Original subtitles

I read incessantly.

When I'm reading a book, I'm one of those characters

in that book.

So I'm sitting there acting the same way when I read a script.

So I'm sitting there acting the same way when I read a script.

We just put ourselves in those situations,

and you live those situations because that's what we do.

The truth is, you're the weak.

You like spy movies?

Spent a third of my life in a hospital bed with nothing else

to do but read.

Never use "no" in a hostage situation.

Zeus.

Yeah, Zeus, as in father of Apollo, Mount Olympus.

I wanted to teach this master class

so people could understand what I do and why I do it.

If I could get up every day and go somewhere and act,

I'd be the happiest person in the world, you know?

Writers get up and write, painters get up

and paint, why can't I get up and go act?

Because somebody's got to hire you to do it.

So when people start talking about,

So when people start talking about,

why you do this kind of thing, why you do that kind of thing.

I love movies.

I love movies that are dark and I love movies that are deep,

and they have their purpose.

But essentially, we're entertainers.

We entertain people.

We're supposed to distract them from their daily lives

in a way that allows them to escape whatever pressures

or things they have on them, and live in this moment with us

for a while and experience it in a safe environment,

for a while and experience it in a safe environment,

and leave there and be energized by it and talk about it

and love it.

I don't look at acting as specifically a challenge,

but more of an adventure to delve into,

to grasp different things about a character,

to find my way in a story.

I don't find that difficult. That's

always like a joy and a great period

always like a joy and a great period

of exploration and freedom.

A movie set is like one of my favorite places

to be in the world.

I love getting up and going to my job.

Hopefully there's something to be learned, gleaned,

or experienced while I'm doing it.

And you know, sometimes it's just fun.

I'm Samuel L. Jackson, and this is my master class.

I'm Samuel L. Jackson, and this is my master class.

Hey, I'm Samuel L. Jackson.

Welcome to my master class, mother fuckers.

You want to be a mother fucking better actor?

Take my mother fucking class.

When you're finished with this class,

you're going to be an acting mother fucker.

I'm Samuel L. Jackson, and this is my mother

fucking master class!

Yeah.

If there's source material, read it, especially if it's a book.

Read a book, because writers tend

to give you vital info about who the character is, where

he came from, what he does.

Sometimes they even try and explain

why he's doing it, why he's doing a particular thing.

why he's doing it, why he's doing a particular thing.

And after you've done that, reread the story again

to get the story in your mind.

And after you've read that, figure out

how you feel about that character

and why he's doing those things that he's

doing inside that script.

And once you think you know why that character is doing

those things, then you figure out,

OK, where did he come from?

OK, where did he come from?

Who is he?

How old is he?

Does he feel that way about this character

because he has a brother or sister that is that way?

Who are his parents?

What's his educational background?

Does he have a military background?

Did he go to the army?

Has he ever been in jail?

Is he out of jail?

How educated is he?

Is he smart, sort of smart, very smart?

It's not there.

And sometimes you will never have

to explain that to an audience or to the other cast members.

But it's important to you as a person,

because all those kinds of things

determine how you feel about people,

how you look at them, how you interpret their actions,

what your prejudices are toward those people

in a particular way.

Are they smarter than me?

Do I like that?

Do I like that?

Do I not like that?

Is he dumber than me?

Am I going to manipulate him because of it?

And it's stuff that an audience might,

or they probably won't ever know.

But for you as the actor, when you're

interacting with that character that you

think you're smarter than, it interprets

how you approach that character and how

you accept what they say to you or what you think of it

or what you're trying to do.

And all those things are dictated by what kind of person

And all those things are dictated by what kind of person

I am.

And if there's no source material

to tell me what kind of person I am, then it's incumbent upon me

to create a human being that's inside that story that

has a full life, that feels a certain way about things

because this happened to him, that happened to him,

this didn't happen to him.

He didn't have this advantage growing up

or he had this advantage.

Or he had a woman who left him so he can't relate to women,

because he thinks women are all whatever and he just cannot

because he thinks women are all whatever and he just cannot

deal with them or he doesn't understand the female psyche.

Or his mom did something to him, so he can't handle family life.

And he doesn't know how to be a father because he didn't have

a father or the father he had had no idea how to treat him

or he watched him treat his mother a certain way

or didn't do this.

All kinds of things that you can make up about that person,

but what you need is a whole person,

which is something Lloyd Richards imposed

upon me, Douglas Turner Ward imposed upon me

upon me, Douglas Turner Ward imposed upon me

that says whenever you're onstage,

you're coming from somewhere.

And you're going somewhere when you leave.

And do you want people to go with you when you go?

So when you show up in there, you--

boom.

You hit that moment.

And when you leave, everybody's like well, shit.

I want to go with him.

Where is he going?

That was-- he looks like he had something on his mind.

And then I had another actor tell me once--

he was like, look, every time a camera passes you

when you're on set, always look like there's

when you're on set, always look like there's

something on your mind.

Don't be standing there waiting on your line.

Thinking about something, either what that character just said

or how you feel about the thing that character said

or even if you thinking about I need to get out of here.

I'm sick of being here.

People need to see that on your face, not just--

unless you're playing an idiot.

Every scene in a movie is trying to accomplish something.

So you figure out what are we trying

to accomplish from page three to page nine

when we're doing this scene?

What is the goal of this particular scene for the movie?

What information do we want to give the audience?

And how do I want to give it to them?

How does that relate to what's going to happen on page 99?

But you can't anticipate what's going to happen on page 99,

because you're not supposed to know.

But you've got to figure out how you go from point A

But you've got to figure out how you go from point A

to point Z in every script, like you do a play,

even though you're not going to do it every night, which

is what I tell people.

Doing movies, well movies ain't shit.

It's easy.

You show up.

And some days all you got to do is get in the car and--

like that, or sit in the car and drive all day.

But you've got to have something on your mind.

You've got to have a goal.

You have to know where you're going, why are you going,

and what's going to happen when you get there

or what you anticipate is going to happen.

You can't know that after page nine

You can't know that after page nine

this thing that happens on page 10 is going to happen.

You just have to know that you're going there.

And what your goal is in that particular scene

is to get to that place.

Period.

Don't think about the rest of it.

So when you start to break it down,

everything is a series of goals to get from point A

to point B to point C to point D, all those things.

Before you start even developing a character, like I said,

you look at the script and you see

what his relationships are to people in the scripts,

if he has some.

And based on that, you figure out the personality traits

that go along with that relationship.

Are they intimate?

Are they just casual acquaintances?

Is it a stranger that's attracted to you?

What makes that character attracted to you?

What attracts you to that character?

Or what repulses you about that character that

allows you to interact with them in a specific way?

Do you have an idiosyncratic personality

that might be off-putting to someone?

that might be off-putting to someone?

What do you do to try to fix that?

Or are you awkward in your relationships with people?

Or are you kind of deft at getting people

to listen and be drawn to you?

What is that thing that draws people to you?

Is it your sense of humor?

Is it something physical?

Do people like the way you look?

Are they repulsed by the way you look or smell?

Or are you smug and just detestable in a way?

Or are you smug and just detestable in a way?

Or do you think you're great and nobody else

thinks you're great?

As you read that story, you figure out

how you interact with various characters within that story

and what that means.

Are they people you know?

Are they people you don't know?

Do you like them?

Do you not like them?

Are you trying to coerce them into doing something for you,

with you, to you, whatever?

with you, to you, whatever?

That's what happens when I'm sitting at home breaking down

my character and what my relationships are

inside that script and what I want from each character

or what each character wants from me

and how I'm going to respond to that.

There are prices to pay for everything

that happens, for every--

everything has a consequence.

What are the consequences of where you came from?

Or you could be like the homeless woman

Or you could be like the homeless woman

they found in the subway back in the '80s when I was there.

And somebody killed her.

In the bags that she had, she had

deeds to property in four different states

and like $80,000 in cash.

She used to be a broker on Wall Street and everything.

But for some reason she dropped out,

but she still had all that.

Are you that person?

Or are you a person with nothing?

How would you, as that person, be?

How would you, as that person, be?

How would you change yourself in a mirror

or wherever to look at yourself and say

I don't want that person to touch me

or I don't want to interact with that person?

Or if I used to love that person,

I don't love them anymore.

Or do you look in the mirror and see a guy that you relate to?

Or do you look in the mirror and see a stranger

or a shadow of who you were?

And if you were a shell of yourself who

And if you were a shell of yourself who

remembered only fragments of who you were,

what would those fragments be?

What are the fragments that you would

hold onto if you were forced to be on the street,

isolated, without love, companionship?

How long would it take you to lose your mind?

And what parts of your mind would you

keep if you were there?

Those are the things.

Or what parts of that character's mind

would you keep, according to who he was and what he's done?

would you keep, according to who he was and what he's done?

How would you live with that?

What are the clothes that you either got from a shelter

or that might have been yours?

Or what was the taste that your sane character had

that your insane character thinks

he's mimicking when he puts on a specific kind of clothes,

even if it's a suit, raggedy suit, overcoat, top coat--

how many top coats do you have?

How many do you want?

Would you have raggedy sneakers or would you have

Would you have raggedy sneakers or would you have

raggedy shoes?

Would you have gone to the shelter

and gotten something or not?

Do you go to the shelter to eat?

Or do you dumpster dive?

You've got to make choices.

Do you beg for money?

Do you have that kind of thing in you?

Are you that kind of person that would stand on the street

and hold your hand out, beg for money

and hold a sign or whatever?

Or would you go around and pick up cans and bottles

and take them to the recycling place

to get money so you could eat?

Or would you just depend on the kindness of strangers?

Or would you just depend on the kindness of strangers?

All those kinds of choices are choices

that inform what kind of person you are,

what your integrity level is, where you've gone,

how far you've fallen, or what parts of your dignity

you've held onto.

All those things are things that young actors can do or are

choices that you can ask and make for yourself when you

do that, not just oh, I wear raggedy clothes

and I live on the street and I lost my job.

and I live on the street and I lost my job.

So you have to make decisions about that person

and who you want that person to be

and how you want to present yourself to the audience that's

watching this and what it means to the other characters

in the script that you interact with when

you interact with them.

Do they feel sorry for you?

And why do they feel sorry for you?

Do they feel sorry for you because you're crazy

or because you're homeless or both?

Do they feel sorry for you because they love you,

because you were a loving individual and they

because you were a loving individual and they

wish they had that person?

They want to connect with that person.

And you want to connect with them but you don't know how.

Do you rave at those people because you remember

them and you can't touch them because your crazy self will

not allow you to reach out and be with that person

and allow them to connect with you or love you in your state?

Or do you feel sorry for yourself

because you love that person too,

but you can't stop being who you are?

but you can't stop being who you are?

You know you're crazy and you don't want to be crazy,

but you can do nothing about it.

There's that.

All of those things.

But you got to make those choices.

And when you make them, you got to commit to them.

And that's how that works.

Once I've talked to the director about what he wants the story

to be and where he wants it to go

and I speak to him about my character in terms of OK, then

and I speak to him about my character in terms of OK, then

how dominant do you want me to be in this particular situation

or that particular situation or what

do you need from me to make this particular thing work,

then I can find some personality trait

within what I've created to make that be OK

or not be OK in terms of well, now

I can act like I don't like that.

Or I can be irritated in this particular place

because I don't like people who talk like that

because I don't like people who talk like that

or treat me that way.

And it's another color to add to that character,

whether it's interpreted or not.

And somebody might pay attention to that that's watching

the movie, and maybe they won't.

But I'll know because I'm completing that

and I feel like I'm the human being

in that particular situation that

has that thing that nobody else has or the things that we have.

Sometimes we go places and things

Sometimes we go places and things

happen where we thought it was going to be cool.

And we get there and something starts happening.

And you wish you could be somewhere else.

And sometimes that's the interaction

between people in a room.

And you're talking to them, yeah.

And you're trying to be pleasant.

But all you want this to do is be over

so you can get the fuck out.

And sometimes that's what that scene is for you.

And you got to figure out why you're that person.

And if that's the situation, then

what is making you uncomfortable in this particular room?

what is making you uncomfortable in this particular room?

You've got to go back and find something in that person

and say oh, well maybe this happened.

Or maybe he just doesn't like--

you find something to make it honest and real

and this thing that you created for yourself.

And like I said, whether you have to speak about that

to somebody else on the set or not, you don't.

But as that character grows in that story,

people tend to feel him.

Or people sitting in the audience go yeah, I know that.

I know how that feels.

Or yeah, I get that.

Or yeah, I get that.

And sometimes it's not pandering to an audience.

It's giving them something that they can honestly

latch onto as a feeling or a circumstance that

allows them to invest themselves in the movie even more.

We are there to entertain those people,

so it's incumbent upon us to pull them in in a specific way

so that they relate to the story or they relate

to a character in that story.

When they hired me to do Die Hard,

I realized that Zeus, my character in Die Hard,

essentially is an audience member in a Die Hard movie.

I'm supposed to react to John McClane

the way anybody he might accidentally pull off

the street and say come ride with me

or come run with me will react.

So I made Zeus that guy, that when John McClane did

some crazy shit, it was kind of like me looking at him like,

some crazy shit, it was kind of like me looking at him like,

that's what you gonna do?

[TIRES SQUEALING]

[CAR HORNS]

Where the hell are you going, McClane?

I told you 9th Avenue was the quickest way south.

Stop that goddamn yelling.

I know what I'm doing.

Not even God knows what you're doing.

Or I thought you were smarter than that when he

couldn't figure something out.

It's like you're a fucking hero.

You can't figure this out?

Look, it's this simple.

Because people in the audience had already figured it out.

They're like yeah, it's like, look.

They're like yeah, it's like, look.

So you have to be that person.

So you become them.

And they can say right on, brother.

See?

Yeah, you got it.

So you do ordinary things in an extraordinary situation

so that you don't get caught up in the craziness of who

the crazy person is.

You And he's still the hero.

But you're they guy they like, because you're them.

You're like them.

Whoa.

That a bomb?

Yeah.

Go-- just go ahead and grab it.

Go-- just go ahead and grab it.

No, you're the cop.

Your man Simon said you're supposed

to be helping with this.

I'm helping.

Well, when are you going to start helping?

After you get the bomb.

So that's what you do.

You go ahead and make yourself vulnerable and kind of--

when we're watching movies sometimes

and we see people do some shit and we go really?

That's what Zeus is like.

Really?

No.

I'm not doing that.

Or you gonna do that?

Why don't you do this?

It's simple to just do this.

It's simple to just do this.

So you create an honest situation

so that the audience can be like, hey, that's like me.

I would have done that, too.

And that's what you want.

Careful.

I'm being careful.

Don't open it.

What?

I got to open it.

It's going to be all right.

Shit.

Shit!

I told you not to open it.

Characters in stories are characters in stories.

So I don't see myself approaching a villain any

differently than I do a hero.

They're both people in the human realm of possibility.

They're both people in the human realm of possibility.

And I don't think their approach to society changes

in terms of who you are as a person who

grew up somewhere, who has a specific set of morals, goals

or whatever.

Their goals are just different or at polar opposites.

So I don't approach them any differently.

I mean, if I did that, I couldn't

have played Stephen in Django.

I mean, when Quentin called me and told me to read it,

I mean, when Quentin called me and told me to read it,

he didn't tell me anything about it.

And I finished and I called him back

and said so you want me to play the most despicable negro

in cinematic history?

And he was like well, yeah.

I go, OK let's do it.

So I can't judge him.

No.

I don't judge people's--

I mean, people have their own reasons for doing things.

And once I sit down and figure out who that person is

and what they're doing and why they're doing it,

then there's no moral judgment about it.

That's just what they do.

And that's how they operate in the world.

Once you figure out the rules of that society and world

Once you figure out the rules of that society and world

that you're shooting the film in,

then you build your character around that.

And you don't make judgments about them being right, wrong,

or otherwise.

But like I tell people, killers--

killers don't sit around sharpening their knives

and shining their bullets all day.

They go to grocery stores.

They drop their kids off.

They got girlfriends.

They might go to church.

They do stuff.

Jules grew up in the church.

And he has a morality that finally shows up

at a certain point.

I mean, he stood there in cold blood.

I mean, he stood there in cold blood.

He just shot that kid.

And then all of a sudden he believes

God intervened and kept them from getting killed.

All of a sudden his whole God thing shows up.

But he's still not a moral person.

So you can't judge your characters that way.

I see people doing that.

You watch movies and stuff and you

see people twirling their mustache

from the time the movie comes on.

And you go oh yeah, bad guy.

I don't want people to necessarily know that about me

immediately unless the first thing you see me do

immediately unless the first thing you see me do

is kill somebody.

And then you really don't know what

my reason was for killing that person until I express it.

When you're creating characters, I

mean aside from all that background crap

that I'd, you know, throw in there that nobody knows about

or cares about, there are things that you

want to make a character different in some way

aside from doing something to your face.

aside from doing something to your face.

My agent and managers had a real problem with me

for a couple of years because I like to scar myself,

and they were like, stop putting scars on your face.

We like the way you look.

You know and in the beginning when I first

started doing movies I think early on in my career

Laurence Olivier died.

So Laurence Olivier died and I was sitting at home

and his obituary came on.

When they were talking about him and they put his face up

When they were talking about him and they put his face up

on the screen, and as they talked about him

they morphed through all these different characters

that he'd done on screen.

And I was sitting there going wow, look at that.

So that was the beginning of me and my hair, my hair career.

You know my wig making.

Doing all the different hair styles

and ways that I could change my look through hair.

And the other way you change yourself

is through the physical movement of a character.

How they move in terms of how they feel about themselves

How they move in terms of how they feel about themselves

or do they have any infirmities or we've all

known people who have different gates and all kinds of things.

When I did 187 and I was playing a school teacher

because I had been around school teachers all my life.

All I had to do was kind of amalgamate the school teachers

that I knew and create this teacher who

had a fear of students after he'd been stabbed in school.

Being an upright nerdy kind of guy

I decided to make him slew foot.

I decided to make him slew foot.

And he walked upright in a specific way with his feet

like that.

And he wobbled when he walked.

With his glasses, and he pushed his glasses up

on his face a lot.

So that was him.

In Time to Kill, that was my grandfather and his brothers.

These old, country dudes that work the land,

work a hard job, pigeon toed, kind of stooped, arms loose,

work a hard job, pigeon toed, kind of stooped, arms loose,

loping kind of swaying from side to side.

You know, kind of a hangdog look.

Always, always got that analyzation

face on when they look at you.

Brow wrinkled because they listening to you,

but thinking something.

You know there's that guy.

Wow.

Shaft.

Shaft because Shaft attacks the world so fists clenched a lot.

