THR 2019 Actors Roundtable with De Niro, Hanks, Foxx, Sandler, Driver, and LaBeouf
"Anger is very easy - the other stuff feels difficult": @TomHanks, Shia LaBeouf, Robert De Niro, Adam Driver, Jamie Foxx ( @iamjamiefoxx) and @AdamSandler get real on the Actors Roundtable https://t.co/3gVJSjyOin pic.twitter.com/n4tffQKuy5
- The Hollywood Reporter (@THR) December 4, 2019
Actors are representing their performances this year for The Irishman (De Niro), A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood (Hanks), Just Mercy (Foxx), Uncut Gems (Sandler), Marriage Story and The Report (Driver), and Honey Boy (LaBeouf)
About a ~9 minute read. Video clips at the source, can’t imbed. Full video to air on Sundance Channel in January 2020.
If you like reading about actors talking about ~acting, then here you go!
. De Niro believes in things that are supernatural
. Hanks says f/ck and s/it a couple of times and I was 😲
. Foxx is humorous plus tells a wack story about Oliver Stone
. Sandler doesn’t feel comfortable being the one to laugh or cry (in a scene), would rather it be the others
. Driver contrasts having been in the military to what civilian life is like and how it can compare to his acting profession
. LaBeouf has been in a mental institution, tells a wild story about Tom Hardy, lied to his dad that [an actor] would play the part of his dad, just to get his dad to sign off on the film
More From De Niro
. doesn’t think he’d be great at straight up comedy but likes when he can play scenes that are funny or ironic
. talks how different roles can be, depending on the writer, tells example with Mamet
. toughest prep was for Raging Bull where he put on a lot of weight, tells story how he convinced Scorcese to do it
. considers himself spiritual but not religious
I mean, I believe in things that are supernatural. I was with a mentalist the other day at some thing in New York. I swear. And he did things that I couldn't believe. He told me to think of a city anywhere in the world and he told me the name. How could he do that?
[On being political] As you get older, you don't want to be intimidated by anybody who shouldn't intimidate you. We're in a political situation now where I feel that you must stand up to this. Because people are nonplussed. It's like they say, "Did this guy just do that?" I don't even know how to react to that because that's not within my world of common sense or right and wrong. You've got to push him back, you've got to snuff him out. You've got to get rid of him. He has said, "I want to be president for life." He'll pardon himself. He'll do anything. He's just gotten worse and worse and worse and worse and we've got to get rid of him.
More From Hanks
. thinks to truly be -funny- you have to have come from some version of hardship (paraphrasing) because if you never had any shortcomings in your life, then you can’t turn them in to self-deprecation
. talks about it being 3AM and thinking the movie is on your shoulders and you’ve got to just bring it, tragedy or comedy, and the stress that comes with that
. Hanks and Sandler talk a bit about Punchline
. tells story re/prep for a scene or a role
When we were doing Captain Phillips and we were in this lifeboat, the script had all these great moments where Rich Phillips looked through the porthole of the lifeboat as the sun was going down and he was thinking of his family at home and whether or not he was going to see them. I'd sit around in Malta, where we were shooting, and say, "Oh, that's going to be a powerful moment. I'm going to line up the porthole and it's going to be really great." And then you go to work and there's no porthole in the lifeboat. It's almost like you cannot prepare.
[On being political] Not everybody should be political, but everybody must be principled. And we carry our principles with us 24 hours a day. And one of the things I learned from the get-go as an actor in a repertory company is, you didn't have to like those people and you did not have to agree with those people, but you had to respect those people. And the default setting, I think, for so much of everything is conflict and cynicism.
More From Foxx
. talks about watching Sandler, Eddie Murphy, Chris Rock back in the day at The Comedy Store
. goes into detail about the intricacies of what it takes to be a -comedian- in particular re/Murphy returning to stand up, and that you need a little bit messed up in your life, to feed off that (paraphrasing)
. tells funny story about crying and a private plane
[On being hard on himself] I remember Oliver Stone, when I first auditioned [for Any Given Sunday], he was like, "You're horrible." And I was like, "What?" He was like, "Just get the fuck out of here." As I'm walking out he said, "Jamie Foxx, slave to television. But I learned from that toughness."
[On being political] It's actually not politics. He's (referring to De Niro remark) talking about the human nature of things. I've got to tell my kids, "Hey, this is not the way things are supposed to be." I got a chance to speak with George W. Bush. I asked him something - and I hope he doesn't mind me sharing this story. I said, "Would you ever say anything disheartening about President Obama?" And you know what he said? "No, I wouldn't. It's too hard of a job. I would never knock his legs out from under him because I know what it is."
. tells story about his dad, who was an educator for 25 yrs, then got jailed for 7 yrs for $25 illegal substance, how that carried with him, and how it related to him being in a scene in handcuffs for Just Mercy
More From Sandler
. on whether comedy is hard, says you have to be confident and believe (in the scene, the work) whether it’s drama or comedy
. feels like you need some imperfection that puts the audience at ease
. says he’s not good at laughing or crying (on film) because he thinks it needs to be authentic and wants it to come from someone else
. talks with Hanks about Punchline
. talks with De Niro about King of Comedy
[On being political] I'm not great at that. I just try to be as good a person [as] I can be and try to conduct myself a certain way. When it comes to politics, I don't think I'm knowledgeable enough to go at it.
More From Driver
[He doesn’t talk as much as the others]
. talks about having been in the military and how that compares to drama and comedy, gives an analogy between his squad and how that relates to acting
. says he was interested in acting before the military then had the benefit of going to acting school
. feels it’s easier to cry (on film) if the script is written well because the lines naturally bring the emotion, otherwise (implies) you’ve got to phone it in if the writing is bad
. says film is forever so even after you leave a set, you find yourself thinking about whether you reached your potential because you can’t ever go back and do it over
I would even say in a way it's not your job to feel anything - it's the audience's job. It's not really my responsibility to feel something, it's to telegraph that something is being felt. You could be having all the feeling you want, but no one else is feeling anything.
More From LaBeouf
[I don’t remember why he became a thing?]
. has never been in the military (like Driver) but can liken acting to feeling like your neck is on the chopping block every time, also like boxing
[On making Honey Boy] My back was against the wall. I was nuclear at this point. It felt like survival, like there was no other way to go. I didn't have a lot of people talking to me. I was in a mental institution. And I also had a doctor who was pushing me to explore these dirty parts and write them down.
. talks about what he discovered while in a (mental) institution
. also chimes in on weird Oliver Stone during Foxx story
. says De Niro has taught him the most, through his performances
[On who intimidates him] Probably Tom Hardy [on Lawless]. Hardy is a bit of a gorilla on a set. Well, he runs the set. He'd pee in the corners. It's his set, you know it when you get there. It doesn't feel like a shared space, it feels like his space. And he's a very good actor and also super-loving, but on a set, you're in his church.
. talks more details about his troubled relationship with his dad
[On getting his dad to sign off on Honey Boy] I thought my acting career was done. I was going to join the Peace Corps. So I sent it to Mel Gibson and luckily he never emailed me back and it gave me an opportunity. I thought he was the guy to play my dad, and my dad was thinking along the same lines. And it's one thing to want to play your dad, it's another thing to go stand in front of your father after seven years of not talking and go, "Hey, man, I'm going to play you," when there's contention already. So I lied to him and told him, "Mel Gibson's going to play you. Sign right here." (Laughter.) Yeah. So my dad signed the paper under the auspices that he was going to be played by Braveheart.
Source