You have to temporarily be the character in order to understand him. It's sort of what they used to call 'shape-shifting.'
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Anytime you take on a character... you just have to find the parts of the character that you can understand.
You have to be completely in the character, and that's so hard to do. That's why, when they call, 'Cut!,' you often feel yourself shift. Unless you're Daniel Day Lewis, who stays in character all the time, there's a switch that happens.
You and the character just become the same person in a way. There isn't really a character; it's just you creating this illusion.
There's different ways of getting into character. There's what's called 'the outside,' in which is finding the physicality of the character first. To give an example, in 'Gettin' Square' - Johnny Spitieri - that's how I found that character. I knew those people that I'd seen up at Kings Cross. I knew how they sounded.
Once you have invented a character with three dimensions and a voice, you begin to realize that some of the things you'd like him to do to further your plot are things that such a person wouldn't, or couldn't, do.
You've got to internalize the character. You've got to learn the words. These are separate things, but they work together.
If you can just actually let the character be for a bit, then you get the right sense.
At a certain point in my career, I was probably having a difficult time 'holding space.' So you get a character that has to be commanding in order for him to resonate and make sense.
I find it an easy way into writing pieces is to think what the character's voice is like, and start from there.
I started in theatre, and for me, it was all about transformation. You transform into the character that you're playing.
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