Shaft because Shaft attacks the world so fists clenched a lot.

Walking upright, chest out, aggressive,

leaning forward, into the wind, into every thing

that's coming at him.

Elijah in Unbreakable had a specific disease that--

I talked to people who had that disease.

And I talk to parents with kids who had it.

It's really crazy and kind of insane disease that you know,

they have to, they have to think about the kind of covers

they have to, they have to think about the kind of covers

that they sleep under because if you pull you pull the covers up

when you turn over you can break your ankle.

You know, you can just snap your ankle

when you turn over and pull the cover too tight or whatever.

Or two people who had the disease who

chose to have children, who get the disease.

100% they're going to get it you know,

but they figure we can figure out a safe way

to raise this kid.

So him going around in the world full of sharp edges

and how he navigated that world, and how he carried himself

and how he navigated that world, and how he carried himself

in it, and being on that cane.

I did ask for a glass cane, which is kind of obvious,

but it was so cool I couldn't resist.

I had to have it.

Finding that vulnerability in that character

and how he approached everything, especially things

that he didn't know.

I think it's one of the greatest scenes in that movie

is I'm standing at the top of those stairs.

Everybody in the movie knows this is not going to end well.

[LAUGHING] This is not going to end well.

[LAUGHING] This is not going to end well.

Oh my god.

I just want to ask you something.

That fall in Unbreakable was just so nasty and so just

horrid.

They have costume designers.

But you have conversations with costume designers.

I do.

And when we start talking about who that person is

and how they want to dress him.

Do you dress him in a way that's attractive?

Do you dress him in a way that's repulsive?

Do you dress him in a way that's repulsive?

Do you dress him in a way that automatically

informs an audience who you are and what you do?

Are you a lawyer in a three piece suit with a briefcase,

or whatever?

Are you, you know a street lawyer with a trench

coat and a rumpled suit, and a battered kind of satchel,

you know?

There are all kinds of things that inform people

of who you are, what you do.

What kind of doctor are you?

Are you a general practitioner?

Are you a general practitioner?

Are you a surgeon of sorts?

Do you have skills, or are you a failed doctor,

or are you a good surgeon, or are

you a shaky surgeon, do you have drug issues, do you have

alcohol issues, do you have family issues that

interfere with your job and your judgment?

There's just so many things that you put with people

and what they do, or what they did

before they do the thing that you see them doing on screen.

before they do the thing that you see them doing on screen.

The first thing for me is always the story.

And then the character on the inside of it.

And if he has an interesting job,

or he does something as interesting

then I will go and explore.

When I did Black Snake Moan it was like so serendipitous

it was crazy because I was shooting the film in New York

it was crazy because I was shooting the film in New York

and I went to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame ceremony one night

and this voice behind me said you should play a blues

musician in a movie.

Let me teach you how to play guitar.

And I turned around and it was this woman Felicia

Collins who played guitar in David Letterman's band.

And we laughed about it and talked for a minute

and came back, went to the Academy Awards, presented

and they were still giving gift baskets then.

And one of the gifts in the gift basket was a Gibson guitar.

And one of the gifts in the gift basket was a Gibson guitar.

So I ordered it, and it came, and then

the script for Black Snake Moan came, and I talked to Craig.

And I went back to New York to shoot another film.

Called Felicia to say, I'm playing a blues guitarist.

I need to learn how to play guitar.

So she started teaching me to play guitar.

So I learned to play blues guitar from her.

And then I went to Seattle to do Snakes On A Plane,

and at that time I was carrying the guitar around

on my back in a case, like I was a guitarist

or something because I was practicing all the time.

or something because I was practicing all the time.

And the prop master on snakes on a plane was a guitarist

and he played blues guitar.

So he came to my trailer every day.

And drilled me and taught me the songs that I

had to play in the movie.

And then I got to Memphis and the musical director

of the film and Craig started taking me around

to all these blues places, and meeting these blues musicians,

and making me play with them, and do stuff.

So before I knew it, I had corns on my fingers and everything

So before I knew it, I had corns on my fingers and everything

else and I could play.

And you do that, and I knew the blues

from my grandfather and his brothers, the country guys.

And I listened to a lot of blues, played a lot of blues,

hung out in the speakeasies with the guys

and kind of found my way into that.

When I did Caveman's Valentine I was playing a concert pianist

who was schizophrenia.

So I took piano lessons and learned

So I took piano lessons and learned

how to reach over, and under, and move my fingers,

and do the whole thing so.

And I actually kind of learned the songs

that I had to play slowly but I could do them quickly

on a mute piano.

So I could do that and had that under control and studied.

Studied a whole thing with people on schizophrenia

and talked to doctors about it and did

that so I would understand who he was, Romulus was,

in terms of being in the world, and what he saw, what he felt,

and what specific things I needed to accurately portray

and what specific things I needed to accurately portray

a schizophrenic.

I learned to play cello for a movie once.

So you learn these various skills and things.

Even in gun movies I went to, wow

when we did Swat we went to swat school.

All of us.

So we learned to be a SWAT team.

We went to the gun range, fired live a lot at targets

till we could hit them.

till we could hit them.

It looked like we knew what we were doing with those guns.

I've been trained by at least four different branches

of the service or law enforcement

in terms of how they use their guns,

how they hold them, what their guard positions are,

what their firing positions are, for any number of gun movies.

And went to Vietnam jungle school

with Captain [? Die ?] for Rules of Engagement.

We were in South Carolina.

We were in South Carolina.

Tommy Lee had a marine company.

I had a marine company.

And Captain [? Die ?] had a company of Vietnamese soldiers

out in swamp.

And every day we went looking for each other

and set up ambushes and did all this stuff

so that we would look like Vietnam soldiers.

And it was nasty and leachy and all that.

But you know you do these things.

They're an extension, from me, of you

know the gun games especially the kids games that I played.

know the gun games especially the kids games that I played.

I mean even in a Hateful Eight we went, at one point

I was supposed to be on a horse.

So, I had ridden horses when I was a kid, but we rode.

We went to the stables and rode.

We learned how to hitch and unhitch

a six horse wagon while we were out there doing this stuff.

So those are things that you learn

that are specific to the craft so that you look natural

when you're doing them and you feel natural

when you're doing them.

All those things count and they mean something, especially

All those things count and they mean something, especially

when you know--

like I always tell people there's

going to be somebody sitting there in the audience that

does his job.

And if you don't look like you know what you're doing,

you're going to take them out of the movie.

And they'll just look at you like another actor just

pretending and do what I do and not

even pretending to do it right.

If the customer can do it, put on, do whatever,

change yourself as many ways as you possibly can.

change yourself as many ways as you possibly can.

Change your hair, change your nose,

you know if they got the money go to the dentist

and get you some new teeth.

Get your teeth all, something you can slid over your teeth

and make them bad, good, or whatever.

Do all the things that you have in your mind that

will help you inform the audience when

they see this character go, oh, that's who that is.

Don't make them guess, unless it's

all about a guessing game of them guessing who you are.

Let them know who you are immediately,

and then proceed to make that person real as you can.

and then proceed to make that person real as you can.

Take a brilliant concert pianist, like Romulus

in Caveman's Valentine who was a child prodigy.

Whose home life's damaged.

He's got a damaged home life, and they're

in denial about his mental condition or his schizophrenia

in denial about his mental condition or his schizophrenia

to the point, you know, that when he does kind of succeed,

he succeeds to the point that he can't handle the success.

There has to be a reason for it.

And the reason that he comes up with

is a made-up guy who lives in this tower in New York that

shoots rays into his head to the point

that he can't touch a piano because it's painful.

that he can't touch a piano because it's painful.

Fight it, baby.

Show Stuyvesant you're not scared of him.

Play the damn thing.

But he will do it sometimes just because he still

has that need to play music.

[PIANO MUSIC]

When he forces himself to play, he plays in pain

and he fights through that pain to the point

that it becomes so excruciating that at some points,

that it becomes so excruciating that at some points,

it is ecstatic.

It infuses him in a way that will exhaust him and make

him even crazier to the point where he wonders if it is

self-imposed or if it is real.

He has a daughter that loves him.

That not necessarily wants to help him,

That not necessarily wants to help him,

but wants to let him live his life,

but to live his life not in danger.

Because he looks the way he looks,

he's a huge imposing figure with big coat

and a fur hat and long dreadlocks.

He's not Invisible to the people around him.

His situation is invisible to the people

His situation is invisible to the people

that he passes, like most homeless people in New York.

So New York becomes an imposing character in itself--

the city and how he deals with the city.

He lives in the middle of New York City,

but he lives in a cave in Central Park.

So he's isolated anyway.

I mean, if you're sleeping in a cardboard box,

you're not isolated because people

are walking by you every day, but they still don't see you.

are walking by you every day, but they still don't see you.

They don't interact with you.

And quite frankly, you--

you're an imposition, or you're a sauce of shame for them,

because you are there, whether they admit it or not.

You are a source of shame for people

who pass by you every day and don't do anything to help you,

whether they admit it or not.

They know that, you know?

They see you but you think they don't.

But he's there in the middle of that city and he's ranting,

you know, a lot.

you know, a lot.

So people have to dodge and if they see him,

they get out of his way, but they don't interact with him.

in any way.

So he is in that box of his own.

But he's accepted that box, to the point that those people

don't mean anything.

He rushes through the city like he's on a mission all the time.

I mean, there's something chasing him

or he's dodging the rays from that building

because he knows the guy's looking for him,

he's just looking for a chance to shoot a ray into his head

he's just looking for a chance to shoot a ray into his head

so his eyes are constantly darting.

Even though he's huge, he has a hunched thing

because he's always on guard to duck a ray

or whatever he's trying to get away from.

He thinks musically.

So he plays, he plays music in his head a lot.

[PIANO MUSIC]

He has been a part of a society that a lot of people

never touch.

never touch.

He was a concert pianist.

He played, you know, for people in tuxedos

and went to Juilliard.

He has all this stuff that was going for him

that's now inaccessible to him.

And when somebody does reach out to him and touch him,

and this woman takes him into the house

and bathes him and sleeps with him,

it's kind of like all of a sudden,

when his wife comes back to him, he's like facing this guilt,

when his wife comes back to him, he's like facing this guilt,

because he's cheating on a woman who's not even there, you know?

But there she is, admonishing him for being there,

in bed with this woman, and he's got

to deal with that guilt of who he was and how he failed,

you know?

These people that care about him.

And in creating that and that schizophrenia, like I said,

And in creating that and that schizophrenia, like I said,

I read about it, I visited places and watched people

in rooms, locked rooms or whatever dealing with that.

And, you know, I'm a--

I'm a people watcher.

So all those years I spent on the subway

watching people sleep on the train

or get on the train and babble or do whatever they did or--

I remember one night I was coming from Brooklyn

and I lived on 145th Street.

So I was coming from the Billie Holiday Theater

So I was coming from the Billie Holiday Theater

all the way up to 145th Street on A train,

and it took about almost an hour to do.

I fell asleep.

And when I woke up, I was kind of leaning on somebody

and I was like, oh, I'm sorry, excuse me.

And I looked and it was like this homeless dude.

He was big, like Romulus.

And I thought he had on like a fur coat.

Well when I looked at the coat, the coat was moving.

It was just bugs.

It was just bugs.

And I was like, oh, shit!

And I jumped up and I was like, argh, argh!

And I couldn't wait to get to my stop.

And I ran in the house, turned the hot water on,

jumped in the shower with all my clothes on.

You know, just like, oh shit, I want want to die,

I want to die, I'm going to die, you know?

And that was my reaction to that guy, you know?

And I wanted Romulus to be that guy.

That if somebody bumped into him or touched him,

they would feel like they immediately

needed to go somewhere and disinfect themselves, you know?

And only because he was that big and that powerful.

And only because he was that big and that powerful.

So when that woman takes him in and washes him and cleans him

and I'm standing there naked in that scene,

you know, it was a whole, like, cathartic kind of,

oh my god, she tried to take me back to who I was

and this is the closest thing I've been to a real human being

in a very long time, when he puts that suit on.

Here you go, Romulus.

We wouldn't want you to freeze to death.

[CHUCKLES]

Until, you know, the mania comes back again and he realizes,

Until, you know, the mania comes back again and he realizes,

you know, the clothes have changed but I'm the same guy.

We wouldn't want you to freeze to death!

[FAKE LAUGHTER] I really love that one, Bob.

Wouldn't want to find you popped in a tree!

[FAKE LAUGHTER]

This same thing is bothering me, I still can't--

I still can't play the piano and I still can't--

and this is close to where I was in the beginning

of my craziness.

And I'm a lot more comfortable being that Invisible

And I'm a lot more comfortable being that Invisible

dude with a big coat on and the hat than I am exposed like this

as to who I used to be, so that people can see my soul bared

and I'm abnormal.

Then they can look at me and see I'm abnormal,

but there's something about me looking like that that

makes me normal as that guy.

And like I said, New York plays a huge, huge part in that.

Because I remember, we were between shots one day

and I was sitting on the sidewalk waiting

and I was sitting on the sidewalk waiting

to shoot again.

And people were walking by me and I

think about five people would drop money in front of me

while I was sitting there, because I

was sitting there rocking, my hair in front of my eyes.

When I looked up, there was money on the ground, you know.

Being able to use the city in that way,

as an energizing force that moves him,

and using the energy of the city and the people

and using the energy of the city and the people

and rushing against the tide--

I always tried to walk against the tide of people coming

toward me, I was always doing that as a character reference.

But like I said, you know, being--

being a people person or an observer of people,

you know, you look around and you

find a lot of different things that you

want to use to inform you of, you know,

who your character is.

I still do it now.

I mean, I'm driving--

driving over here today, I saw a guy sitting

driving over here today, I saw a guy sitting

on the sidewalk talking to himself,

or I see people sitting at bus stops

talking to themselves all the time, you know?

And I wonder what those conversations are.

Because some of them seem to be having

a conversation with someone.

And some of them seem to be ruminating about whatever,

you know, that's going on.

And Romulus was always raging against something.

And Romulus was always raging against something.

And that rage in him, you know, was

all about this person doing this thing to him

and why was this person doing this to him so that he couldn't

be a normal part of society, so that he

couldn't do the thing that he loved, which was playing piano.

And being able to explore that in a safe environment,

you know, is really awesome.

All right, all right.

[INAUDIBLE]

[LAUGHTER]

Good morning.

Hey.

Good morning.

Good morning.

How you doing?

So thank you guys for being here.

I'm glad you made it.

Thank you for participating in this with me.

New experience for me--

I never criticize people outside my own house.

So this is going to be a whole new experience,

just discussing it and seeing how it all rocks out.

just discussing it and seeing how it all rocks out.

So everybody happy?

Nervous?

Yeah.

Both.

No, we're good.

Why?

Why?

There's no judgment here, I mean, real judgment.

A bit-- a little judgment.

Yeah, a little bit.

Yeah.

But it's nothing to be nervous about.

It's just another day, another great acting opportunity.

This is what you want to do.

You want to be actors.

And every acting opportunity is a blessing.

Every opportunity, every audition

is a chance to go in and prove to somebody that you're

is a chance to go in and prove to somebody that you're

good at what you do.

And the level of confidence, the level of proficiency

that you know you have--

exhibit it.

Never think about getting a job or getting it right.

Get it the way you wanted to do it

when you go in there so that you show the best part of you.

We're going to do this iconic scene from Pulp Fiction, which

just happened to be the first thing we

just happened to be the first thing we

shot when we made this movie.

This was the first scene that we did.

An interesting piece of trivia that I

don't think a lot of people know-- in the original script

when this scene happens, there was

a point where I closed my eyes and I

shot Tim through the table and shot Honey Bunny off the bar.

And when I opened my eyes, they were still there,

And when I opened my eyes, they were still there,

because that's what the old Jules would have done.

Oh, yeah. yeah.

Ah.

Quentin didn't shoot it, because he said, now if I shoot it,

I'll use it.

And I can't stand how you do it--

So there's all kinds of things that should have been

shot that were in the script.

But that's just stuff.

I just put it in your head so I could just kind of see

what you'll do with that, knowing

that that should have happened here, didn't happen here,

whatever.

OK.

OK.

And go ahead.

Woo hoo!

Let's knock it out.

All right.

Let's jump at it.

[INTERPOSING VOICES]

We have our coordination together?

You want to practice pushing that top down and pulling

that gun up at the same time?

Mm-hmm.

All right.

So we start here?

Have it turned around and open like that.

So we're starting--

So we're starting with me here.

Have it turned around and open.

And she's asking--

[SIGH]

Goddamn it, what is it?

[INAUDIBLE]

Let her go.

Let her go.

Let her go.

I'll blow your fucking head off.

Tell that bitch to be cool.

Say bitch, be cool.

Say bitch, be cool!

Baby, be cool.

Honey Bunny, be cool.

Tell her it's going to be OK.

Promise her.

I promise it's going to be OK.

Tell her to chill.

You got to chill the fuck out.

Chill out.

What's her name?

Honey Bun-- Yolanda.

Yolanda?

So we cool, Yolanda, right?

Ain't nobody going to do nothing stupid.

Let her go.

Don't hurt her.

Don't hurt her.

Nobody's going to hurt anybody.

We're all going to be like three Fonzie's, OK?

And what's Fonzie like?

Come on, Yolanda.

What's Fonzie like?

What's Fonzie like?

He-- he's cool.

Correctamundo.

And that's what we're going to be like, OK?

We're going to be cool.

Now I'm going to count to three.

And when I do, you're going to let your gun go.

You're going to set your palms down on the table.

You're going to sit over there.

But when you do it, you're going to do it cool.

OK?

One, two, three.

Now let her go.

Come on, Yolanda!

I thought you said you were going to be cool.

I thought you said you were going to be cool.

Now-- line?

When you yell at me--

When you yell at me, it makes me nervous.

And when I get nervous, I get scared.

And when motherfuckers get scared,

that's when motherfuckers get accidentally shot.

Just so you know, you hurt him, you die.

That seems to be the situation.

Now I don't want that and you don't want that.

And Ringo here don't want that.

But here's the situation.

Now normally both your asses would be

Now normally both your asses would be

dead as fucking fried chicken.

But you happened to pull this shit while I'm

in a transitional period.

I don't want to hurt you.

I want to help you.

But I'm afraid I can't give you this case.

See, it don't belong to me.

I already went through too much shit this morning

on account of this case to just hand it over to your asses.

What the fuck is going on here?

Vincent, it's cool.

Vincent, just-- just chill out.

Yolanda, we still cool, baby.

We still cool.

Tell her we're still cool.

We're still cool, baby.

We're still cool.

We're still cool.

Don't worry.

Jules, what the fuck is going on?

