QUOTATIONS3

DAVID ABOUT CREATIVE PROCESS, ABOUT ACTOR'S CRAFT AND HIS CAREER...

"I find it slightly awkward talking about acting because I find it a difficult thing to deconstruct".

"I don't even find it all that easy talking about the work".

"Playing is often a form of escape. I don't know what I was escaping from. I had an extremely happy upbringing. I've always been fascinated with the idea of the play, the idea of storytelling. From a young age, I loved being told stories and I love the opportunity to tell stories. In its simplest, basic form that's what actors do: they tell stories. The effects of those stories can be wide and varied, but that's es-sentially what it is. And we happen to play characters within those stories".

"I`m an actor. My job is to entertain. But I have a conscience, so I am attracted to work that appeals to me along specific lines, namely Three Dollars, The Bank and The Boys. But my primary motivation isnТt to preach or to get on a soapbox. It's to entertain. Along the way, if I can affect people's opinions, thatТs fabulous. But I don't know if that should be my or the writer's primary motivation. If a writer can bring atten-tion to problems that we have in our society - and, more broadly speaking, the world - then that's fabulous".

"Oh, I think actors by their nature are insecure. Unless you're in something like Mousetrap in London that's run for 40 or 50 years, you're always looking for you next job".



♦   about process of creation of a character:

"Each time it becomes more daunting. I go through stuff that makes me feel like a nervous wreck every time I approach another job".

"It's a process, when characters are quite far removed from yourself. I'd take my-self through an inner monologue, if you like, I talk to myself as the character, and I keep doing so, so much that I can actually feel that I can respond as that character in any particular circumstances that I'm thrown into. So even if you took that char-acter out of the situation that we were filming at the time and threw him some-where totally different, I'd be able to respond accordingly. So I suppose it's just - in a way it's a meditation to get yourself into the mind-set".

"I walk and think. I imagine the character. I see him, hear him and look for where he might be".

"I still panic about work. Until I feel I have the character right in something, itТs a long, hard road".

"I live near the Cross so it's not too far to walk up there and I did spend quite a bit of time just sitting there and watching and observing such wonderful behaviour. It's something I enjoy doing. It's not a task. I like watching people, not just for jobs, it's something I enjoy".

"I donТt meditate but I used to take a tennis ball and bounce it. Maybe that's a form of meditation, whereby I get to a state where I can just focus and think about what I can possibly do".



♦  about his confidence crises:

"All actors go through their moments of depression. I went through many mo-ments. I still have them. Success is relative, in a way. No matter where you are on the scale, you still worry about certain things".

"After I finish a play or film, I honestly believe that I wouldn't be able to do an-other play or film. I just think, `I'm no good at this'. I go through confidence crises. After each job. But in a way I suppose it helps as well. As long as you sweat and care about it and worry about it; the minute, I think I become complacent and it be-comes too easy, maybe then I should give up".



♦   about his actor's preferences:

"I like something that is just not fodder for the screen. To be involved in disposable entertainment -- that is just not for me," he said. "If that means I lead a very frugal existence and don't earn much money, then so be it. But at least I will be very happy".

"It is very difficult to play a good man. Very difficult. I am less comfortable playing just the ordinary person than a character type. The thicker the mask, the more comfortable I am".

"I love playing thugs. I love getting permission to let loose. It's their ready-to-rumble energy that attracts me; their half-suppressed, half-expressed frustrations ".

"I love doing comedic thing, yet comedy is the hardest thing to achieve, I think. Great comedians, I take my hat off them as it's so much harder to make someone laugh then it is to make them cry or get angry or elicit any other emotion".

"I actually don't have a preference. My preference is for something that begins with really good writing. Having said that, I've done quite a lot of drama and action stuff in the last few years, want to do more comedy".

"I've got to say I don't have a wish list. I wish I did. I could ring my agent and say `Here's a list and see what you can do for me'. I like to be surprised when I'm reading material. The leading man and straighter characters are harder, because they're closer to myself. It's a strange thing considering I'm an actor, but I'm an introverted extrovert".

"I'm not interested in doing an empty special effects vehicle like Twister. People don't watch a movie like this for the story, and in this respect it's no better than porn. I tried to sit through The Perfect Storm, but like the fishermen on the boat, I didn't survive".



♦   about his nudity and sex scenes ("Better Than Sex"):

"You try not to think about it too much because if you did you would never step in front of the cameras like that. But I look at it now and think, 'Oh my God, I can't believe I actually did that'".

"I tend not to think about it too much. I'm not uncomfortable with being naked but some of the positions Jonathan, the director, put us in were quite compromising. Fortunately Susie's got a great sense of humour and we just got on with it and had a laugh. I must admit, my parents haven't seen the film and I'd be quite embar-rassed if they did".

"It wasn't the first thing that popped into my head, I read the script and though 'ooh this is a fairly funny script', it's a poignant script, good character, and um, well the issue of the nudity was about 5 or 6 down the list".

"They (the scenes) were choreographed to a degree and then once the camera rolled there was a bit of a free-form improvisation. But doing sex scenes on film, they're always technical by their very nature because you have to be in certain po-sitions at certain times so the camera can capture certain moments. They're very odd things to be doing. It's always strange to take your clothes off in an acting en-vironment and pretend that you're having sex with someone. But the wonderful thing was that Susie and I have a very good rapport and so we could laugh about it quite a lot so that eased a lot of awkwardness or tension that could possibly have been there otherwise. You get over it after a while actually".

