Actor Rufus Sewell on Stoppard's "Rock'n'Roll"

Ben Soller from San Mateo, Calif., and Ann from Austin, Texas, both asked how involved was Tom Stoppard with the production of "Rock'n'Roll?" And, let's see -- please describe the rehearsal process for this production, specifically, how closely does Mr. Stoppard participate in the process?

Rufus Sewell: Well, very closely. I've had the good fortune to be in two productions, as you mentioned, I was in "Arcadia" -- as I now discover, 13 years ago, which is terrifying -- "Arcadia," and this time "Rock n' Roll," and both times directed by Trevor Nunn, and both times with Tom quietly, but un-ignorably sitting in the left-hand corner of the rehearsal.

Jeffrey Brown: Un-ignorably, huh?

Rufus Sewell: Yes, and 13 years ago, you could recognize where he was by the swathes of smoke coming from the corner, but now you can't smoke in rehearsal, which would have bothered me, but I've given up.

But he very much lets Trevor do the explaining. He's not -- because it would be very, very difficult to have to be serving two masters when you're doing a play -- you need to have one director, and you can't be flicking your eye from one corner of the room to the other for approval at the end of rehearsals, it would just become too distracting, confusing and very difficult for them to synchronize their desires in terms of what they're expecting at any given moment in rehearsal.

So, Trevor is very much in control, and sage-like, obviously, Tom is in the corner. When things, when the rare occasions when Trevor can't explain something with Tom nodding in the corner, we will turn to Tom, and Tom will -- what's unusual is he never gives complete answers.

I remember asking something about what my character, what Jan meant when he said something. And Tom said, "Well, I think what he means is -- " it's like he was proffering a suggestion as to what my character might have meant, but he didn't actually -- like it wasn't up to him, but it kind of assumed a life of its own. And he's not -- he doesn't just give you rights and wrongs, he very much just lets you discover it, you know?

Jeffrey Brown: Well, here's another one about being in the role, it's from Ginny Sharp from Camano Island in Washington: "You spoke on the NewsHour about having to think like Stoppard in regards to each of the speech -- what about the physical aspect of playing a character who ages 20-plus years? We saw "Rock n' Roll" on Nov. 9th and admired your ability, not only to age, but to convey, physically, an oppressed but hopeful man. Your stature and demeanor matched the words. Which comes first? Do the words influence the actions, or do you adopt physical characteristics in order to bring meanings to the words?"

Rufus Sewell: That's an interesting question, I'm not really sure, actually, that's the funny thing. I think that they all kind of evolve at the same time. It's just like with the dialect, the accent. You know, the truth is I've never actually said into any of the words that Jan says, that I say, in the accent -- I've never said any other way. So, it's the only way I know how to say them.

Interestingly enough, if I was to try to do a speech with my own accent, I don't think I could remember it, because it's a different part of me, somehow. And I think it's the same with the physicality of it, it's just all -- it all comes together. The whole thing kind of develops at the same time.

I also, kind of, don't want to un-pick it too much. I don't -- if something naturally evolves in my, I'm careful not to pick it apart too much, I'm just happy that it happens at all, you know.

Jeffrey Brown: You don't like to over-think these things?

Rufus Sewell: Well, if I don't have to over-think things, I don't over-think them. Sometimes, you know, some things will come naturally, and some things will come in a flash when I first read a script, and other things will have to be found very meticulously and slowly, and I'm not fussy about which is which, but the things that come naturally, I leave.

And I work lots of different ways, according to, you know, what the job is and what the character is, because some things feel closer to me, some things feel further away. I just, you know, I've got different methods and different ways of doing -- sometimes I just feel like I'm making up as I go along, and sometimes there's a lot of preparation involved.

But, no, I don't like to over-think what doesn't need to be over-thought.

"After acting in one of Stoppard's productions, how long does it take you to release yourself from the character that you've become? Is it immediate, or are you immersed to the point of difficulty with letting go?"

Rufus Sewell: No, I don't -- that's a common misconception. I don't really know of anyone who has difficulty letting go, I mean, even to the people that kind of are the great influences and the people that one has always thought of that way, like DeNiro, et cetera, I mean, normally -- maybe a mood can, especially when you're filming or something, a mood can continue, or you find you've got an energy with you that you realize later on was from a scene you were doing, or something.

But in terms of a character, no. I mean, I think the energy you keep with you, but it's immediate when it goes, because basically as soon as you are out of that environment and away from the stimulus of the stage, the audience, the dialogue, the lights, the action, you are yourself. Of course you are. You only ever look out of your own eyes. You know, so I don't think I'd ever forget who I am.