Nothing I can't handle.

Now just chill the hell out and lay back

unless it's absolutely necessary.

Yolanda, how you doing, baby?

I need to pee.

And I want to go home.

Just hang in there Yolanda.

You're doing great.

Your boyfriend's proud of you, and so am I, OK?

Now this is almost over.

Now what I want you to do is go in that bag

and pull out my wallet.

Go ahead.

Go ahead.

Which one is it?

It's the one that says bad motherfucker on there.

Come on.

There, that's my bad motherfucker.

Now open it up.

Take out the cash.

Take it.

How much is there?

Ah--

Come on.

Like $1,500

OK, yeah.

Now put that in your pocket.

That's yours.

Now with the rest of the wallet and with the register,

that makes this a pretty sizable little score now, don't it?

Hm?

Jules, you--

Jules, you--

What?

--give these nimrods that $1,500,

I'm killing them on general principle.

You ain't going to do a goddamn thing.

Now shut the fuck up.

Besides, I ain't giving it to them, OK?

I'm buying something for my money.

You want to know what I'm buying, Ringo?

What?

Your life.

I'm giving you that money so I don't have to kill yo ass.

You ever read the Bible?

No, not regularly.

No.

Well, there's a little passage, OK?

I got it right here.

Ezekiel 12:17.

Ezekiel 12:17.

"The path of the righteous man is beset on all sides

by the iniquities of the selfish and the tyranny of evil men.

Blessed is he who in the name of charity and goodwill

shepherds the weak through the valley of the darkness,

for he is truly his brother's keeper and the finder of lost

children.

And I will strike down upon thee with great vengeance

and furious angers those who attempt to poison

and destroy my brothers.

And you will know that I am Lord when

And you will know that I am Lord when

I lay my vengeance upon you."

Now I been saying that shit for years.

And if you ever heard it, that meant your ass.

Now I never really questioned what it meant.

I thought it was just a cold-blooded thing

to say to a motherfucker before you popped a cap in his ass.

But I saw some shit this morning and made me think twice.

Now I'm thinking it could mean--

it could mean you're the evil man

and I'm the righteous man and Mr. 45 here,

and I'm the righteous man and Mr. 45 here,

he's the shepherd protecting my righteous ass

in the valley of darkness.

Or it could mean that you're the righteous man

and I'm the shepherd and it's the world

that's evil and selfish.

And I'd like that.

But this shit ain't the truth.

The truth is you're weak.

And I'm the tyranny of evil men.

But I'm trying.

I am trying real hard to be the shepherd.

Good god.

Good god.

Um-- (LAUGHING)

I kind of jumped into that without warning, didn't I?

No.

No, was that OK?

OK.

Felt like you guys weren't ready.

I just like--

We sometimes jump in without warning.

That's what we do.

Then it was happening.

It was too late to stop it.

That's what we do.

OK.

OK, so awesome Honey Bunny.

Oh, thank you.

Good Jules.

Way to go.

Thank you.

Thank you very much.

I mean good Vincent--

menacing and as assholic as he needs to be in terms of--

Assholic?

Assholic?

--what he's supposed to be, showing up in there like that.

The lion's share of the criticism

is going to come to you, because you have the lion's

share of the responsibility--

Yeah, bring it.

--in the scene.

OK, first things first, take your time.

We want to understand what you're saying contextually.

And we want to take this ride with you

and what this means to you because

of what's happened earlier in the day

of what's happened earlier in the day

and why you're actually not killing them

as you normally would have done.

You are in control of the situation.

You're in control of how fast it goes.

You're-- the only wild card here is that.

And that's what you're trying to keep control of.

And you know the best way to keep control of this wild card

is by having this person control it.

So you have to make sure this person commands that person

and that person is paying attention to him--

paying more attention to him than to you--

paying more attention to him than to you--

That's why I look at--

--so that when Vincent shows up-- yeah, I know.

You kept your eye on him.

But when Vincent started talking, you looked over there.

And she could have picked this gun up

and shot you in the face.

So if the gun is there, you've got to be aware of it.

Or you can either reach over and move it or do something.

But you can't just leave it there.

People sitting in the audience are

saying she could just pick that gun up and shoot her

in the face with it.

That's why I always made Tim leave it right there.

You're in control of that.

So you should make sure she places the gun right here

in front of you so you can see it.

Ezekiel 25:17.

Everybody knows that.

I know-- just so everybody knows that's watching this,

this was kind of a wild card that

was thrown in this morning.

They learned up to that point and this speech wasn't there.

And I thought the speech was essential,

so I had them put it back in there

so that you guys would have to do it,

because it's a great acting piece to do.

And people want to do it.

It gives a chance for you to shine and exhibit

It gives a chance for you to shine and exhibit

a lot of different things.

So knowing the speech would help you a lot more

in your delivery of it.

Interpretation of what's happening over here--

all these are different ideas.

When you get past "I never really questioned

what it meant.

I just thought it was a cold-blooded thing

to say to a motherfucker before I popped a cap in his ass,"

to say to a motherfucker before I popped a cap in his ass,"

then you go through why you had to rethink what it actually

means.

"I saw something this morning that made me think twice."

So now I'm thinking of something else.

So this particular passage, when you break it

down into what it is or what he says all the time to get

to this other thing where he's analyzing

what he was saying to these people

and what he thought it meant and finally realizing

and what he thought it meant and finally realizing

the truth of it all, that he's the tyranny of evil men.

You're weak.

And I'm the tyranny of evil men.

But I'm trying.

I'm really trying to fix my shit here, you know.

But that passage has to be that--

I guess there's no way around it, is there?

I guess there's no way around it, is there?

There's this passage I got memorized, Ezekiel 25:17.

The path for the righteous man is beset on all sides

by the tyranny of evil men.

"The path of righteous men is beset on all sides

by the tyranny--

beset on all sides by the inequities of the selfish

and the tyranny of evil men.

Blessed is he who in the name of charity and good

will shepherds the weak through the valley of darkness,

for he is truly his brother's keeper and the finder of lost

for he is truly his brother's keeper and the finder of lost

children.

And I will strike down upon thee with a great vengeance

and furious anger those who attempt to poison

and destroy my brother.

And you know my name is the Lord when

I lay my vengeance upon thee."

Now normally if you heard that, that meant your ass.

But I saw some shit this morning,

But I saw some shit this morning,

made me take another look at it.

So you're almost like not believing those lines anymore.

No, you're--

--not

It's the first time he's really hearing it.

It's menacing as fuck.

But it's the first time I realized what I'm saying.

I just said it because it was some cool shit.

It sounded great.

I never stopped to like give it any deep thought.

Yeah, I see you like--

But all of a sudden, boom.

Fuck, this is what it is.

And then it says, now I'm thinking twice.

It could mean I'm the evil man and you righteous and I'm

It could mean I'm the evil man and you righteous and I'm

leading you through the valley of darkness

and I'm taking care of you, or I'm the shepherd

and the world is all fucked up.

But that shit ain't true.

I'm a fucking killer.

I kill people for a living is what I do.

And I'm the tyranny of evil men.

I'm that motherfucker.

So I'm going to try to do something about that.

So I'm going to try to do something about that.

Imma work on it.

It's like a born again situation.

Yeah, Imma work on it.

Yeah.

Imma work on it.

But that's what the whole conversation was he

and John were having prior to this robbery happening.

So when you're there--

and I do realize we dropped this on you this morning.

But you know what?

That happens on movie sets.

People come to your trailer and they give you some new shit

because they go, we had a thought last night [MUMBLING]

boom.

Learn this and we're going to shoot it in a half hour.

Learn this and we're going to shoot it in a half hour.

You know?

Or when I was doing piano lesson at Yale, August Wilson--

when we got into previews, August Wilson

would come in after seeing the play the night before.

And he would bring in a five-page monologue

and said we're going to put this in tonight.

And you've got to knuckle the fuck down and be

ready to go that night and hit it and (KNOCKING) word for word

for word.

But that's what we do.

We accept challenges.

We accept challenges.

We want the challenge, so we do it that way.

So when you look at it, and I realize you were nervous--

nerves played into it and then you were trying to read it.

You were trying to act.

You were trying to hold a gun.

You're trying to do a lot of different things

at the same time.

So Imma cut you some slack for that.

Imma let you have that.

So let's reconfigure and do it again.

OK.

Action.

Show

What is it?

(ANXIOUSLY) Let him go!

Let him go-- fucking go, or I'm going to fucking shoot you!

Tell that bitch, be cool.

Be cool, honey.

I'm going--

Say bitch, be cool!

--to fucking kill you!

It's all right, honey.

Be cool, baby.

Let him go.

Be cool.

Now tell her everything's OK.

Now tell her everything's OK.

Everything's going to be all right, honey.

Promise her.

I promise, baby.

Now tell her to chill.

Just chill, baby.

You're going to be cool.

What's her name?

Yolanda.

Yolanda, we cool, right?

You ain't going to do anything stupid now, are we?

Don't you hurt him.

Ain't nobody going going to hurt nobody.

OK?

We're going to be like three Fonzies up in here.

You know what Fonzie is like, right?

[CRYING]

Come on, Yolanda!

Do you know what Fonzie's like?

He's-- he's cool.

Correct-a-fucking-mundo.

We going to be cool.

Now, Ringo, I'm going to count to three.

Now, Ringo, I'm going to count to three.

And I want you to let go of this gun

and lay your palms flat on this table.

But when you do it, you do it cool.

You ready?

1, 2, 3.

You let him go!

Yolanda, I thought you said you were going to be cool.

Because when you yell at me, it makes me nervous.

And when I'm nervous, I get scared.

And when motherfuckers get scared,

that's when motherfuckers accidentally get shot.

that's when motherfuckers accidentally get shot.

Just know you hurt him, you die.

That seems to be the situation now, doesn't it?

And I don't want that, you don't want that,

and Ringo here don't want that.

So here's the situation.

Normally your asses would be dead like fucking

fried chicken.

But you happen to be pulling this shit while I'm

in a transitional period.

And I don't want to kill you.

I want to help you, right?

I want to help you, right?

But I can't give you this case here.

It don't belong to me.

Besides I've been through too much shit

this morning on behalf of this case here

to just hand it over to you.

What the fuck is going on here?

It's cool, Vincent!

It's cool!

Don't do a goddamn thing!

Now, Yolanda, it's cool, baby.

Be cool.

Nothing's changed.

We're still just talking.

Tell her it's cool.

It's cool, baby.

We're still talking.

What the hell is going on here, Jules?

What the hell is going on here, Jules?

Nothing I can't handle.

I want you to hang back, and don't do anything

unless it's absolutely necessary.

Check.

Now, Yolanda, how we doing, baby?

[CRYING] I have to pee.

I want to go home.

You're doing all right.

You're doing just fine.

You're doing great.

Ringo is proud of you, and so am I. It's almost over.

Now I want you to go in that bag, find my wallet.

Uh, which one is it?

The one that says "bad motherfucker" on it.

I want you to open it up.

I want you to open it up.

Take out the cash.

How much is there?

About $1,500.

I want you to put it in your pocket.

It's yours.

Now that, along with the wallets and the register,

makes it a cool little score.

If you give this nimrod $1,500, I'm

going to shoot him on general principle.

You ain't going to do a goddamn thing.

Now sit back and shut the fuck up.

Besides I'm not just giving it to him.

Besides I'm not just giving it to him.

I'm buying something for my money.

You know what I'm buying, Jules?

What?

Vincent?

(QUIETLY) Thank, you sir.

Your life.

I'm giving you that money so I don't have to kill your ass.

You read the Bible?

Not regularly.

There's a passage--

[SIGH]

--I got memorized, Ezekiel 25:17.

The path of the righteous man is be--

The path of the righteous man is be--

is beset on all sides by the inequities of the selfish

and the tyranny of evil men.

Blessed is he in the name of the charity and goodwill shepherds

the weak through the valley of the darkness,

for he is truly his brother's keeper and the finder of lost

children.

And I will strike down upon thee with great vengeance

and furious anger those who attempt to poison

and destroy my brother.

and destroy my brother.

And you will know I am Lord when I lay my vengeance upon you.

I've been saying that shit for years.

And if you ever heard it, it meant your ass.

I never really questioned what it meant.

I thought it was just a cool-blooded shit

to say to a mother-- to a motherfucker

before you pop the cap in his ass.

But I saw him shit--

I saw some shit this morning made me think twice.

I saw some shit this morning made me think twice.

Now I'm thinking it could mean you're the evil man,

and I'm the righteous man.

And that Mister 45 here?

He's the shepherd protecting my righteous ass

in the valley of the darkness.

Or it could be that you're the righteous man

and I'm the shepherd, and it's the world

that's evil and selfish.

I'd like that.

But that shit ain't the truth.

The truth is you're weak, and I'm the tyranny of evil men.

But I'm trying.

I'm trying real hard to be the shepherd.

I'm trying real hard to be the shepherd.

Great.

Cut.

OK.

Um, you rocked through the part you knew.

[LAUGHTER]

That was awesome.

And you commanded the scene.

You did what you needed to do.

You made him give her orders, reassurance, do all the things.

You made him give her orders, reassurance, do all the things.

You're at this point when you're--

but I saw some shit this morning that made me think twice.

So you ran through that like, (QUICKLY) I

saw some shit this morning that made me think twice.

Now I'm thinking-- no, you say, (SLOWLY) I

saw some shit this morning that made me think twice.

So now I'm thinking--

Twice.

--it could mean that, you know, you are the evil man,

--it could mean that, you know, you are the evil man,

and I'm the righteous man.

You got to go "you," "I."

Make that total distinction between the two.

Not (MUMBLING) you're the evil man and you're

the righteous man, and I'm the evil man.

You just got to, (SLOWLY AND DISTINCTLY) "you're"

the evil man, and "I'm" the righteous man.

Because you're hitting this thing yourself.

You know, you're trying to make--

trying to make it makes some sense for you too.

You know?

And-- da-da-da-da-da-da-- I'm the shepherd,

And-- da-da-da-da-da-da-- I'm the shepherd,

and it's the "world."

(QUICKLY) I'm the shepherd, and it's the world.

You just ran through it.

And I know you were reading it, but you ran through it.

But you know, the important thing

is to make an audience understand

and for you to grasp the gravity of what it is.

And you know, it's the "world" that's evil and selfish.

You know?

(SLOWLY AND DISTINCTLY) I'd like to think that.

You know, I like that.

But that shit ain't the truth.

The truth is you're the weak.

And I'm the tyranny.

What is that?

What is he, huh?

What is it that?

What is he saying?

Yeah.

The truth is that you are one of the weak people,

and I'm one of the strong people.

And I'm the evil of the world, and I have dominion over you.

You know?

And I don't want to be that person anymore.

And I don't want to be that person anymore.

Yeah, that's it.

I'm trying.

I'm trying to be the shepherd.

I want to lead you through the valley of darkness.

I don't want to be the bad shit that's in the valley

of darkness that's-- that will fuck you up.

Right.

I'm here, you know.

I want to be--

I want to be a productive member of society as opposed

to what I am right now.

You know, that's essentially what that speech is.

I mean, it's almost like he's in the wrong place

at the wrong time.

Because he's had this epiphany in the morning,

and now he's sitting at this diner and this shit went down.

and now he's sitting at this diner and this shit went down.

I mean, it's almost like he's in the right place

at the right time, because--

Well, it's a test.

It puts it into context of--

Well, it's-- it's his first test since he's made a decision that

he's getting out of the life.

Right?

He just told Vincent, you know, I'm

going to go walking around the world.

Vincent says, so you're going to be a fucking bum?

You know, he's saying, I'm just going

to go walking around the world, you know,

check out what's happening.

He's turning the cane in kung fu.

You know--

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

--if you ever watch that.

I'm going to just walk around and, you know,

I'm going to just walk around and, you know,

I'm going to get into adventures.

I'm not going to stop killing people,

but I'm going to kill the right people now.

That's essentially what he's already told them

he is going to do.

And now he's facing his first test.

Which is what I was saying, that Quentin actually

wrote that he closed his eyes when he first walked

up and asked him to open up the case

and he says, I'm going to count to three

and if you don't open that case I'm going

to put a bullet in your face.

And he goes 1, he closes his eyes,

and he shot through the table, and he would kill him.

And he would reach over, and then he

would shoot her off the table.

And by the time he got to 3, he opened his eyes,

And by the time he got to 3, he opened his eyes,

and they are still there.

And he realizes that's what I would've done.

So I'm not going to open the case.

So that's what that is.

That's his first test as this new man that you say you are.

You know, because the audience would actually

think that was some real shit.

It's like, fucking Jules, he just

killed those motherfuckers.

And he woke up, and he opens his eyes,

and it's, oh shit, I'm not that guy anymore.

And that's why he tells him in the passage to say,

I'm not that guy anymore.

I'm trying not to be that guy that I used to be.

I'm trying not to be this vicious killer or whatever.

I'm trying not to be this vicious killer or whatever.

But those are things that if you had time to study, and learn,

and deal with the situation that you would come to hopefully.

All good actors don't come to the same conclusions.

People come to different conclusions.

But when you're at home preparing those

are the kind of things that you have options to think about

before you get there.

Or before you get to a room.

Or if you were going to do this piece as an audition piece--

that speech--

you would have time to have thought about those things

you would have time to have thought about those things

and what each little piece of this means.

You break down what all these sentences mean

in terms of relating to each other

and what he's trying to convey to the person he's speaking to

and to the audience who is sitting there watching it.

You're all going through this stuff prior to this, you know,

very cleanly and like cool.

And it's working.

But that's just what that is--

the workings of time or how you prepare.

the workings of time or how you prepare.

I mean, I don't know how you prepare to do stuff,

or what you do, or how you look at passages,

or how you memorize them, or what your process is.

And I'm sure each of you have a different process.

Well what's--

Yeah, we want to--

--yours?

What's your process?

I don't have a process.

[LAUGHTER]

You just read, and that's it.

No, not necessarily.

Well you know, I go through passages, and I go through--

Well you know, I go through passages, and I go through--

I think every scene has a goal.

So what are we trying to accomplish

in this particular scene when we're in the diner?

So I realized that my goal was to convince Vincent that I'm

getting out of the life.

And I'm not going to just randomly kill people for money

anymore.

I'm walking away from this whole thing.

And this is the proof.

This passage and what happens in this particular moment

This passage and what happens in this particular moment

is the proof of that.

Because, like I said, what he would have done,

you saw in his mind.

It's a shame it's not in the movie.

But what he would have done is there.

But I had that information, because I had read the script.

So I told you that before we did it

so you would have that information, so

that if you wanted to see that image and decide, OK,

I'm not that guy anymore.