"That's something you wouldn't really want to think about when you are actually shooting the film. If you did, you'd never do it. You arrive at work, take off your clothes, say good morning to Susie, who has also taken off her clothes, get into bed and film some stuff ... Susie was a great person to do that with. We had so much fun on that film and I think it's translated on to the screen.''

"I've watched it once, at the Melbourne Film Festival. I didn't really think about it till the Q & A session afterwards, when someone asked, 'So, what was it like being in an audience watching yourself and knowing all of us were watching you too?' That's when I became Mr Tomato Face. But it's not graphic. The sex scenes are tastefully and interestingly done. It's not so much a film about sex, it's a film about the before and after".



♦   about his creed of life:

"My school motto was conanti corona, a crown for the trier. That`s me. Let`s just say. I try. I try".



♦  what stimulates him in his job?

"I am not driven by the dollar, but by projects which stimulate me ... invite me to be completely involved. I need a character to fascinate and intrigue me."



♦   why has he preferred the screen, not a stage?

"I love the theatre and when it works, it's one of the most wonderful creations. ItТs a rare occurrence when it does work like that. This is a strange statement to say, but I think a mediocre film is strangely far more palatable than a mediocre night in the theatre. Why that is, I donТt know. In the theatre, it can go on for so long you can count the number of lights in the rig. You don't do that in the cinema, or count the audience members. You can still lose yourself in the cinema".



♦   about filmmaking:

"Each time a movie gets up, I think it's a minor miracle, what with all the factors that go into it. ItТs a delicate process, and picking up a slippery bar of soap is far easier. As an actor I am a frustrated director. Not every actor is, but a lot are. I'm fascinated by the art and craft of filmmaking and I can objectively remove myself from the process when I'm working, and I'm equally fascinated with everything else that goes on in the process apart from just the acting."



♦   about TV:

"I think it's a brilliant medium because it can access so many people and terrific things are made on the television that wouldn't necessarily work on the big screen, like Kath and Kim, The Office and The Sopranos".



♦  about problems of choice:

"The one thing I suppose I'm pretty good at is saying no. Which is hard for actors. Even in the early days, when nobody really knew me, I was prepared to say no to projects I didn't consider worthwhile".

"Throughout a 12 month period I'd love to play one leading role and one really fabulous character role. One of each every year is great, more than that would be a wonderful bonus. But itТs so hard to find those roles. I read a lot of material but it's rare that I come across something I really respond to and am desperate to do".



♦   about problems of modern Australian cinema:

" And through the history of our films, I think we've told some amazing stories. As a people, we're great storytellers. Every time I go overseas I'm amazed by the reaction. People in our business love Australian films because they're so unique. Sometime it's not the filmmaking itself, but the characters, situation and stories that are unique. Sometimes we don't see that ourselves, and it often taken outsiders to make us aware of it. One of our big problems is to overcome the stigma of Australian films. How often do you hear, Oh God, I'm not going to see that, it's an Australian film. It becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. Regardless of how good the film is, people say, 'It's Australian, change queues'".

"I fear a more homogenized society in Australia. And that's through the impact of what we see on our small and large screens. Historically, it's how we've learned about who we were and who we are. It's all we have-nother sweeping statement. The big influences in my career were people like John Meillon, John Hargreaves and Reg Livermore. I can look back on their work and understand what was hap-pening in Australia at that time and who we were".



♦   about problems of the world cinema:

"We have a problem with the film industry back in Australia, and weТre very hard on ourselves back there. Then I come here and realize it's a worldwide phenomena - it's very difficult to write a great script. I take my hat off to writers of great abil-ity, because I understand how difficult it is. When you do come across one it's a needle in a haystack".



♦  about difference between big-budget and low-budget projects:

"I'Тve done those as well, and in all honesty, people ask me the difference be-tween the two and the only difference is one of them has more money. It's ex-actly the same thing. It's all about storytelling, it's all about characters and how they tell their stories. Sure the catering is bigger, and there's bigger bangs, and sometimes there's more lights, but the storytelling is exactly the same. It's the same sort of thing in terms of acting. It requires the same sort of skills. You donТt alter for a low-budget film or a big-budget film in terms of acting..."

"Doing a film where you get paid more? What that can do is actually afford you the opportunity, in my case, to every now and again come back to Australia and do a play. And that's what that does, you know? `Cause that's where I come from the theater and it's those roots that I really treasure and love going back to. But it's tricky, because it's self-subsistence; it eventually costs me, doing the piece".

"People say you have to be in a big movie - preferably one that turns into a hit - to keep the momentum of your career going. But Australian movies like Muriel's Wedding and Strictly Ballroom proved you don't need a huge budget to have an internationally successful film. Maybe that mentality exists in America, but not here".



♦   about most unpleasant thing in his work:

"This is a strange business. In one career, you don't just do one job. You do many jobs and you're forever forming really, really close relationships. Then at the end of the job you have to say goodbye."



♦   about his career:

"But it's very hard to plane a career because you really are at the whim and mercy of other people".

"I think I'm doing the monkey bar swing at the moment, it's very difficult to plan, it's all left up to the fate of the gods really. You can only plan so much, the only things that have been the result of my own work, as far as my career path has been the film 'The Boys' and the film I just completed doing which is called 'The Bank', everything else has been, just sort of happened in a way".

"I've just come to Melbourne to do this play [Sam Shepard's True West] for no money, which is a strange career choice in a way. But the work's the thing, you know. I try to control my career by having my finger in projects that I facilitate myself, like The Boys".

"But it could all stop tomorrow. The film I'm working on now could be my last, and I always try to remember that. You just try to ride the wave, and if it gets to the shore, you just hop back on your board and paddle back out as hard as you can to try and catch another wave."

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