Jeffrey Brown: Well, other people -- I think there are some other questions that sort of go to the art of acting, since we're talking about it.

One is from Wendy in Storrs, Conn., "How do you maintain the intensity throughout a play, if you're on stage all of the time?" And then here's a kind of funny one from Bev Brando in Chicago, it sounds like she was having some bad dreams herself --

Rufus Sewell: She's got a good name.

Jeffrey Brown: She says, "You're in the moment of performance when suddenly, for whatever reason, you find doubt sucking the wind right out of yours sails. You can't let yourself bomb on a stage like Broadway, not in front of all these people, yet everyone's presumably human, even the fair talents of stage and screen. What do you do to keep your head above water, keep your insecurities in check?"

Rufus Sewell: That's an interesting question, actually, I think, because I think it does happen to everyone if you're performing night after night after night. That, one of those things -- once you know something so intimately, if you're not careful, you can do it on automatic. One of the dangers is, after awhile, you can catch yourself doing it on automatic, and just kind of give yourself a bit of shock. And that's something that does appear to be happening to me at the moment, but it is one of the problems common with doing something for a very long period of time.

And I think the only thing to really do is just try to -- not try to think of the big picture, the play or the situation or anything, but just try to concentrate and be in the moment that you're in, and not be distracted by scanning forward in time, or checking your self or checking your progress, or thinking about, you know, what could come from what you're doing, but just being in the moment that you're in, and trying not to be distracted from that. I think that's the only way of, kind of, keeping your feet on the ground, in terms of the character.

That's all I really know, and I endeavor to do that all of the time.

Jeffrey Brown: Yeah, but she's asking also about insecurities and doubt -- do you -- ?

Rufus Sewell: It's the same thing, that is what I'm talking about.

Jeffrey Brown: I see, I see.

Rufus Sewell: Because, of course there's insecurity and doubt, but what you've got to stop yourself from doing is letting those insecurities and doubts, which exist in everyone, from attacking you, from doing what they -- the worst thing they can do is actually stop you from being able to function. You can't address them directly, because addressing them directly is giving them power, you've just got to concentrate on something more important, which is the moment you're in.

Jeffrey Brown: All right, Lisa Gasbarrone from Lancaster, Pa., it says, "In your interview with Jeffrey Brown, you say that you had to think your way through speeches. I imagine this is true in any play, but I can see where a Stoppard play would be more challenging. Do you also re-think your way through as you perform it night after night?"

Rufus Sewell: Well, I think it's, it's always a re-think. I mean, it's never -- you're never remembering the way you thought it before. What I mean, think your way through speeches, I mean you work out in which way you can see the connection between one thought and the next. So that it is inevitable that one thought leads to the next, so you don't have to think of the whole speech, all you have to think about is the one thing that you have to think about at that moment, and the rest of it inevitably follows.

But within that, there's a lot of leeway that things can come out differently, completely, and the thoughts can occur to you in different ways. It's just the connections are basically the same.

Jeffrey Brown: Do you feel that you've done it in different ways on different nights?

Rufus Sewell: Oh, every night.

Jeffrey Brown: Do you go on stage, and -- ? Oh, every night.

Rufus Sewell: Yeah, I mean, you know, it might feel like, it might sound like it's exactly the same, but I'm trying not to monitor that -- but sometimes it will come out very differently, and sometimes it will seem basically the same for long periods of time, but that's just the way it is, I mean, I'm certainly not trying to copy the way it was, because that gets deader, and deader and deader, like Chinese whispers, until it's basically like some type of unrecognizable thing.

Rufus Sewell: Well, not so much -- I think, you know, you have to have a tiny part of yourself monitoring yourself, otherwise you'd think -- who are these people? What am I doing here? Why is that light shining in my face? And what are these ridiculous trousers I'm wearing? You know, you have to have a part of yourself that knows what you're doing, and why your there, otherwise you'd be panicked, you'd think, "I'm going to go, this is scary."

You know, no one ever completely forgets themselves, because if you did forget yourself, you certainly wouldn't go on to say lots of lines that you'd learned.

Jeffrey Brown: Right.

Rufus Sewell: You know. So, you have to be monitoring what you're doing, you have to be making sure that you're loud enough, that you can be seen, that you're doing your job, and the certain part of you has to be keeping an eye on what you're doing. But, just a tiny part of you, you know. And so I think there is, you know, and when it's going really, really well, that commentary recedes to a point of being the barest whisper. And when it's less good, as far as I'm concerned, the commentary is as loud as the rest of it.