And when you open your eyes, boom, they're still there.

This is what happens.

You know?

I'm going to stop you from robbing these people,

I'm going to stop you from robbing these people,

but I'm not going kill you.

I'm going do you a favor today.

I'm going to give you my money.

I'm going to give you all these people's money.

And I'm going to let you walk out of this place alive.

So now when you say that you think about the goal

of the scene-- you think about the goal of the scene

for your character and for the other characters--

do you also think about the goal of the scene in the context

of the play or the--

Yes.

--movie?

Yeah, OK.

Well that's essentially what I mean.

Yeah, OK.

The goal of this scene--

Why is this scene here?

--in terms of the story.

--in terms of the story.

What am I doing in this scene for the story?

Am I moving the story along to a certain place?

Am I moving the story to a logical conclusion?

This is a conclusion of what is happening

in this particular scene.

Now the problem with Pulp Fiction

is that there's a bunch of different stories going on.

So this is the conclusion of the Jules and Vincent adventure

in this story.

And I actually think the whole movie is about redemption.

And I actually think the whole movie is about redemption.

You know, things happen.

People get a second chance to do whatever.

I mean, Butch gets a second chance.

Vincent gets a second chance.

Uma.

Uma.

Uma's character, yeah.

Even Honey Bunny and Pumpkin get a second chance.

They totally get a second chance.

Yeah.

Marcel-- [INTERPOSING VOICES]

Yeah, the whole movie is about redemption.

So this is just this redemption story and how it works.

But it also explains what Jules is going to do,

how he has profoundly made a decision

to be this new person that he claims--

to be this new person that he claims--

that he's been claiming he's going

to be since they left the killing room in that car.

When he said, I'm done.

And John's not buying it-- you know,

the whole deus ex machina--

you know, God came down and stopped

the bullets and all that shit.

But it's a continuation of that.

So when you get to this, you have

to go from whoever this cold-blooded person is.

Because nobody's-- there's still a chance that he will kill him

while he's sitting there.

Until he says, I'm not going to kill you.

Until he says, I'm not going to kill you.

You know, normally when you hear that shit,

that meant your ass, but--

you know, normally you'd be dead as fried chicken.

But you caught me on a day I'm in transition.

You know, what's that mean?

I'm in transition because I think this,

I think that, you know?

When you--

Because I never thought about why that particular Bible

verse was in my head or why I said it all the time.

when you--

It was leading me to this.

when you went over that passage there

was a large quality of like intimacy,

almost like nobody was in the room except for--

almost like nobody was in the room except for--

Me and him.

You two.

So you feel like that has to be there

in the delivery of that passage?

No, that's the way I did it because when you heard it

the first time, I was in that room,

and I'm standing in a pulpit and I'm--

Ah, the path of the righteous man!

And da-da-da-da.

And I will strike down upon thee.

And boom!

So the next time you hear it, it's

kind of like the audience is like, oh shit, oh shit, oh man.

And it sounds-- it's not just quiet, but it's also menacing.

And it sounds-- it's not just quiet, but it's also menacing.

You know, the menace of what that passage was

is still there for him.

So that when he says, I had a change of heart today.

I saw some shit today made me think about this shit.

I said it bigger too because in the beginning it's big.

It's huge.

You know, it's a before and after.

That's deep.

So you got to bring a contrast of what it is.

So that by the time the payoff comes, the payoff is--

So that by the time the payoff comes, the payoff is--

the shock is I didn't kill him--

and the payoff is what it actually means to him.

It's like, oh shit, you changed.

But he did realize, you know, I'd

like to think that I'm this nice cat.

But I'm not.

I'm not.

I'm fucked up, but I'm trying.

I'm trying, and that's why I'm letting you motherfuckers

leave, you know.

So go ahead and go.

So you kind of--

So you kind of--

you've got to find a way to make yourself ready to be

in and of all of that.

But I digress.

So let's do this again.

And are you guys, prepared?

Take your time Do this with intent.

Make us feel like we wish we were

in this diner watching this.

Or that we should have spent our $15 ticket in popcorn

to see you do it.

OK and, Action!

See

God damn it, what is it?

Let him go!

Let him go!

Let him go--

Tell her to be cool.

Say bitch be cool.

Say bitch be cool.

Chill-- chill out, honey, chill out.

Chill out.

Tell her it's going to be all right.

Tell her it's going be all right.

Cut!

Danny, I can't hear you.

You had to speak over her, so that he can hear you.

And at some point, make him tell that bitch to be--

say bitch be cool!

You know, shut that bitch up.

All right.

And action.

God damn it, what is it?

Let him go!

Let him go!

Let him go!

I'm going to fucking kill.

Say bitch be cool.

Say bitch be cool.

Tell her everything's going all right.

I'm going to be OK.

Tell her-- promise her, promise her.

I promise, I promise.

Tell her everything thing's going to be cool.

Tell her to chill.

Just chill out.

OK what's her name?

Yolanda.

OK Yolanda, you're going to be cool right?

Not going to anything stupid are we?

Don't you hurt him.

Nobody is going to hurt anybody.

We're just going to be like three Fonzie's.

What's Fonzie like?

Come on Yolanda, what's Fonzie like?

What's Fonzie like?

What's Fonzie like?

He's cool.

He's cool.

"Correct-a-mundo" And that's what we're going to be.

We're going to be cool.

Now Ringo on a count of three, I'm

going to ask you to let go of your gun,

and you're going to take a seat over there.

But when you do it, you be cool.

Ready, 1, 2, 3.

OK, now let him go!

Yolanda, I though you were going to be cool.

Now, when you yell at me, you make me nervous.

Now, when you yell at me, you make me nervous.

And when I get nervous I get scared.

And when motherfuckers get scared,

that's when motherfuckers die.

Just know, you hurt him, you die.

That seems to be the situation.

And I don't want to hurt him.

And I know you don't want me to.

And I know Ringo over here doesn't want me to.

But this is the situation.

Normally, both your asses would be

dead as this, this fried fucking chicken.

Line.

That you happened to.

But you happen to.

But you happen to.

Pull this shit.

You happened to pull this shit when

I'm in a transitional period, so I'm not going to shoot you.

I'm going to help you.

But I can't give you this briefcase.

It don't belong to me.

And I went through too much shit this morning

on account this briefcase just to hand it over to your ass.

What the fuck is going on.

Vincent, be cool man.

Don't do a goddamn thing.

Louder.

Vince, be cool.

Be cool Vince.

Don't do a goddamn

Stop, don't look at that motherfucker.

There's a gun on the table.

Be cool Vince.

Don't do a goddamn thing.

Don't do a goddamn thing.

Be cool.

Tell her to be cool.

Yolanda, we're still cool.

Tell her to be cool.

It's cool honeybunny.

We're still cool.

What the hell is going on here?

Vince, I just want you to hang back,

and don't do a goddamn thing until it's

absolutely necessary.

You got me?

Yea, check.

Okay, Yolanda you still cool baby?

I want to go home.

I know baby--

I gotta pee.

I know baby this is-- we're almost through.

I'm so proud of you.

Ringo here is proud of you.

This is almost over.

Now, Ringo, I want you to reach into that bag

and pull out my wallet.

Which one is it?

Which one is it?

It's the one that says "bad motherfucker" on it.

That's my bad motherfucker.

Now open it up.

Pull out the cash.

How much is in there?

About $1,500.

Great, put in your pocket.

That's yours.

Along with the other wallets in the register.

It's a pretty successful little score.

You get this Nimrod $1,500 and I will shoot them

on general principle.

She ain't goint to do god--

Vince, shut the fuck up!

I got this.

And I'm not just giving him this money,

I'm buying something from this money.

And you know what I'm buying there Vince?

And you know what I'm buying there Vince?

What?

I'm buying your life.

I'm giving you that money so I don't have to kill your ass.

You ever read the Bible?

Not regularly.

Well I got this thing memorized.

Ezekiel 25:17 "in the path of the righteous man,

is beset on all sides by the inequities of the selfish

and the tyranny of evil men.

Blessed is he, when in the name of charity and in goodwill

Blessed is he, when in the name of charity and in goodwill

shepherds the weak through the valley of darkness.

For he is truly my brother.

And the finder of lost children.

And I will strike down upon Thee with great vengeance

and furious anger those who attempt to poison

and destroy my brothers.

And you will know my name is the Lord when

I lay the vengeance upon you.

I have been saying that shit for years,

and if you ever heard it, it probably meant your ass.

and if you ever heard it, it probably meant your ass.

And I never really questioned what it meant.

I always thought it was just a cold-blooded thing

to say to motherfuckers just before you

pop a cap in their ass.

But I saw something this morning that made me think twice.

Now I'm thinking it could mean that you're the evil man,

and I'm the righteous man.

Mr. .45 here, he's the shepherd protecting the flock.

Or it could be that you're the righteous man,

and I'm the shepherd, and the world is evil and selfish.

and I'm the shepherd, and the world is evil and selfish.

I'd like that.

But that shit ain't true.

The truth is you're the weak, and I'm

the tyranny of evil men.

But I'm trying.

I'm trying really hard to be the shepherd.

OK, cut.

What?

How do you feel about that?

I'd like to do it again.

Why?

What would you do different if you did it again?

Just because you want to do it again?

Or just because you would be more relaxed into it?

Because you weren't relaxed at all, ever, ever.

You had that energy of, I'm trying to get through it.

Even after I said, take your time.

Take your time.

And I when I said louder, louder,

giving yourself a chance to be loud,

and expend that energy so you can relax back

into what you need to relax into to calm yourself.

into what you need to relax into to calm yourself.

It was almost like somebody else in the room had a gun on you.

It never felt like you were in control that you

were being ruled by the words.

You were being ruled by what you hoped my opinion of it

was going to be.

None of that means anything when you're in a moment of doing it.

None of that means anything when you're in a moment of doing it.

It's you, and him, and her.

Talking about a gun, I feel like that's perfectly said.

I feel like the gun, probably for me

too, when I went am to do it is, the words have the gun on you.

You know what I mean?

Rather than focusing on the intention,

I feel like a lot of us, our first go to was,

I got be fucking word perfect.

The words have to be perfect.

Rather than saying, you know what?

Here's my intention.

Here's why I want him to fucking know.

Here's why I want him to fucking know.

Here's the transition that I'm going through today.

Rather than we don't do actor first, we go well,

Brandon's got to get these fucking words right.

That's the problem.

I was just trying to get through it.

Fair enough.

When you get to that point of understanding what

I was talking about this last part of the speech.

When you finally get to the truth is, or is

When you finally get to the truth is, or is

it could be you're the righteous man, and I'm the shepherd.

And it's the world that's evil and selfish.

I like that.

But that ain't the truth.

That ain't what it is.

I really wish that was.

I'd like for that to be truth, but it's not.

The truth is, this is the truth of what it is.

The truth is, this is the truth of what it is.

It doesn't necessarily have to be laid out like that,

I did it like that just because I

wanted it to be heavy on the table,

and in that particular thing.

So that when I did let him out, there's

a million ways to do things that are the right way.

People tell you there's no right or wrong way,

there's a wrong way to do shit.

But there are also 200 right ways to do it.

But there are also 200 right ways to do it.

So you don't necessarily have to lay it out like that.

It could be laid out in, I'd like

that for that to be the truth.

I'd like that, but that shit ain't true.

The truth is, you're weak, and I'm the tyranny of evil men.

But I'm trying.

Yeah, I'm trying.

Now get the fuck out of here.

There's that way.

There's that way.

And there's the way I did it.

Or there's another way you can find it funny.

Yeah and I'm the shepherd, and it's the world

that's evil and selfish.

And I'd like that.

But the truth is, you're the weak,

and I'm the tyranny of evil men.

Your a weak motherfucker and I'm the tyranny of evil men.

But you know what, I'm trying.

But you know what, I'm trying.

I'm trying.

That's right too.

But it's who you are.

You are a personality inflicted upon the truth of the dialogue

that's written there.

Because no matter what we say about creating characters

and characterization.

It's still you doing it.

And we all have comfort zones.

The hard work sometimes as an actor

is getting out of your comfort zone.

Which is one of the things when I don't have source material--

when you're doing something, and it's from a novel,

you go read the book.

They give you all kinds of information,

they tell you what that person is,

where they came from, where they live, what kind of food

they eat.

All that kind of shit.

But when they don't tell you that,

you have the liberty to do that.

you have the liberty to do that.

We are living in a world of make-believe, so make it up.

It's a good exercise, whether you use it,

you don't necessarily have to go and talk

to the director about it.

You don't talk to the other actors about it.

But if you have a personal biography for your character,

it's one of the things that makes people interested in you

when you show up onscreen, because that character came

from somewhere.

You know how smart he is, how much education he's had.

You know how smart he is, how much education he's had.

Did he have two parents or one parent?

Does he have a brother and sisters?

How does he feel about that?

Is he a loner?

Does he have friends?

Is he gregarious?

Not gregarious?

Why does he feel this particular way

about this character in this story?

Maybe he met somebody like that, he knew him, didn't like him,

loved him, whatever.

Why you feel a certain way about the character,

or why you react to him aside from what they tell you

or why you react to him aside from what they tell you

about him, could be from something that's inside you,

or what you had as that person.

So that when you get there, how do you react?

Is he a cynic?

Does he believe this?

Is he religious?

Is he not religious?

All those things inform a character.

And they inform how you carry yourself

when you come in a room as that character.

Whether you talk to other actors about or not.

But it makes you a whole human being and not

just that one-dimensional person that they put on a page.

Because they just want you to say the words.

Because they just want you to say the words.

And they want you say the words and look a certain way.

But how you feel about saying those words

comes from what you made that person be as a person.

Sometimes it's you.

Like I said, the base of all it is still you.

It's your personality and what you know.

Which is why I say you read about other people who

come from other places so you know

what their backgrounds are, what their experiences are.

Or what kind of food, or did they have food?

Or what kind of food, or did they have food?

Were you hungry when you grew up?

So you eat a certain way now.

Or were there are a lot of people around you

so that when you eat, you eat like this, as opposed

to eating openly because you're not

worried about somebody reaching across on your plate

taking your shit.

Or do you sit away from people or do

you talk to people like this.

Do you invade their space because you are that guy?

A space invader.

So all those things help how you inhabit

So all those things help how you inhabit

a space of a character when you've been that person, that

has nothing to do with you, but yet you

have to force yourself to try and be that.

But once you've created that person who

has this personality that's not yours,

that has their own personality, that person

can do all kinds of shit that you wouldn't normally do.

So you've got to find who that is in the context of that story

when you're there.

When you're there doing it.

When you're there doing it.

And Jules has been doing shit.

I know that none of you had the time

to figure out that Jules had been

killing people for a long time.

Since he was a kid.

He and Marsellus grew up together,

were gang bangers together.

He'd been killing people for Marsellus for a long time.

And his mom and them probably like--

I told you about hanging out with that Marsellus boy.

But he kept hanging out with that Marsellus boy,

because he was going to church too.

Which is why he knows this kind of shit.

And he has that whole God thing that comes in.

And he has that whole God thing that comes in.

He's got some guilt. Because his parents put that shit in him.

But he can't walk around with it.

He's got to be Jules.

But you didn't have time to get all that.

But even like I said, if you're using

this as an audition piece, you might

sit down and think about that.

But that's a way to get inside of and figure out,

why does he talk this way, and why does he feel this way?

And you can make that shit up.

So it becomes a reality for you.

So that when you say it, is not a speech on a page,

So that when you say it, is not a speech on a page,

it's a natural thing that comes out of his mouth.

So that's what we're doing.

Who hasn't been on this side of table yet.

OK.

Action.

Dammit, what's in it?

Let him go!

Let him go!

Say, bitch be cool.

Say, bitch be cool!

I'll kill you!

I'll kill you!

I'll kill you dead!

Start over- wait!

You're not only talking to him, you're talking to her.

Louder.

You're a little bitty, you know.

You're a little bitty, you know.

Say, bitch be cool.

Say, bitch be cool!

Yep.

Action.

Goddammit, what's in it?

Let him go!

Say, bitch be cool.

Say, bitch be cool!

I'll kill you!

Say, it's OK.

Promise her it's OK.

Say, it's OK.

It's OK.

It's chill.

Say, chill!

Just chill out, honey.

What's her name?

Yolanda.

Yolanda, baby.

You OK?

You're not going to do anything stupid, right?

You're not going to do anything stupid.

You're not going to do anything stupid.

Let him go!

OK.

I'm going to let him go.

But let's just be cool, OK?

We're going to be cool, the three of us.

We're going to be like three Fonzies.

All right?

What's Fonzie like, Yolanda?

Yolanda, what's Fonzie like?

He's cool?

That's right, correcto-fucking-moondo.

And that's going to be us.

We're going to be cool.

OK.

Ringo?

I'm going to count to three, you're

going to let go of your gun.

You're going to sit your ass down,

you're going to put your palms on the desk.

you're going to put your palms on the desk.

OK?

When you do it, you're go to do it fucking cool.

Ready?

One, two, three.

That's right.

Let him go!

Yolanda!

I thought we were going to be fucking cool,

but you yell at me and I get nervous.

And when I get nervous, I get scared.

And when I get fucking scared, that's

when motherfuckers fucking die.

Just know if you hurt him, you die.

That seems like the situation.

Yes it does.

Line?

I don't want that.

No, I don't want that.

You don't want that.

Ringo over here definitely don't want that.

So let's see what we're going to do.

Here's the situation-- the situation is normally

both your asses would be dead as motherfucking fried chicken.

But you got me at sort of a transitional period,

and I don't want to kill you.

and I don't want to kill you.

I want to help you.

The thing is, I can't in this case,

because it doesn't belong to me.

And I have been through so much shit

this morning on account of this motherfucking case

to just hand it over to your asses.

What the fuck is going on here?

Vincent, just calm the fuck down.

I got it.

Just hang back.

We're good.

Yolanda, baby?

Yolanda, tell-- we're fine.

We're still cool.

We're just talking.

Tell her we're fine.

Tell her to be cool.

It's cool, honey.

We're still cool.

We're still cool.

That's right.

The hell's going on here, Jules?

The hell's going on here, Jules?

Just chill fuck out, Vincent.

Nothing I can't handle.

Just hang back, don't do anything

until absolutely fucking necessary.

You got it?

Yolanda, baby, how we doing?

How we doing, baby?

I've got to pee.

I want to go home.

You're doing so good, Yolanda.

You are doing so good.

Tell her she's doing so good.

You're doing so good.

I'm proud of you, Ringo's proud of you.

We're all proud of you.

We're almost done.

OK, here's what we're going to do.

You ready?

You're going to get in that bag and you're

going to get my wallet out.

Yep.

Which one is it?

