I'm not interested in playing characters who see the world through my prism; I think the journey of understanding any character is to see how they tick and how they differ from you.
Sentiment: NEGATIVE
To connect with the characters, you need to connect with the world. If the world feels vaguely familiar, I believe the characters will feel relatable.
If you don't travel the world and see as much of it as you can - see different characters in different situations - then how are you going to learn? I figured the best way to do that was to explore as much as I could.
I shall refract myself, yes, I shall no longer be known as the prism.
I try genuinely, when I'm playing a character, to not judge them and just to inhabit someone as how one sees them. That being said, you also want to make sure that you don't blur the edges of people too much because humans are naughty and complicated beings.
You take what you know, and you put it through your own prism. If I play characters that break down or cry, it's Gary Oldman crying; it's not the character crying.
Whenever I work on a part, I look at the world through the filter of the character and I pick things they might use through my observations of real life.
What's important to me is offering perspectives into worlds that people don't often get to see. Do you know what I mean? From angles they don't often get to see.
Since my worldview has expanded, I don't consider myself working class anymore, and I'm attracted to playing characters who go through a similar evolution.
I think people throughout the world identify with my characters.
It's fun when you create a world to inhabit it and see the other characters from grounds eye view.