Jeffrey Brown: All right, why don't we move to some of the questions away from this particular play, because a lot of people who are familiar with you in movies, as well, of course, a number of people wanted to know what you prefer, stage acting or movies?

Diane in Chicago asked that -- I have several along those lines. So, what is the -- there's Rhonda Heliker from Marysville, Calif. -- which do you prefer? The film or the stage?

Rufus Sewell: Well, you know, there seems to be a kind of accepted cliche that when asked this question actors are expected to say, "Oh, the stage is my natural habitat," blah, blah, blah. Well, it's not really the case with me. I love doing stage work, but it's movies I wanted to be in when I grow up. It was, you know, I didn't go to see a play until I was quite old. I generally say that I prefer movies when I'm doing theater, and when I'm doing movies, I prefer theater.

There's the idea that, hopefully I'll never have to make that choice. I mean, they're very different in their way, you know? And if I don't have to make a choice, I'm determined not to decide which I prefer.

For a long time, theater has been more enjoyable to me because people were less blinkered in the way they saw me, in terms of casting. So, I was, and to a certain extent, still am more likely to be given parts that really tax me, like in this play. I truly believe -- I mean, maybe it will change -- but that if this was a movie, all very well, except I wouldn't be playing the part, someone else would.

Jeffrey Brown: You mean, because of the way you're cast in movies?

Rufus Sewell: Well, yeah, if there was some lord who came in on a horse and tried to kill everyone in the end, then I might be in that -- but I mean, I think it's changed now, but it certainly was that way for awhile, which I find really boring. And for awhile it was fun, but I don't think it's true anymore, but the idea that in terms of theater, people really area aware of what I can potentially do, then I'm quite versatile, and then people are prepared to cast me in all sorts of incredibly different roles, you know?

And it hasn't been quite -- I mean, it's beginning to be that way, actually, in films, luckily, because I've had to really hold out. But, for a long time, I would definitely say I preferred theater, but purely because I got better parts. But I love doing -- I love the excitement of doing something once and for once only in front of the camera, as well. It's a very different buzz, but I do, I love it.

Jeffrey Brown: Well, let's continue with this, how you pick parts, because we've got a number of questions along those lines.

For example, Rita in Lake Charles, La., says, "You seem to choose intelligent works more often that most popular actors. I'm thinking here of films like "Dark City," "The Illusionist," and "A Knight's Tale," which may be in popular genres, but are intelligent beyond their genres, not to mention plays like "Arcadia" and "Rock'n'Roll." My questions are, how do you choose roles? And two, do you think choosing intelligent, or layered, role has had an impact -- positive or negative -- on your career?"

Rufus Sewell: How do I choose? Well, also, for a very long time, it's choosing from what is offered. I mean, you know, if it was really down to me to choose what I did, my career would have been different still. It's been -- what's the challenge is to make the best of what comes your way, you know? And, I've been very lucky, actually, in looking back on it in retrospect, but it's meant a lot of politicking, in terms of what's the least, the least worst choice, and then tried to do the most with it.

But, it's very true, and what's wonderful about the "Knights Tale," is that it's very, very intelligent, intelligently written example of a genre, it's really smart. And I very much respond to stuff like that. And one of those things that I hate is stupid writing. And I'm not talking about genres, because as the question suggests, it's possible to have intelligent writing in any kind of genre, any kind of level of sophistication of script, it can be done stupidly or intelligently.

In terms of its effect on my career, I'm sure it has had. I mean, it can be quite frustrating that the people panic, slightly, I think, in terms of casting. As a business, especially film, is run by the people who made the money decisions. They're only really determined, they're only really prepared to let you do something or pay you to do something they've seen you do before. So, the risk-taking in terms of the money people is minimal.

So, if I play a particular kind of part, chances are that's the only kind of part I see sent to me. So I've had to hold out and threaten myself with lengthy unemployment in order to --

Jeffrey Brown: Really? So you really do that, you just say, "I'm not taking this role, and I'm going to wait -- "?

Rufus Sewell: I mean, it's very difficult, I mean, you know, the one thing that I must always say after making a statement like that is, I reserve my right to change my mind any time I like, you know? But, yes, I do have to try to do that, absolutely. I mean, I don't know what I'm doing next; I don't have another job, for example.

Jeffrey Brown: Oh, well.

Rufus Sewell: But I'm determined to keep it that way until something very, very, very different comes along. And that's -- it's quite difficult. I mean, obviously it's not difficult for the moment, because I'm working, but I do endeavor to stick my neck out. And then sometimes it's very difficult, you can lose courage, but that's my constant endeavor, is to stick my neck out.