It's the on that says, "bad motherfucker" on it.

It's the on that says, "bad motherfucker" on it.

That's my bad motherfucker.

Look inside.

How much cash is in there?

It's like $1,500.

$1,500.

I want you to take that, and put that in your pocket.

That's yours.

Yep.

That's for you.

Now, the rest of those wallets and those--

Oh, sorry.

But now the rest of those wallets, that's for you.

And what's in the register, that's

a pretty good little score right there for you.

a pretty good little score right there for you.

Vincent, if you give this nimrod $1,500,

I'm going to shoot him on principal.

You're not going to do a Goddamned motherfucking thing.

You're going to shut the fuck up.

And besides, I'm not giving you this money.

I'm buying something with this money.

You know what?

I'm buying your fucking life.

Yeah, that's right.

I'm giving you $1,500 so I don't have to fucking kill your ass.

Yeah.

You ever read the Bible?

Not regularly, no.

OK, well, there's this passage I got memorized.

Ezekiel 25:17.

Ezekiel 25:17.

"The path of the righteous man is beset on all sides

by the inequities of the selfish and the tyranny of evil men.

Blessed is he who in the name of charity and goodwill

shepherds the weak through the valley of the darkness,

for he is truly his brother's keeper and the finder of lost

children.

And I will strike down upon thee with great vengeance

and furious anger those who attempt to poison

and destroy my brothers.

and destroy my brothers.

And you will know I am the Lord when

I lay my vengeance upon you."

I've been saying that shit for fucking forever,

and if you heard it you'd know, you'd bet your ass,

I never really questioned what it meant.

I thought I was just--

I thought it was just a cold blooded motherfucking thing

to say when you kill a motherfucker.

But I saw some shit this morning that made me think twice.

So now I'm thinking, could mean you're the evil man

So now I'm thinking, could mean you're the evil man

and I'm the righteous man.

And Mr. 45 here, he's the shepherd

protecting my righteous ass in the valley of darkness.

Or it could be you're the righteous man

and I'm the shepherd, and it's the world

that's evil and selfish.

I like that.

That shit ain't the truth.

And the truth is, you're the weak.

You're the weak, and I am the tyranny of evil men.

You're the weak, and I am the tyranny of evil men.

But I'm trying.

I'm trying real hard to be the shepherd.

Good.

All right.

Hell yeah.

Yeah?

So you watched it enough to figure out, oh, I

can make this shit my own.

I know!

You cheated.

I cheated.

You watched enough to know, hey, I can try anything I want to

You watched enough to know, hey, I can try anything I want to

and it's cool.

And that's great.

Thank you so much.

You made Jules this incredibly, you know,

mocking femme fatale, which is awesome.

It was great, because you were having a good time.

You had fun doing it.

You took command of the situation

in a really great and interesting way.

You looked at them like they were two idiots, you know,

who had no idea who they fucking with.

who had no idea who they fucking with.

They had no idea what they stepped into.

And you enjoyed it.

You had great control.

You sat back, like, you know, this is cool.

Let me tell them what's up.

And it was great to watch.

Even your reading, you know, you actually found stuff in there

that you found ways to turn the phrase

to make it different from what people know it to be.

You know, but I was hoping you would just decide,

I'm not going to do it the way he did it.

I'm not going to do it the way he did it.

I'm going to do it this way.

I'm not going to try to imitate any of that.

And you didn't.

You heard that that was freedom, that you could come in here

and be any old person you wanted to be named Jules.

You know, and do it.

And that's what you did.

All, you know, very, very fun and interesting

and good to watch.

You did a lot of really, really good things there.

How'd you all feel about it?

How'd you all feel about it?

You were watching.

Cool.

Good, honeybun.

[LAUGHING]

You had your pee-dance going, that was good.

I liked it.

I liked it.

There are a lot of us, you know--

James Earl Jones, Bruce Willis, uh, Emily Blunt.

I think I spent--

what was that-- my fourth-grade year,

I got laughed at in class one day because I was [STUTTERING]..

I got laughed at in class one day because I was [STUTTERING]..

So I didn't talk for a year.

So the teachers were sympathetic.

And they knew I could read.

So they didn't have to ask me to read out loud, you know,

when they were trying to get people to read passages out

loud to see if they could actually read or whatever.

And I passed all the spelling tests,

so I don't really need to do a lot of talking.

The more confident I got in my intelligence and my persona,

The more confident I got in my intelligence and my persona,

the more able I was to deal with how

I wanted to express myself and not use specific consonants

or things that caught me, 'cause I would know early in the day

if I was having a C day and it was cu-- cu-- cu.

So I didn't use those words.

Or if I'm having a B day, bu-- bu-- bu, the worst days

are the W days, 'cause I still have things,

sentences that start with what, why, when.

sentences that start with what, why, when.

It's like [STUTTERING],, 'cause it's hard to fix that,

to find the alternative word that you

can start a sentence with.

Motherfucker was my, you know, Elmer Fudd word.

You know, [STUTTERING] motherfucker, OK, I

can get it out now.

Yeah, yes, it was.

And there are several movies that I can look at and go

[LAUGHTER].

I mean, in "Jungle Fever," when I was trying to ask Spike what

he did for a living in-- in--

he did for a living in-- in--

in the park, it was [STUTTERING]..

And it worked for Gator, because he was just kind of caught up

in whatever.

But I could not get what is it you do again.

[STAMMERING] And he just kept it in the movie, which is fine.

I realized that we were doing a Bond spoof.

And all Bond villains have something.

You know, Goldfinger had something.

You know, Goldfinger had something.

Yaphet Kotto had whatever he had.

And because I stuttered when I was a kid,

I know people had this thing about people's speech patterns.

And they think less of you when you have something, you know.

And I didn't want to stutter.

But I know that a lisp is one of those things

that people look at.

And they kind of go--

you know, they snigger at you when I have them.

you know, they snigger at you when I have them.

The clothes just happened.

So all of a sudden, everybody thought

I was doing a Russell Simmons impression.

But, you know, I just chose that Valentine would do that.

And the director wasn't sure about that for a minute.

You know, the first time I showed up during rehearsal,

and I did it, he was like, what are you doing?

And I was like, I'm working on a character thing.

And he was like, are you gonna do that the whole movie?

I'm like, yeah.

He was like, why?

I was like, why not?

It's a Bond movie.

It's a Bond movie.

And he was like, well, let me listen to it.

You know, I don't know.

And I'm like, look.

One of the baddest people on the planet had a lisp.

And he was like, who are you talking about?

I was like, Mike Tyson.

And he was like, oh, really.

And over the course of a day, a day and a half,

he got used to it, and he loved it.

And for me, you know, it's easy to just step

into a movie like that and just be me and do

something kind of quirky.

But having that lisp gave me focus.

But having that lisp gave me focus.

You know, it was something for me to focus on every day

when I'm there.

I have to make sure I pick the right words to, you know,

lisp on.

(WITH LISP) To make sure, sure, all the S's,

all the S's, some of the T's, some of the W's, you

know, all those things that work in a lisp,

and you have to focus on that until it becomes something

that I didn't have to think about.

I just knew which word that was gonna be and how that worked.

And it got to be, you know, natural and easy.

And it got to be, you know, natural and easy.

And he's a megalomaniac.

He's got more money than God, you know,

but he also knows that people tend to misjudge him

because of the way he speaks, and he uses that

to his advantage.

You know, and it was fun for me to do that.

Yo, man, you know me.

Money is not my issue.

I could have retired straight out of MIT, fucked off

to some island, and let the business run itself.

to some island, and let the business run itself.

Nobody told me to try and save the planet.

I wanted to.

Climate-change research, lobbying, years of study,

billions of dollars, and you know why I quit?

Because the last time I checked, the planet

was still fucked, hence my epiphany.

Money won't solve this.

Those idiots who call themselves politicians

have buried their heads in the sand

and stood for nothing but re-election.

and stood for nothing but re-election.

So I spent the last two years trying to find a real solution,

and I found it.

There was no trepidation about going back to the stage

because that was--

that's my genesis.

That's where I flourish in my mind,

and I love the idea of it.

So when I got there, or before the first day of rehearsal,

So when I got there, or before the first day of rehearsal,

when I was sitting at home, figuring out

how I was going to make this thing work

and how I was going to do it, I knew

that I was not going to be onstage doing

an imitation of Martin Luther King,

you know, doing I have a dream.

I couldn't do that because I know that people

don't talk like that.

And having been around those guys,

you know, all my life, and especially the powers that

be at Morehouse that were his contemporaries,

and having seen him, you know, just orating or debating

and having seen him, you know, just orating or debating

with other people, I knew that that was not

his normal speaking voice.

That was his orator's voice.

So finding who that southern preacher is

and who that educated southern preacher is,

not some jackleg southern preacher, but a Morehouse man

from that particular era, I know that they

have speech patterns that are indicative to our ears

have speech patterns that are indicative to our ears

because we hear them, because we're

being taught by these people or we encounter them

a lot more than most people.

And there is a rhythmic and elongated pronunciation thing

that they do sometimes.

They mispronounce words because they're doing things

to them so that when you say a word like there,

to them so that when you say a word like there,

it's not clipped.

It becomes there.

(WITH ACCENT) You know, there are certain ways

that I am going to speak that will make you

think that I'm very important.

And it's like, oh, that middle, the drawing out of those words.

And I had heard enough of them that when I heard it

in my head, it sounded right.

And it served me well because I didn't necessarily

have to do that imitation that people wanted.

have to do that imitation that people wanted.

But when audiences sat there and listened to it,

they immediately recognized, oh, that's that guy who

was educated in this particular time,

in this particular place that allows him to feel important.

[SNICKERING]

Now there's another strange thing, too,

that I do that I don't know that other actors do.

that I do that I don't know that other actors do.

Um, most times, I don't hear my lines

out loud until I rehearse them for the first time on camera.

I don't sit at home and do my lines out loud.

I do them in my head.

I don't know.

I just don't want-- well, first of all,

I don't want to disturb my wife.

Or I don't want her asking me, do you

want me to run lines with you?

No, I don't.

And I've always done that.

I mean, I can learn them by--

I mean, I can learn them by--

maybe by the third time I've read them, I know them.

So I've got that capability.

So after I've done that, then I start

running through all the iterations of how they sound,

you know, of what it is.

Where is the emphasis here?

Where is the emphasis there?

Is this loud?

Is this soft?

Is this endearing?

Is this angry?

[SIGH]

Is it fast?

Is it slow?

I can run them all through my head

and choose the one that I think works in that situation

and move on to the next thing to see if it fits with that.

You know, or do I need to go back, change the way

this works, the inflections here so that it leads them to this?

But it all just happens in here.

And when I go on set for the first time,

and they say, let's rehearse, that's the first time

I hear them out loud.

The tone, the ambience, the volume, all those things

change when you're in a real situation.

change when you're in a real situation.

There are things that inform it that I haven't done,

like when there are props there, if I'm picking up a prop that's

there, I haven't done that in my head

because I didn't know what the room looked like.

The unique value of being in a Tarantino film

is we rehearsed for three weeks to a month.

By the time we did "Pulp Fiction,"

we were in a studio for rehearsal for a month.

we were in a studio for rehearsal for a month.

The whole killing room was taped out.

The hallway in the apartment building was taped out.

I knew how many steps there were from the elevator to the door,

to the door, to the hallway where

John and I had the conversation, back to the door.

We knew how many steps there were from the car

to the front door, to the elevator.

We'd rehearsed everything, you know, same thing

with "Hateful Eight."

We sat around that table in a studio.

We sat around that table in a studio.

They recreated Minnie's in a studio with props.

So we got to practice with the props and everything else.

So we knew.

We knew how much stew we were eating.

We knew everything, until we got there, and we started shooting.

And we ate stew for, like, a week.

It was horrid.

We ate stew for a week.

And Quentin was like, I don't want

none of that goddamn moving eating, either.

I want you eating.

So we ate.

[CHOMPING] You know, and so we were sick of stew.

But sometimes, you don't know the props.

But you get there, and you start doing the lines.

But you get there, and you start doing the lines.

And you pick something up that you hadn't picked up.

In your mind, while you were rehearsing the lines,

you pick something up.

And, you know, you look at it while you're doing the lines.

And you look at the person, and you handle that thing.

You put it down, or you take a drink that wasn't there,

you know, in your mind when you were rehearsing the lines.

So there are things that change.

But your plan, vocally and intentionally,

remains the same.

I tend to do vocal warm-ups more when

I tend to do vocal warm-ups more when

I'm in a theatrical setting, or I did them more

when I was doing theater.

I only do them now just perfunctorily

before I do voiceover things.

I mean, there are times when I'm going into an ADR session

or before I'm going to do any kind of voiceover.

I do go through consonants and vowels, you know,

I do go through consonants and vowels, you know,

A, E, I, O, U. A, E, I, O, U. A, E, I O, U.

Or I will run through the alphabet sometimes.

Doe, day, doe, day, doe, day, doe, A, E, A, E, A, E, A, A, E,

I, O. Bo, bee, bo, bee, bo, bee, bo, bay, bee, by, bo, boo.

I do every alphabet and go through it, you know,

and then go from the highest point in my voice

to the lowest, like [DESCENDING HUM]..

So I'm letting my voice know that we're

So I'm letting my voice know that we're

about to do some work.

So I limber up.

[LAUGHTER]

Yeah, I do some stretches.

Voiceover acting is just an exercise in reading

aloud, a lot of times alone.

Occasionally, there are other actors there.

But I think that one of the things that's

But I think that one of the things that's

served me very well in a venue like that is the fact that I

did spend long evenings sitting on the porch

with my grandfather, listening to radio drama

and how people use their voices to tell stories,

like Andy Griffith and listening to "Amos and Andy"

and "Sergeant Preston of the Yukon" and "The Shadow,"

things like that.

So I understand dramatic reading and the use

So I understand dramatic reading and the use

of your voice in terms of the ups and downs of excitement

or the calm of exposition and being

able to interpret what's going on.

I mean, I've also had the privilege

of actually doing an audio book, you know, which is kind of fun

because I got to change my voice and do

a bunch of different characters in the story

and find distinctive sounds for each one.

and find distinctive sounds for each one.

So it's a matter of being able to read and interpret.

And I think I have accomplished that.

Like I said, you know, I read a lot, anyway.

So when I read, I read in other people's voices in my head.

After I've chosen the character that I am in that story

and how I sound in that story, you

hear different voices of people as you read.

I guess the most difficult aspect of that was from time

I guess the most difficult aspect of that was from time

to time, you know, having to bounce from one character

to another, or there were incidental characters that

passed through every now and then,

and remembering what that voice was when that character bounced

into to the dialogue or the story at that point, you know,

and being able to do it.

You know, it's kind of fun and challenging when

you have group scenes in a book and there

you have group scenes in a book and there

are multiple characters talking to each other

and differentiating in those voices, when

you have an opportunity to do it and remembering

who sounds like what and who's speaking

and distinctly making those voices different so

that people will know that that character's speaking.

That character's speaking.

That character's speaking.

That character's speaking.

When I was approached to do "I am not Your Negro"--

I'm a huge fan of James Baldwin--

I'm a huge fan of James Baldwin--

I knew, or instinctively felt, that I didn't want to try

and imitate James Baldwin.

One of the things that I'm pretty certain I can't do

is imitations.

I envy people that can mimic other people's voices.

I can't do it.

I watch Jamie do it, and I watch a lot of other people do it.

And they do it well.

And they do it well.

And in talking to Raoul about what was on the page

and how he wanted it interpreted,

he asked me to give him a quiet dignity of sorts,

to use those words in the way that I would use

those words, not necessarily in the way

that Baldwin would say them, in terms of what his speech

that Baldwin would say them, in terms of what his speech

patterns were or what that would mean to an audience listening

or people who knew his voice, but to give something

that was universal but impactful in terms of allowing people

to absorb the images that were on screen

and still absorb the intellectual quality of what

James Baldwin wrote.

And we found this kind of quiet, intense voice

And we found this kind of quiet, intense voice

that I hoped would be soft enough

that it would make people sit forward to listen,

but making sure that the intonations and the inflections

were clear enough that they would

be universally understood.

be universally understood.

I watched a lot of cartoons when I was a kid,

and I didn't think the voices weren't real.

I just thought they were the voice of that particular animal

or cartoon character.

It's like Daffy Duck's voice is Daffy Duck's voice.

Elmer Fudd's voice was Elmer Fudd's voice.

So when I read it, I hear a voice.

So when I read it, I hear a voice.

And I think of the audience that it's for.

I mean, it's kind of like baby talk.

You know, when people talk to babies, [BABY TALK],,

because they think babies like that.

I never talk to my daughter that way because I was like,

she needs to hear what people sound like.

You know, and people talk baby talk to her.

I always talk to her like I talk.

That's fine.

But when it's a youthful audience,

there's something about voices with higher timbre's

that they like.

that they like.

But the reality of my higher-timbre voice is still

a real voice of a human being, and not something that's kind

of not something they're going to hear, you know,

because kids aren't going to go through life (HIGH-PITCHED)

hearing people talk to them.

Oh, you're so cute.

They talk to them like that.

So I talk like a normal person.

But I will change the timbre, and the energy of my voice

changes, because that's the energy of a child.

And children like things that engage them.

You know, and you want them to be engaged.

You know, and you want them to be engaged.

So when I'm doing movies that are specifically

designed for a youthful audience,

I try and use a voice that has energy,

and there's something significant

that they can attach to or be excited by.

All right.

Actor dates, here we go.

Oh, so is this something you know?

No.

Or know of?

Yeah.

"The Negotiator?"

Yep.

All right.

So I guess, you know, just by the title,

we're talking about somebody who's a wordsmith, used

to using words situationally.

to using words situationally.

So who do you think that Danny Roman is?

The Michael Jordon of negotiations.

OK.

And the Kevin Spacey character on the other side,

who's not in this particular scene, but he's also--

He's the Larry Bird.

MAN: He's the Phil Jackson.

Yeah, Sabian, he's that guy.

So who do you think that guy on the other end

of this conversation is?

He's not in the NBA.

The guy coming off of the bench.

He's coming off the bench.

He's a cop who's part of the hostage negotiation

team, who's been around.

team, who's been around.

He's studying.

He's learning.

He learning the ropes.

And you know, he's part of--

part of Danny's team.

And Danny is--

Danny's gone rogue, essentially, in their minds.

And he's called in to have a conversation with the other,

you know, all-star--

negotiation all-star, who's not there.

And this kid thinks, you know, maybe I

And this kid thinks, you know, maybe I

know enough that I can talk to him since Danny

and I are friends.

And let's see how that works out.

