on Acting » John Hawkes: “If something is written pretty strong you can play the opposite of it to interesting effect”
    Actors on Acting

    John Hawkes: “If something is written pretty strong you can play the opposite of it to interesting effect”

    Chris McKittrickBy Chris McKittrickOctober 21, 2011Updated:March 22, 20211 Comment3 Mins Read
    Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Email
    Share
    Tweet
    Pin

    In Martha Marcy May Marlene, Academy Award-nominated actor John Hawkes plays Patrick, a character who, as a leader of a farming community in the Catskill Mountains, holds a cult-like position over the other characters.  Playing a character fueled by his own cult of personality and mostly using his chilling voice as his weapon of choice is a definite stretch for most actors, but in an interview with the Los Angeles Times after a screening of the film, Hawkes elaborated on how he managed to create his portrayal of Patrick.

    When asked how Patrick sees himself, Hawkes answers that it wasn’t something that fueled his performance.  He explains, “You never want to try and play the subconscious of a character… it was most interesting for me for him to believe himself, it just seemed a stronger choice and also I’m trying to convince others to see my way.  But I often wondered in the soul’s darkest hour, three in the morning, alone, if he looked in the mirror exactly what he would see.”

    How did Hawkes create Patrick’s cold, calculating presence?  Hawkes explains that it was all about the slow burn to reveal Patrick’s evil ways.  In addition, Hawkes believes this helped strengthen the character of Martha (Elizabeth Olsen), who gradually falls in with the agrarian cult.

    He confesses, “I do know that it was important to myself and speaking to [director]Sean [Durkin] that for this overall good of the story it would be not beneficial to us if the instant that we met Patrick that we would be able to say, the devil incarnate; you know he’s a mustache-twirling Svengali, he’s a con man; he’s pure evil.  For several reasons — I think we’ve seen that portrayed in cult leader types a lot in film and literature.  But more importantly for the story I think it gives Martha’s character a great deal more credibility the more believable and human oddly that Patrick is.  In other words, if as an audience we immediately see what he is deep down Martha would see the same and I think our journey with her would be less interesting; her credibility wouldn’t be what it is… In other words, as an audience we need to somehow relate to her joining these people.  We have to say, I kind of do see why she would have gotten with these people, why she follows that god, and also this is keeping with the lucid nature of the film, I believe…  I guess as an actor if something is written pretty strong you can play the opposite of it to interesting effect and often just to figure out the truth of a character then layer it over with as much ‘stuff’ as I can so the truth of the character will pop through in pieces rather than the moment you meet him.”

    Though I haven’t yet seen the film, every clip I see of Hawkes is deeply chilling… so I imagine we could call his portrayal a great success.

    Martha Marcy May Marlene is now playing in limited release.

    Related

    Share
    Tweet
    Pin
    Previous ArticleRyan Gosling on Working with George Clooney and His Worst Audition Ever
    Next Article Trailer: Angelina Jolie’s Directing Debut “In The Land Of Blood And Honey”

    Related Posts

    Jonathan Banks on Playing Mike in ‘Better Call Saul’: “I borrowed from people that I saw”

    November 23, 2022

    Tom Hanks on His Career and the Valuable Lessons He Learned Along the Way

    October 4, 2022

    John C. Reilly on Method Acting, Daniel Day-Lewis and John Malkovich

    September 23, 2022
    View 1 Comment

    1 Comment

    1. Kyra Morris via Facebook on October 21, 2011 5:26 pm

      Yes!

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

    Popular Pages
    Become An Actor | Acting Tips | Acting Quotes
    Acting Resume | Resume Template
    Headshot Photographers
    Los Angeles | New York
    Print Your Headshots
    Acting Schools & Colleges
    Los Angeles | New York
    Monologues
    Movies | Plays | Comedic | Dramatic
    Men | Women | Teens | Kids
    • Contact
    • About
    • Advertise
    • Resource Listings
    • Write A Column
    • Contribute
    • Privacy Policy

    Disclaimer: Daily Actor at times uses affiliate links to sites like Amazon.com, Masterclass, streaming services, and others. Affiliate links provides compensation to Daily Actor which helps us remain online, giving you the resources and information actors like you are looking for.

    Daily Actor Facebook Daily Actor Twitter Daily Actor Instagram Daily Actor Pinterest Daily Actor YouTube Page
    © 2023 Daily Actor

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.