So I don't know how much characterization

you've done in your heads about who

you wanted to be, how you want him to be, whatever.

But, um we've got two very divergent personalities here.

They're both very different guys.

So let's see how you jumped in it.

So Brendan, Rob, because these girls always want to go first.

So Brendan, Rob, because these girls always want to go first.

Let you watch.

Let's watch and see what happens.

And action.

Sabian?

Uh, [CLEARS THROAT] it's Farley.

I told you I don't want to talk

to anybody but Chris Sabian.

Yeah, he-- he-- he's gonna be on his way real soon.

Just-- we just need more time.

We don't have more time, Farley.

We don't have more time, Farley.

What are you doing here, Danny?

It's pretty serious.

It is serious.

And why aren't you taking me seriously?

Well, we are.

We are.

Um, we are.

We just-- [CLEARS THROAT] I just want to talk to you, OK?

Wait.

Wait.

Whoa, hold on.

You wanna-- you wanna talk me down?

Uh, we need to, uh--

uh, tell me what you want.

uh, tell me what you want.

[LAUGHING] You want a shot.

All right, I'll give you a shot.

We got a little time before Sabian gets here.

What do I want, hmm.

[CHUCKLING] Let's see.

Uh, how about, can I see a priest?

[STAMMERING] No, you can't see a priest.

Good, Farley.

You don't want me seeing a priest because a priest is

associated with death.

And you don't want me thinking about death.

But you said no, Farley.

But you said no, Farley.

You can't say no.

Never say no in a hostage situation.

Danny, can-- can--can you could just relax a little bit?

I am relaxed!

A little bit of advice for you, Farley.

Never say no to a hostage taker, all right?

It's in the manual.

Are you gonna say no to me again?

No.

Wrong answer, Farley.

Shut up.

Never say no, can't, don't, or want.

Never say no, can't, don't, or want.

It eliminates options.

And that leaves the only option is to shoot someone, all right?

You understand?

Yes.

Yes.

Good.

See?

Yes, is good.

All right, you say no again, I'm going

to kill somebody, all right?

Now let's-- let's practice.

Can I see a priest?

Danny, you know what?

Can-- can we just talk about this?

You wanted to talk!

We're talking.

Can I see a priest?

Hmm?

Hmm?

I'll look into that.

Good, Farley.

Better.

You're doing better.

Can I have a sub-machine gun to blow everybody away?

I'll-- I'll see what I can do.

Good, Farley.

You ever cheat on your wife?

No.

Careful, I'll shoot somebody.

You ever cheat on your wife, Farley?

Answer me!

I'll have to look into--

I'll-- I'll-- I'll have to think about that.

I'll-- I'll-- I'll look into that.

[CHUCKLING] Oh, you ever dress up like a schoolgirl,

[CHUCKLING] Oh, you ever dress up like a schoolgirl,

get your ass spanked, Farley?

[LAUGHING]

Danny, come on, man.

I just want to talk to you.

Oh, we are talking!

You ever dress up like a schoolgirl

and get your ass spanked?

I'll have look into that, Danny.

Well, it makes no difference to me

if you dress up like a schoolgirl.

I didn't know that about you, Farley.

I just didn't.

[CHUCKLING]

This is a really, really unproductive.

This is a really, really unproductive.

Unproductive?

Unproductive.

You're right.

It is unproductive.

So why don't you tell me a joke.

You got a good joke, Farley?

No.

No?

You just cost somebody's life, game over.

Switch.

Watch the arm on that.

Action.

Sabian?

It-- it's Farley.

Now, I told you.

I don't want to talk to anybody but Chris Sabian.

Yeah, I know He's-- he's on his way.

He'll be here soon.

I-- I need a little more time.

No, but you don't have any more time, Farley.

No, but you don't have any more time, Farley.

[SIGHING] What are you doing?

This is pretty serious.

Yeah, it's serious.

It's serious.

So why don't you take me seriously?

[SIGHING] We-- we are.

We are.

We just-- look, I just want to talk to you, OK?

Wait.

Wait.

Wait.

You think you can talk me down?

I need to--

just tell me what you want, Danny.

just tell me what you want, Danny.

Oh, you want a shot?

OK.

Yeah, I'll give you a shot.

Got a little time before Sabian gets here.

Let's see, what do I want?

Uh, how about, let's see, can I see a priest?

No, you can't see a priest.

Ah, that's good, Farley.

You should not let me see a priest.

Priests are associated with death.

You don't want me thinking about death.

But you told me no, Farley.

You know, you can't say no, never.

Never say no in a hostage situation.

Never say no in a hostage situation.

Listen, Danny, just relax.

I am relaxed, OK?

A little advice for you.

Never say no to a hostage taker.

It's in the manual.

You gonna tell me no again?

No.

Mrrr.

Wrong.

Wrong.

Shut up.

Don't say no-- no, don't, want, or can't.

It eliminates options.

Option that leaves to shoot someone.

Ready to go again?

Understand.

Understand?

Yes.

Mm, yes.

See?

See, yes is good.

Yes is good.

Now, you tell me no again, I'm gonna shoot someone.

Now can I see a priest?

Danny, I just want to talk to you.

You want to talk.

We're talking.

Can I see a priest?

I'll see what I can do.

That's good.

That's good.

Yes.

Yes.

Very good.

You're learning.

You know, I want a sub-machine gun to blow everyone away.

I'll look into that.

Oh, yeah.

Very good.

Very good, Farley.

You-- you are learning.

You ever cheat on your wife?

No!

Watch yourself, or I'll kill someone.

You ever cheat on your wife?

Answer!

I-- I'll see what I can do.

I-- I'll-- I'll have to--

I'll have to about it.

I-- let me get back to you on that.

I-- let me get back to you on that.

Mm.

You-- [LAUGHS] you-- you ever-- you ever

dress up like-- like a schoolgirl and get your ass

smacked?

Danny, I just want to talk.

No!

We are talking!

Did you or did you not dress up like a schoolgirl

and get your ass spanked?

I'll look into that.

[CHUCKLING] Oh, man, I tell you what.

Nothing-- nothing against dressing up like a girl.

But I did not know that about you, Farley.

But I did not know that about you, Farley.

This is really unproductive, Danny.

Mm.

Unproductive?

You're right, it is.

Why don't you tell me a joke.

You know any jokes, Farley?

No.

No?

No?

Game over.

You just cost someone their life, Farley.

All right, cool.

So we did it that way so we could experience

the immediate highs and lows on the opposite side

of the emotional spectrum just to see

the way it works, how it works for you, how you, you know,

the way it works, how it works for you, how you, you know,

deal with the emotional upheaval of being in charge and not

in charge.

Did you feel better as Danny, or did you feel better as Farley?

Oh, Danny, of course.

Why?

Higher status, it felt.

Mm-hmm.

It always feels good to be of high status.

And to be in control and to know what you're doing.

So the exploration of bitterness and "assholity"

So the exploration of bitterness and "assholity"

feels better than being brought down

or beat down emotionally by someone that you care about

or hold in high esteem?

On that side of the conversation,

There are a lot of cops in that room, a lot of cops

There are a lot of cops in that room, a lot of cops

who want to kill Danny.

You don't.

You're on Danny's team.

You're on his side.

So when you're having that conversation with him,

you've got to have that conversation with him

kind of surreptitiously, kind of quietly.

And Danny is your hero.

And when he starts to fuck with you like this,

it's heartbreaking.

He's kind of destroying all the confidence

He's kind of destroying all the confidence

you have in what you think you've

learned from being around him.

Plus you didn't know he was just malicious.

Danny's being malicious on the other side,

because he is in a desperate situation.

And he's kind of angry because they didn't have the guy there

that he wanted to talk to.

So he's taking out his frustration on, you know,

Farley.

He's fucking with him, you know.

And he knows it, and he doesn't care.

And he knows it, and he doesn't care.

You know, he's in that place.

So every time Farley does something wrong,

he berates him to the point where the dude's almost

in tears when this is over.

You know, it's like his hero just ripped him a new asshole,

you know?

So that last time he says no, he says it.

And he realizes it.

And it fucks him up so bad because it's like, oh, fuck.

Plus, Danny's on the other side doing some shit.

And he is-- he is-- he is crazy to the point

And he is-- he is-- he is crazy to the point

where they don't know what he's doing.

And they kind of think he's killed a cop.

So that last time, when he asks Farley,

do you know any jokes, blah, blah,

blah, and he said, no, he like, pow, you just cost somebody

their life.

They heard a gunshot.

You know, it fucks those guys who are in the room up.

They're like running and scrambling, gunshot, gunshot!

And you know, Farley's sitting there

holding the phone like, oh, fuck,

did I get somebody killed, you know?

It's devastating.

It's that kind of shit.

It's that kind of shit.

So we're gonna speed run through this shit

again with that in mind, the maliciousness

on this side, the oh, my god, maybe I can talk him down,

you know.

I know enough that he's my friend.

Maybe he'll listen to me until he breaks your fucking heart.

OK?

Give me that.

You know, let's explore that, you know, no depth of it's

fucked up.

All right, action.

Sabian?

Danny, it-- it-- it's Farley.

I told you.

I don't want to talk to anybody but Chris Sabian.

Um, yeah, he's coming.

He's gonna be here soon.

We just-- we just need more time.

[SIGH]

But you don't have more time, Farley.

OK, just, um, Danny, what are you-- what are you doing?

This is really serious.

This is serious.

This is serious.

So why don't you take me seriously?

We are.

We are taking you seriously.

We just-- [SIGH] I--

I just want to talk to you, OK, Danny?

Wait.

Wait, wait, wait.

Wait.

You-- you think you can talk me down?

I have to.

What do you want, Danny?

You want a shot?

OK, I'll give you a shot.

[CLEARING THROAT] I got a little time before Sabian gets here.

Oh, boy, what do I want?

Oh, boy, what do I want?

Um, how about let's see?

Can I see a priest?

No, you can't see a priest, Danny.

Ah, see, that's good, Farley.

That's good.

You shouldn't let me see a priest.

Shouldn't let me see a priest.

Priest is associated with death, and you do not

want me thinking about death.

But you told me no, Farley.

You can't say no.

Never say no in a hostage situation.

OK, why don't we just-- let's just relax a little bit, OK?

I am relaxed.

I am relaxed.

Line.

BOTH: Here's some advice.

Here's some advice.

Never say no to a hostage taker, OK?

It's in the manual.

All right, you gonna tell me no again?

No, I'm not.

Wrong answer.

Shut up.

Hey, never say no, don't, won't, or can't.

OK, that eliminates options.

That only option leaves is to shoot someone.

Understand?

Yes.

Yes, good.

Yes is good.

Now you tell me no again, and I'm gonna shoot someone.

Now you tell me no again, and I'm gonna shoot someone.

Let's practice.

Can I see a priest?

Danny, we're just trying to talk.

I'm trying to talk to you.

You want to talk?

I'm talking.

Can I see a priest?

I'd have to look into that, Danny.

Good, good, good, good, good, Farley.

You're learning.

You're learning.

Now I would love a submachine gun to blow everyone away.

I'll see what I can do, Danny.

That's good.

That's good.

Good job, Farley.

You ever cheat on your wife?

No.

Ooh, whoa, whoa, whoa, watch yourself.

I'll kill someone.

You ever cheat on your wife?

I--

Answer!

I-- I--

I would have to see.

I would look at it, and I'll see what I can do.

I'd have to think about that.

You ever dress up like a schoolgirl

and get your ass spanked?

Danny, we're just trying to--

I'm trying to talk to you right now.

I am talking.

Did you, or did you not, dress up like a schoolgirl

and get your ass spanked?

I'd have to look into that.

Mm, nothing against dressing up like a schoolgirl, but I

did not know that about you, Farley.

This is really, really unproductive.

[SIGH]

[SCOFF]

Unproductive?

Yeah, yeah, it is.

So why don't you tell me a joke, Farley?

You know a joke?

No?

You just cost someone their life, Farley.

You just cost someone their life, Farley.

Game over.

SAMUEL L. JACKSON: Good, good.

Action.

Sabian?

It-- it's Farley.

It-- it's Farley.

I told you I don't want to speak

to anybody but Chris Sabian.

He's-- he's on his way.

He's gonna be here real soon.

We ju-- we just-- we just need more time.

You ain't got no more time, Farley.

OK, what are-- what are you doing here, Danny?

This-- this is-- this is pretty serious.

Yeah, this is serious.

So why don't you start taking me seriously?

Well, we are.

We-- we are.

We are.

We just-- we just, uh, we just want to talk to you, OK?

[LAUGHTER]

[LAUGHTER]

Wait, wait, wait, wait.

You think that you can talk me down?

We need to, uh--

tell me what you want.

We-- oh, OK, you want a shot.

All right, OK, I'll give you a shot.

We got some time till Sabian gets here.

Let me see.

What do I want?

Hmm, how about can I see a priest?

No, you can't see a priest.

No, you can't see a priest.

No, I can't see a priest.

That's good.

That's good, Farley.

You do not want to let me see a priest because a priest is

associated with death, and you don't

want me thinking about death.

But you know what you did there, Farley?

You said no to me.

You never say no in a hostage situation.

You know, Da--

Danny, can you just relax a little bit?

I am fucking relaxed.

I am relaxed.

I'm trying to give you some advice.

You never say no to a hostage taker.

It's in the manual.

You gonna say no to me again?

No.

No?

No?

Wrong answer.

Shut the fuck up.

Never say no, don't, won't, or can't.

It eliminates options.

The only option left is to fucking kill somebody.

OK, you understand that?

Yes.

Yes.

Yes, there we go.

Yes is good.

Yes I like.

OK, now let's try this again.

You say no again, I'm gonna fucking kill somebody.

Can I see a priest?

I'll see what I can do.

You know what?

You know what?

Can we just talk?

Can I see a priest?

You know, Danny, can--

can-- can we just talk about this right now?

You want to talk.

We're fucking talking.

Can I see a priest?

I'll-- I'll see what I can do.

I'll see what I--

OK, there we go.

We're learning, Farley.

How about, hmm, can I get a submachine gun

to blow everyone away?

I'll look into that.

Very good, Farley.

You ever cheated on your wife?

No.

No.

What?

Excuse me?

No?

You want to kill somebody?

You want to fucking kill somebody.

Did you cheat on your wife?

Huh?

Answer me.

I have to look in--

I'll have to look into that.

I'll-- I'll think about that.

I-- I'll see what--

I'll see what I can do.

You ever dress up as a schoolgirl

and get your ass spanked?

Danny, I just want to talk to you, OK?

I am talking to you.

Did you, or did you not, dress up as a schoolgirl

and get that ass spanked?

Hello?

Have to look into that, Danny.

Wow, I didn't know you dressed up as a girl,

but, you know, I don't have a problem with it.

Just didn't know that about you, Farley.

This is very, very unproductive.

Unproductive?

You know what?

It is unproductive.

Do you know any jokes, Farley?

You ain't got no jokes?

No.

Well, fuck, you just killed somebody.

That's on you.

Game over.

Excellent.

Um, you want to sit on this side?

Yeah, you got it.

Thank you.

[SIGH]

Action.

Sabian?

It-- it-- it's Farley.

I told you.

I don't want to talk to anybody but Chris Sabian.

He's on his way.

He-- he's just gonna take a little bit-- a little bit

more time.

Well, you don't have more time, Farley.

What are you doing here, Danny?

This is pretty serious.

This is serious.

So why aren't you taking me seriously?

Well, we are.

Are-- are-- we just-- we just want to talk, OK?

What?

What?

But wa-- wait a--

But wa-- wait a--

you trying to talk me down?

I-- I need to--

[LAUGHTER]

OK.

Tell me-- tell me what you want.

OK, you-- you want a shot.

OK, I'll give you a shot.

All right, OK, we got some time before Sabian gets here.

Let's see.

What do I want?

How about can I see a priest?

No, you can't see a priest.

Good, Farley, you don't want me

Good, Farley, you don't want me

to see a priest because a priest is associated with death.

And you don't want me thinking about death.

But you said no, Farley.

You can't say no.

Never say no in a hostage situation.

Da-- Danny, would you just relax a little bit?

I am relaxed.

I just want to talk--

Here's a little bit of advice for you.

Never say no to a hostage taker.

It's in the manual.

You gonna say no to me again?

No.

Wrong answer.

SABIAN: Oh, shit.

[MUMBLING] Now shut the fu--

[MUMBLING] Now shut the fu--

Yeah.

Shut up.

Never use my--

I got it.

I was-- I'm playing it.

My bad, I'm sorry.

You were acting.

My bad, want to start over?

I fucked you up.

Yeah, it's all good.

All right.

Uh--

No.

Wrong answer.

Shu-- shut up.

Never say no, can't, don't, won't.

It eliminates options.

The only option that leaves is to kill somebody

or to shoot someone.

Understand?

Understand?

Yes.

Yes, good, yes, see?

Yes is good.

You say no to me again, I'm gonna kill somebody.

Now let's practice.

Can I see a priest?

You know what, Danny?

Can we just talk about this right now?

You wanted to talk.

We're talking.

Can I see a priest?

I'll see what I can do.

Good, Farley, you're learning.

I'd like a submachine gun so I can blow everybody away.

I'd like a submachine gun so I can blow everybody away.

[SIGH]

I'll-- I'll have to look into that.

Good job, Farley.

You ever cheat on your wife?

No.

Uh, watch it, Farley.

I'll kill somebody.

You ever cheat on your wife?

Answer.

I'll-- I'll see what I can do.

I'll-- I'll have to look into that.

I-- I-- I-- I'll--

I'll have to look into that.

[CHUCKLING]

Do you ever just dress up like a schoolgirl

Do you ever just dress up like a schoolgirl

and get your ass spanked, Farley?

Look, Danny, all I wanted to do was talk.

I am talking.

Did you, or did you not, dress up like a schoolgirl

and get your ass spanked?

I'm gonna have to look into that, Danny.

Look.

It makes no difference to me if you want

to dress up like a schoolgirl.

I didn't know that about you, Charlie.

I just didn't know that.

You know, this is really, really unproductive.

Unproductive, yes, yes, it is.

So why don't you tell me a joke.

You know any good jokes, Farley?

No.

No.

No.

You just cost somebody's life.

Game over.

Fuck.

All right, so how did everybody feel about that?

How-- how do you feel about it, in terms

of how you accomplished the goals of what that is?

Nobody felt good about it, huh?

Um, there are a couple things, a couple things

that would make this work in an interesting way.

that would make this work in an interesting way.

The position that you take over here when

you're in a position of power, everybody

used this one, for whatever reason,

because that feels good to you or made

you feel like you were empowered or in control.

Everybody stood up and walked around a bit.

You sat.

You crossed your legs.

You totally took command of it and reveled in digging Farley's

ass like that.

ass like that.

You were just, no, really?

[LAUGHTER]

Yeah, motherfucker, you laughed and got some of that.

So power positions are important when

you're trying to convey that on stage,

on screen, anywhere, you know, finding a place of power

and sitting in it.

You don't necessarily have to move because that

means you're, like, thinking.

The agitation that Danny has necessitates movement in a way,

or tapping, or doing things, or just

or tapping, or doing things, or just

being in that thing that gives you that.

But it also weakens you in a way because you're

as perplexed as the person on the other side,

because you're making a decision about what you're gonna do.

And once you decide, oh, oh, oh, you want to talk me down?

OK, all right, I'm gonna give you a shot.

Let's see.

So get set and get in that space.

So get set and get in that space.

And go at that motherfucker.

Go at him.

Go at him.

Go at him.

Go at him.

Go at him until it's like, yeah, game over, boom.

Pow, you shoot that.

Pow, shoot the gun.

Then you get up.

It's like, goddamn it.

I still didn't get to talk to who I needed to talk to.

The other shit is distracting, in a way.

Find a place of power and be in it,

whether you're gonna stand there and be in it

or sit here and be in it.

But find that place of power.

Get in there.

Lock in, and lock in on the target.

Lock in, and lock in on the target.

Mm, the target's inside this fucking phone.

In this case, he was on the other side.

And this, there's the sense of weakness and defeat.

And what happens when you get to weakness and defeat?

When you first pick up the phone, you're talking to Danny.

You know, you know, Danny, hey, it's me, Farley, you know.

You know, you know, Danny, hey, it's me, Farley, you know.

Hey.

It's a friend.

And he's like, oh, look.

I'm waiting on Farley.

Yeah, but he's not here.

But, you know, can we talk?

And it's not your intention to talk him down.

When you say, can we talk, you really

want to know what the fuck's going on, man?

Uh, you know, did you shoot that dude?

Or what happened?

Did any of that--

is this shit true?

I don't believe it.

You know, I'm your boy.

Tell me.

Is there anything I can go out and--

who can I talk to that can help you get out of this shit?

And he says, oh, wait a minute.

And he says, oh, wait a minute.

You-- you want to talk me down.

It's like, well, no, not really.

[LAUGHTER]

No, I know better than that.

I know I can't do that.

And then the motherfucker says, I'm gonna give you a shot.

It's like, you are never trying to talk that motherfucker down.

He talked you into that shit.

He tricked you.

He's like, OK.

I'm gonna-- I'm gonna--

I'm gonna give you a shot.

Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.

Can I get a priest?

No, you can't have no priest.

Why-- I'm not trying to--

I-- I'm not in this game with you.

I-- I'm not in this game with you.

You don't want to be in the game.

He's forcing you to be in the game because he needs that.

That's his shit.

He needs to fuck with somebody, so he's fucking with you.

You're an unwitting pawn in his fucking game.

You are getting fucking slapped around.

It's like, you know, fuck.

And these other motherfuckers are looking at you

from time to time.

And it's like, goddamn.

You know, and the more shit he fucks with you, the lower--

it's almost like you're like, yeah, oh, fuck, man.

it's almost like you're like, yeah, oh, fuck, man.

You know, it almost takes you to that.

So by the time the conversation is over, it's like, you know,

this is really unproductive.

But unproductive is not the word you want to use,

but unproductive is the word that those motherfuckers might

hear.

But the word is, you know, you--

you-- you really hurt my feelings.

You know, I mean, that motherfucker is broken.

Like, you-- you hurt my feelings so bad.

Like, you-- you hurt my feelings so bad.

You know, he's fucking broken when this is over.

So, you know, when he hears the gunshot go off,

it's almost like he shot him.

And he's sitting there, staring at the phone or whatever.

And his shit's shaking, 'cause Danny has fucked him up.

So you've got to be able to plumb that and all that stuff,

that somewhere in you you've had a disappointment of some sort,

or somebody has let you down, or somebody

or somebody has let you down, or somebody

who was your great friend said some shit about you.

And you know they said it, and you can't figure out why,

or how, or why they even want to make

you feel that way, or what happened.

And you can't figure it out.

He can't figure out what happened with Danny

or what the situation is.

He wants to help him, but this motherfucker

doesn't want him to help.

He, you know, isolated himself, and he's further isolating

himself by doing that shit.

himself by doing that shit.

But over here, there's a real emotion of I loved him.

I looked up to him.

I still do.

He might understand it.

You can play that.

You might feel like, hey, I get why you feel that way

or, you know, why you needed to do that.

But most people aren't going to accept that in that way.

It's-- it's just going to be a devastating moment that,

you know, he's got to go to the bathroom and throw up or go

somewhere and cry in the corner or whatever that is.

somewhere and cry in the corner or whatever that is.

But your body language has to convey how much that hurt.

It's almost like he's physically standing there,

pounding you in your body.

So every blow fucking hurts, to the point where, you know,

you're on the phone like this by the time that shit is over.

It's like, this is really unproductive.

Yeah, I know it's unproductive.

Do you know any jokes?

[STAMMERING]

A joke?

What the fuck?

What is he-- you know, you don't really say no.

What is he-- you know, you don't really say no.

You just kind of go [STAMMERING] and it's enough for him.

It sounded like no to him, then, like, [IMITATES GUNSHOT]..

It's like, oh, shit.

You know, because a lot of motherfuckers

turned around 'cause you dropped the phone or you did something.

But the emotional impact of a scene like this is great.

But like I said, one person's got to be still and strong.

And you make him squirm.

And you make him squirm.

The squirmer is on the other end because you're--

you're the fisherman with the worm on the hook.

The worm is squirming.

You're sitting there, calmly waiting on that fish

to take the hook.

That's how I would do it.

It's not necessarily the right way, like I said.

There's a right way.

There's more than one right way to do something.

But positions of strength and power, all you got to do

is be still and be powerful.

Stillness is powerful.

You know, everybody is always trying to do shit and move.

You know, everybody is always trying to do shit and move.

And, you know, you don't have to do that.

All you've got to do is be still.

Be still, powerful.

Let your voice do the work.

Your body language says, I'm in control.

Nothing can move me from this.

I'm locked in on my shit.

But like I said, you know, it's a good contrast

between those two things.

And you all made some great choices when you did this,

And you all made some great choices when you did this,

and you made interesting choices over there.

None of you really went all the way with that.

You played the nervousness of talking to Danny.

But the pain of what he was doing to you never

really resonated in a real kind of way, in terms of your hero

destroying you in that particular moment.

I mean, you all played the nervousness

of trying to give him the right answer when he never wanted

of trying to give him the right answer when he never wanted

to give an answer at all.

That's not what he was doing.

I'm not trying to talk to down, which

is basically what he should have been saying the whole time.

Hey, I'm not trying to talk you down.

You know, he's like, no, you want to talk me down.

You want to talk me down.

You want to talk me down.

You want to talk me down.

And that was never his intention.

But good work.

Good work in that.

You know, everybody climbed in the space and did some stuff,

you know, that was really good.

It was fun watching you.

It was fun watching you be humble.

It was fun watching you be humble.

You know, I just wanted him to hurt more.

I wanted him to be more bit by that.

And like I said, you know, power positions and not so powerful,

we all learn to do that when we're on stage.

And you assume it on screen in certain aspects, when

people are above you or below you,

or you slouch in a certain way, or do

that whole thing where if somebody is talking to

you and you want them to actively listen to you, you--

you and you want them to actively listen to you, you--

I mean, you actively listen to someone that's talking.

And you're not in the conversation.

And your body language is toward them,

and your ear is kind of turned so people know you're listening

or whatever.

You know, it's those little bullshit tricks

that make people know.

Use your voice.

Use your body.

That's what we do.

Those are our tools.

You know, our voices and our bodies are what we got.

That's what we do.

Let's remember, we are in the business of make believe.

So there is no limit to what you can make believe.

Go as far as you can go.

One of the things I always tend to do when I show up to do

anything is show with too much.

It's way easier for a director to ask

It's way easier for a director to ask

you to drop this, drop that, don't use this, don't do that,

than it is for him to try and pull something out

of you that you haven't figured out,

or you need to figure out because he's

trying to pull the performance out of you.

Show up with much shit.

It's easy to drop something than it

is to find something and pick it up.

The actor-director relationship, in the theater, it's one thing.

The actor-director relationship, in the theater, it's one thing.

In the movies, there's a couple of different things,

because you have guys who are shooters,

and you have guys who are writer/directors.

And you have guys who are lucky to be there.

So the shooters, the shooters hired you,

So the shooters, the shooters hired you,

and they're glad you're there, because they're

going to leave you alone to do the performance so they

can get it.

So all they're concerned with is composition of shot.

They just want to make sure they got their shot composed,

and they trust you to do what you do.

Those guys, I love them, because I

mean you hired me for a reason, and hopefully I'm

going to give you what you want, and you hired some other people

going to give you what you want, and you hired some other people

that are going to give you what you want,

and everything is going to be fabulous.

All you got to do is make sure you get it in the camera

and shoot it.

Writer/directors, depending upon who they are,

sometimes they know what they wrote.

And sometimes they don't.

And hopefully, they're not very precious about what they wrote,

because one thing's for sure when you hire me,

because one thing's for sure when you hire me,

you're getting a black actor.

And if you wrote it, and you didn't see a black actor

when you wrote it, or even if you saw one, sometimes what

you put in my mouth is not how I talk,

depending upon what I read.

You created a character who's a lot more educated

than you allow him to speak.

You know, I can conjugate.

And a lot of people can't.

And a lot of people can't.

So I don't need you to write black vernacular for me.

I can say what you want said, but you

need to say it this way.

If I'm from somewhere else, I can say it that way.

But from what you have here, and who this character is,

he's a lot smarter and more educated

than you made him speak.

We don't all speak like somebody on a rap video.

So I can fix that for you if you'll let me.

And if your ego is not too precious, then all I'm doing

And if your ego is not too precious, then all I'm doing

is making your movie better, I hope.

Sometimes you have to go back the other way.

You've written this character, you've elevated this character,

but that's not who that character is.

He needs to not be able to conjugate as well

as this character.

And there are things about him that

are very different in terms of the way he looks at the world,

are very different in terms of the way he looks at the world,

in terms of right, wrong, and otherwise,

that impact on how he reacts with the other people

in the script, and we can talk about that.

And a lot of those writer/directors

are open to that, you know, that works.

Sometimes they push back, and then I

go OK, well, let's just look at it,

and hopefully we can have a constructive conversation

about it.

And most times that happens.

They got me there for a reason, and hopefully I can help you.

They got me there for a reason, and hopefully I can help you.

And like I said, then there are lucky to be there ones.

Sometimes they can be difficult, because they're

trying to figure it out and figure out if I'm the director,

does that mean I'm the boss?

Or does that mean I need to listen to these people

around me, because they've surrounded me with a good team?

And there been a few people who let their team work for them,

and I worked for a few people who didn't let that team

work for them, or who worked against that team,

and they got lucky anyway.

and they got lucky anyway.

One thing I do know about directors

is that the majority of the time, on a movie set,

the director is the person on the set that

has been on the least number of movie sets.

Everybody else has been on more movie sets than that director.

And the smart ones know that, and they

let everybody do their job, because they've done it more.

And they know how to get it done.

And they know how to get it done.

And there are some that are not so smart that

get in the way of the process.

But if you know that, and we know

that that's a collaborative process,

then let the people who know more do what they do,

and they'll help you.

During the audition process, something

has happened that has connected you to that he gave you a job.

has happened that has connected you to that he gave you a job.

Sometimes it's incumbent upon you to find out what that was,

which generally means what the director's expectations of you

are when you show up at the job.

So you'll know what he expects you to do.

And if you made some choices, once you've

gotten the word that you had the job, before you meet

the director, it's incumbent upon you

the director, it's incumbent upon you

to inform him of those choices that you've

made that are going to work on the script,

or how you perceive the evolution of that

character from the beginning, from the first time

you see him, until he exits the screenplay,

to find out what his thought process is about what

the story is, what the story means

in terms of what he's trying to accomplish by making

this particular movie.

And you can make adjustments accordingly

And you can make adjustments accordingly

to what his goals are.

Because directors should have goals in terms

of what he's making and why he's making it and how

he wants it to be seen and received.

That's one way to develop your relationship.

I guess the other way is by showing up and doing

your job in an efficient and intelligent way that

your job in an efficient and intelligent way that

shows that you're not just worried about what

your performance is, but what everybody else's is also

and what it means for you to be part of that ensemble.

I'm not one of those people that goes to the monitor and watch

playback.

I want to watch the movie when it's done.

I want to watch the movie when it's done.

And I have a feeling about whether a scene worked or not,

and I know there are actors who are

needy in a specific kind of way, who have to go and ask

the director how was that.

I don't.

One of the things I learned in the theater

a long time ago when you finish your rehearsal and people were

getting notes, if you don't get any, that doesn't mean

the director is ignoring you.

the director is ignoring you.

It just means you don't need any notes.

Keep doing what you're doing.

So that's what I do.

So if they don't come to me and say that was horrible

or whatever, I don't go to ask why they're not talking to me.

I just assume they got what they want and they're moving on,

and that's good.

I've watched actors listen to a stupid direction

from a director and pretend they didn't understand

from a director and pretend they didn't understand

and just do the right thing.

Then I've watched actors take the stupid director's direction

and do it and kind of look at them, just kind of go wow.

That's too bad.

And keep on.

But I might pull them to the side later on,

and say look I know you're supposed

to do what the director asked you to do, and there are times

to do what the director asked you to do, and there are times

that when you feel right, ask them

if they don't mind if you do it this way one time

and then do it that way.

I have the option of, if a director says,

well, you think we can do it this way once.

We'll do it your way one time, and then

just give me this thing so I can have it in the editing room.

And I say no, because I don't get to go to the editing room,

and because that's the thing you like.

and because that's the thing you like.

That's the first thing you're going to look at.

And that's the thing that you're going to think is right,

and if I don't give it to you then I

don't have to worry about fucking up my performance.

And they go, OK.

All right.

There are few directors that I know have a complete idea

about what they're doing.

And there are directors that can say certain things to you

And there are directors that can say certain things to you

that you don't know, that you know that they understand

the material in a way, that is inspiring in the moment of what

you're doing, that gives you an opportunity

to say you know what, that's an interesting choice.

I want to explore that with you.

OK, let's do that.

And you don't have that a lot.

But those directors generally come from somewhere else.

But those directors generally come from somewhere else.

It's like when I was doing "Red Violin"

and Francoise Girard came from the opera.

So he had that.

When I was doing "Changing Lanes,"

Roger Michell came from the theater, and all

these other places, and he had this wonderful, insightful way

of looking at stuff after you'd done it.

And the wonderful thing was when he came to me,

he had a notebook, and he had notes, like in the theater.

he had a notebook, and he had notes, like in the theater.

When you finished rehearsing, director's got notes on a pad,

and he goes through his notes, and scratches them out.

And that's what he do.

He will say, on this line when you said,

the emphasis on this word is great,

but if you soften it and emphasize this,

then that makes what you say in the next line much more

effective in this way.

And I could go, wow, yeah, you're right.

And I could go, wow, yeah, you're right.

OK.

And I could do that.

And he could pull meaning from someplace that was--

he could take something from the obvious to the subtle that

enhanced the performance in a way

that most directors can't, and then you

gain trust in that person because of it.

The on-set environment is different according

to the budget.

So if you're on an indie, there's

a real familial kind of feeling on an indie film,

because everybody knows there's not much money.

And everybody is there for a reason.

And everybody is there for a reason.

They're doing it because they know the person that wrote it,

that's directing it, or that has something to do with it.

So the familial aspect of it is very different,

and everybody is working toward a common goal

to get this thing done, because they know, you know, it's

a love project or whatever.

Big studio films, kind of different,

you know, there are a lot of different elements.

It's a moving circus.

It's a moving circus.

Sometimes, you know all the actors that are there.

Sometimes, you don't.

Sometimes, you meet a person for one day,

and that person is there for that day.

And they're gone, in and out.

If you're on a movie for a long haul with people,

you'll run into them in the mornings in the makeup trailer.

And you'll either talk about what you did last night.

Or how's it going with you?

Or there's music playing, and stuff's happening.

And once you get on set, you can interact with whoever

And once you get on set, you can interact with whoever

you want to interact with.

I'm generally making jokes with whoever's around.

Back in the day, when they used to pull a tape

measure to your nose to see if you were in focus, you know,

I was always doing stuff like that

and trying to figure out how long the tape measure was

and making fun of the camera crew.

So I'm generally one of those people that knows

everybody on the camera crew.

I know who the grips are.

I know who the PAs are, the prop masters,

and everything that's going on.

and everything that's going on.

And I'm talking to everybody because I'm just that guy.

And I don't have to be in the moment until they say action.

Everybody's not like that.

Some actors like to talk to you between shots.

Some actors like to think about what they just did.

Or some actors run straight to the monitor

and look to see what they did, not what we did.

[LAUGHTER]

It's important to me that when I'm on set

It's important to me that when I'm on set

or I'm on stage that every actor understands that it's

more than just the performance aspect of it,

that when I got into theater, Dr. [INAUDIBLE] thing

was, OK, rehearsal is at 7 o'clock.

And when I got to New York, I was

amazed when somebody said rehearsal was at 10 o'clock.

And people show up at 10 o'clock,

and they want to sit down and have

and they want to sit down and have

their coffee and their, you know,

muffin or their sandwich or whatever.

When rehearsal is at 7 o'clock, that

means you get there at 6:30.

You have your coffee.

You have your sandwich so at 7 o'clock you're in place,

so they can say action or let's go.

Let's pick it up from this place, this place,

or that place.

So always on time, always know my lines, probably know yours,

I've done my homework.

I am character-driven and know what that character is

I am character-driven and know what that character is

and what that character is going to do.

I, you know, don't get in your way.

I will help you all I can.

It's professional responsibility.

And the best way for me to convey that to young actors

is that.

I've been on movie sets where, you

know, whoever is number one always

tends to be the last person on set, you know,

whatever that means.

But when they say, you know, places, I just hit it.

I'm there, and I'm ready to go.

I'm there, and I'm ready to go.

Sometimes, I stand there.

I have to watch the process.

And it's kind of like, you know, why are you

calling me if you're gonna take 15 minutes to reset a light?

You know, call me when you're ready.

But that's on my aggravating, irritating days.

But most times, you know, first one there, ready to go.

Let's do it.

You know, I'm not asking for a line.

I'm not confused.

You know, I'm not going to change things.

I just do what I do.

It's about responsibility because part

of the responsibility as a movie actor is

of the responsibility as a movie actor is

don't waste people's time.

You know, time is money on a movie set.

So I'm not trying to do six takes.

I'm not asking, oh, I need to do another one.

You know, I'm just there.

I'm just, you know, responsible.

I'm excited by new characters and the journey

that they're going to take inside the story,

that they're going to take inside the story,

the experience of the emotion that's done in a safe place.

You know, it's really great that you

can experience fear, danger, sadness, joy, um,

insanity in a safe environment so that when somebody says cut,

insanity in a safe environment so that when somebody says cut,

you can, like, come back and be you.

I'm not that guy that shows up to work,

and you can't talk to me all day because I'm

doing something else or I'm engrossed

in being this character who doesn't know you

when you talk to me.

I've done all that before I get to work.

And when they say, cut, you know, my manager might call.

And I need to talk about my next job.

And I'm going to be able to do that.

So if you're, you know, that kind of actor

So if you're, you know, that kind of actor

that people can't talk to, or you're

running around being the character all day,

then that's one thing.

But you should be able to multitask and do what you do.

You know, it is acting.

It's not living.

So, no, I'm not that immersed all day in it, you know.

When somebody says action, I'm immersed.

When they say cut, I'm not.

And I love it when actors are like that.

I remember when I was doing a movie with Julianne Moore.

And Julianne is amazing.

And Julianne is amazing.

And we were standing there, and she started talking to me.

It was, oh, my God.

Did you watch "American Idol" last night?

It was so good.

It was just [MUMBLING] and this thing.

They say, action.

[SOBBING]

She's breaking down.

She's traumatized.

Cut.

But it was so good because at the end of it,

they actually won.

She's right out of it, right back to who she is.

And it's like, damn.

That's amazing.

I mean, I can kind of do that, you know,

I mean, I can kind of do that, you know,

but I don't know if I can do it on the level of believability

that she can do it.

But that's what I'm talking about.

You know, we know it's pretend.

It's fun.

It's what it is.

And to be able to do it great and to be

able to do it effectively in that moment is the task.

I do the same thing on every take.

I don't care if it's a master shot, medium, close up,

I don't care if it's a master shot, medium, close up,

extreme close up.

I do the same thing.

And when editors watch it, they always come to me later,

you know, and say, I'm the editor of that movie.

Thank you.

I don't care what shot they're doing,

I can use any shot you want.

And I can cut it any way.

I pick the glass up on the same word.

I put it down.

It's part of the game.

You do it because you know that they got to do it.

And you don't want them cutting stuff.

You don't want them doing, you know--

the worst thing is folks with cigarettes.

You know, the cigarette is this long.

Then it's that long.

Then it's this long again.

Then it's that long.

The water is that high.

It's that high.

It's that high.

[MUMBLING]

But you try and help so that they can do their job, too.

It's just little stuff that you know.

It's like I said, I realize in a lot of times,

we are the most unimportant part of what's happening, especially

in, you know, cinema.

It's good that we're there, but, I mean,

they can have a bad person do the same thing I'm doing.

And it'll mean the same thing to the process.

It won't mean the same thing to an audience.

But to the process, it's fine, you know,

But to the process, it's fine, you know,

if that actor is bad, as long as he gets it out there.

But, you know, being good at what

you do is a bonus for the process,

and for the people watching it, and for the people who are

trying to make money off of it.

So, yeah, it's all a collaborative effort.

It ain't about you.

I tell everybody, if you want to work

on the most harmonious process in the world,

on the most harmonious process in the world,

you should do a Tarantino movie.

The one thing that I think is great about Quintin's sets

is there are no electronics.

There is nothing with an on-off switch on set.

So when he says cut, nobody pulls out their phone

and starts texting and looking at stuff.

You have to leave your phone at a phone station

they have outside.

They play music between setups.

So people sing.

People dance.

You talk to everybody around about, you know, their day

You talk to everybody around about, you know, their day

or whatever they're talking about.

Or Quentin tells a story that relates

to what we're shooting that day of a scene that was in a movie

that he stole something from and he's using.

Or there's a movie similar to this.

Or if I had cast this movie in 1950,

this is who would be in the movie.

You know, you try and make the movie

set as light and as inclusive as you possibly

can so that everybody knows that, you know,

my job is no more important than yours.

And we're all here to do this together.

And I think, you know, sometimes directors see that,

And I think, you know, sometimes directors see that,

and they see that you're a convivial and gregarious

spirit.

And that changes the tone of everything

that's going on around and makes his set a better place to be.

There are a lot of people that make a movie set work.

And I remember there was a sign on the wall in the "Die Hard"

office that I never forgot that said, "be careful of the toes

you step on today, for they could

you step on today, for they could

be connected to the ass you have to kiss tomorrow."

So I've been nice to PAs and everybody and everything else.

And some of those PAs became producers and gave me jobs

because they said, I remember when I was a PA on so and so

and so.

You never hassled me.

You didn't make me run and get stuff,

and you spoke to me every day.

And you were cordial, duh, duh, duh.

You know, it's nothing.

I mean, we're almost the least important cog

in the movie-making machine when you come down to it.

So, you know, be nice to that lighting guy because your ass

So, you know, be nice to that lighting guy because your ass

could be in the dark.

Especially camera people, they can make you fuzzy.

They can make you a little soft.

[LAUGHTER]

Or, you know, they can shoot from an angle that

makes you look fat or whatever.

You know, everybody's there, doing the same job.

So you show up, and you try and make

the day as pleasant as you want the day to be for you.

You know, you can have as much or as little fun

You know, you can have as much or as little fun

as you want to have on a movie set,

depending upon your personality and how you present yourself

to the people that are around there.

I mean, you're no better than the guy

that's sweeping the floor at night when you leave.

Just remember that.

Be late.

Um, not know your lines.

Um, ask for autographs.

Um, ask for autographs.

Take pictures now.

You know, can we post?

Can we get this shot?

[SIGH]

Steal another actor's actions.

Um, ask for more lines.

Uh, wow, uh, be discourteous to the other people around you

or think because you're an actor and they're a crew member,

or think because you're an actor and they're a crew member,

they're not as good or as important as you.

To mistreat the PAs, oh, my God, a lot of that, you know,

it's like, change things that shouldn't be changed,

not just your lines, but, you know, your look.

Asking for things in the makeup trailer

or spending too much time in the makeup trailer

because you want to look glamorous,

and it's not your job to be that.

There are all kinds of inappropriate things to do.

But the most inappropriate thing is to show up unprepared.

OK, so you saw the movie.

You know what the set-up is.

It's "Kingsman."

I made an interesting choice as Valentine,

mostly to keep myself entertained, you know,

because you do a movie like this,

it's kind of easy to just go through the motions.

You come in.

You're supposed to be a bad guy.

You do bad things or whatever, and you say funny things.

You do bad things or whatever, and you say funny things.

But it's a parody of a Bond movie.

All Bond villains have a quirk of some sort.

So hopefully, while you were learning, reading,

thinking of this, you created a quirk of your own.

So I don't expect you to have a lisp.

I hope you don't.

I want you to have your own unique take

on who Richmond Valentine is, and what he does,

and who Harry is.

Harry's a gentleman spy.

Harry's a gentleman spy.

We know that.

So I don't expect you to have a British accent.

If you want one, do it.

If you want him-- he can be whatever you want him to be.

You have the freedom to create and bring

to life whatever thing you think will make this thing more

interesting than two guys sitting down, having

a conversation at dinner.

And there are things going on here.

There's a play on words that mean other things, that mean,

There's a play on words that mean other things, that mean,

you know, I know who you are, you know I am,

you know, we are now engaged, so let the games begin.

And acción.

[LAUGHS] So I hear you want to donate to my foundation.

[LAUGHS] So I hear you want to donate to my foundation.

[LAUGHS]

Well--

You are aware that I wound things down in that area.

Right?

I am.

Climate change is a threat to us all.

And you are one of the most power--

No, no.

You are.

You're one of the most powerful women who, I believe,

shares in my concerns.

Am I wrong?

No, I shut things down because it wasn't going anywhere.

Every bit of research kept pointing

to the same conclusion.

Right, right.

Right, right.

Is it that carbon emissions are a red herring perhaps?

And that no matter what we do, the remedial actions

will not change anything.

[LAUGHS]

[LAUGHS]

[SNORTS] Ha!

You know your shit.

I know my shit.

I do.

You know, I actually--

I do envy the blissfully ignorant

who are less well-versed in their shit.

Hmm.

As Professor Arnold once said, humankind

As Professor Arnold once said, humankind

is the only virus cursed with the knowledge of their host's

fragile mortality.

You like that?

[LAUGHS]

You're welcome.

You know, not too many people know about him.

You like spy movies, huh, Miss DeVere?

Well, spy movies today, a little serious for my taste.

Well, spy movies today, a little serious for my taste.

But oh, the old ones, marvelous, yes.

Mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, the old Bond movies!

Yes!

Oh, oh, man.

When I was a kid, I--

that was my dream job, gentlemen spy.

You know?

You know?

I've always felt the Bond movies were only

as good as their villain.

Right?

[BOTH LAUGH]

When I was a kid, I fancied a future

as a colorful megalomaniac.

[LAUGHS]

What a shame we both had to grow up.

Damn shame.

Well, bon appetit.

Bon appetit.

Bon appetit.

[LAUGHS]

OK, so [CLEARS THROAT] got that.

This time, I want you to pretend to be a bleeding heart

environmentalist until you decide that you're

going to kill this person.

OK.

I mean, you're here to fool her

into believing that you're donating money to her thing.

into believing that you're donating money to her thing.

And you know enough about environment for her

to say you know your shit.

Wow.

But you tip your hand when you start talking about Professor--

WOMAN: Arnold.

Arnold.

When she says Professor Arnold, switch.

You know-- oh, you know that motherfucker.

See, for me, when he got killed in the movie, I--

we kind of changed the lines to, oh, Professor--

I loved Professor Arnold, and they killed him. oh, fuck.

That was so fucked up.

But the fact that she knows who he is is another sign of you've

got too much information.

And I know why you're here anyway.

But oh, now, you're just going to tell me?

It's like that?

And you either realize the mistake,

or you did it on purpose.

And you start to go, yeah, I'm here to fuck you up.

And you start to go, yeah, I'm here to fuck you up.

Like, it makes me mad that she thinks

I'm that dumb that she can just say that?

Is that what you mean--

No, that's just some information

that you just get that changes your attitude about him.

Oh, oh, so you know Professor-- oh.

Yeah.

Not a lot of people knew about him.

Or, oh, yeah, oh, yeah, oh, man.

Not many people knew him.

OK.

I like the relaxation of it.

But like I said, this is a Bond movie.

It has its own set of rules.

It has its own set of rules.

Bond movies live in their own world.

So the rules of those worlds have

to be adhered to in a certain way.

You know, it's like being in the Marvel universe.

There's a universe where there's superheroes.

So it's not the same.

The rules in the world aren't the same as in a Bourne movie.

So button it back up.

SAMUEL L. JACKSON: Yeah.

So I'm going to give you a character to be.

OK.

I want you to be--

the original Valentine is a black person

the original Valentine is a black person

that people have specific ideas about.

You know, he's a megalomaniac.

I used a lisp because I wanted people to dismiss him

in an interesting sort of way.

When we know people who have speech impediments,

we have a certain attitude about them.

People who stutter, people who lisp,

people who don't pronounce their words correctly,

whatever, you immediately think they're

less than, they're not as smart as, or whatever.

less than, they're not as smart as, or whatever.

So I want you to be a rich fucking hood

rat that's smart who chose not to be evidently genius.

You embrace your hoodism.

That's your Bond villain persona.

You know?

James Bond had never met a hood rat.

All right?

So give me that.

Let's see how that works.

MAN: I like how your swag turned on when you--

when you were telling her that.

when you were telling her that.

[LAUGHS]

Did it?

Yeah, I started walking different. (SINGING)

The king's in the building.

MAN: You had a slight limp.

You had a slight limp.

Yeah, yeah, I got my limp on?

MAN: Yeah.

All right, action.

So you want to donate to my foundation.

You are aware that I wound things down in that area.

Right?

Climate change is a threat that affects us

all, Mr. Valentine.

And I believe that you are one of the few powerful women

that share in my concerns.

No, no, no, no, no, no, no.

No, no, no, no, no, no, no.

I shut things down because I wasn't getting anywhere.

You know, all-- all the evidence kept

pointing to the same thing.

That carbon emissions are a red herring?

That we're too far past the point of no return

for any remedial actions?

[LAUGHS] Girl, you know your shit.

[LAUGHS]

Yeah, yeah, well, I often envy those so blissfully ignorant

with their own shit.

As Professor Arnold always said, humankind

As Professor Arnold always said, humankind

is the only virus cursed with the knowledge of its host's

mortality.

Aw, Professor Arnold.

Man.

You know, not too many people knew about him.

You like spy movies, Miss DeVere?

Hmm?

These days, they're a little serious for me.

But the old ones, marvelous.

Give me a far-fetched theatrical plot any day.

Give me a far-fetched theatrical plot any day.

Oh snap!

Those old-- those old Bond films, man,

now, that was the shit.

When I was a kid, that was my dream job.

You know?

Lady spy.

Hmm.

[LAUGHS]

I've always felt that Bond movies were only

as good as their villains.

As a child, I fancied a future as a colorful megalomaniac.

As a child, I fancied a future as a colorful megalomaniac.

Well, girl, it is a shame we both had to grow up.

Bon appetit.

SAMUEL L. JACKSON: All right, good.

You do know that's an insult. Right?

Bon appetit?

No, the Bond films are only as good as their villains.

Oh, yeah.

You know?

That I'm the shit, and you know, if you're

That I'm the shit, and you know, if you're

going to be a Bond villain, the villain's got to be the shit.

You know, so she insulted you in that way

by saying hopefully you can come up to my standards.

And it's kind of like, really, bitch?

You know.

And you still--

Holler back?

Yeah, I mean, you want to be a person,

if a director asks you to be a person that people don't

if a director asks you to be a person that people don't

respect, and you have all this power,

that you have all this money, and you've

invented all these things, it's almost

like people want to believe that you hired

a whole bunch of people because you had this money,

and they invented that shit, not you,

and you just take the credit for it.

So if I asked you to be this hood rat,

then you got to be that so that when you're

talking to this person, they're kind of shocked in a way

talking to this person, they're kind of shocked in a way

to hear you say, you know I shut that shit down, right?

Right?

Because I wasn't gettin' nowhere with that shit.

It's kind of like, yeah, it's a shame that people are-- yeah,

uh-huh, yeah.

Oh, you know your shit.

All right.

You know your shit.

Oh, damn.

It's almost like you're this person that's

pretending to be this person that you don't want anybody

pretending to be this person that you don't want anybody

to see who you really are.

You know?

Because you are this thing that's just powerful,

smarter than everybody in the room thing

that you don't need to let them know that you know it.

You know?

You have the power over the room.

People want to be you.

You know?

That's who Valentine is.

He is a guy people want to be without the speech

impediment or the whatever, or the whatever he's got.

impediment or the whatever, or the whatever he's got.

You know?

But OK, but thank you.

Y'all did great.

It's just (WHISPERS) take direction.

We're gonna work on that.

All right.

OK.

All right, Danny and Brandon, B, the Bs.

Put the Bs up here.

Um, create.

You be Valentine.

Is that OK?

Yeah.

Yeah.

Giving you time to figure your shit out.

I see you doing it.

You're like, [MUTTERS].

Uh, acción.

So you want to donate to my foundation?

You know I wound things down in that area.

Right?

[HIGH-PITCHED LAUGH]

Uh, you are--

I am aware of that.

But you are the few powerful people that share

in my concerns, Mr. Valentine.

in my concerns, Mr. Valentine.

Eh.

I shut things down because I wasn't getting anywhere.

Line?

Every bit of research I kept pointing to

kept saying the same thing.

That carbon emissions is a red herring?

That we've gone past the point of no return?

[HIGH-PITCHED LAUGH]

No matter what remedial action we take.

[HIGH-PITCHED LAUGH] You know your shit.

I often envy those that are far less

I often envy those that are far less

knowledgeable of their shit.

As Professor Arnold always said, humankind

is a virus cursed to live with the horrific knowledge

of its impending morality.

PA, not a lot of people know about him.

Do you like spy movies, Mr. DeVere?

Nowadays, they're a little too serious for me.

Nowadays, they're a little too serious for me.

Give me a far-fetched theatrical plot any day.

Ah, but those old Bond movies, oh, man,

I've always wanted to be a gentleman spy.

SAMUEL L. JACKSON: What the fuck?

That's his line.

I know.

I'm sorry.

I forgot.

What the fuck's wrong with you?

MAN: I'm sorry, man.

I skipped.

I skipped.

OK, anyway, stop anyway.

All right, stop anyway.

As I-- I feel I hear you trying to be--

Trying to find a quirk that isn't big or distracting.

Trying to find a quirk that isn't big or distracting.

Trying to find a quirk that you're not comfortable with.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

I don't care if it's distracting.

I mean, it can be distracting or whatever.

It can be physical.

You know?

I mean, you could have--

fuck it.

You could have Tourette's if you want.

I mean, you can twitch, jerk.

You can do whatever the hell you want

to do, but give yourself something that makes you

an interesting Bond villain.

You sound like a businessman, a lawyer or some shit.

You know?

You have exotic voices.

Be Egyptian for a minute.

Yeah.

You know, do something that adds color to this bland ass

conversation that's here.

But give yourself something.

If you don't want to be just sitting there,

you can stand up and sit into it if you want.

Do what you want, but give yourself something.

Do what you want, but give yourself something.

I mean, even if you want to walk around the table

while he's talking, and drag your leg like Igor,

[GROANS] whatever.

But give yourself something to play with

rather than just the words.

And I know you didn't learn them in some mindset of doing that.

But it's what the director wants.

Action.

[TAPS TABLE]

[TAPS TABLE]

So-- [TAPS TABLE] you want to donate to my foundation.

You are aware--

[HONKS]

--that I wound things down in that area.

Right?

But the climate changes affect us all, Mr. Valentine.

No, no, no.

No, no, no, no, no, no, no.

See, I wound things down in that area

because I wasn't getting anywhere.

because I wasn't getting anywhere.

[HONKS]

Every bit of research kept pointing to the same thhhhing.

That carbon emissions are a red herring, and that we

have gone past the point of no return,

no matter what remedial action we take?

Bonk.

Bonk.

Bonk.

Correct.

You-- [LAUGHS]

You know your shit.

[LAUGHS]

I often envy those that are far less

I often envy those that are far less

knowledgeable of their shit.

As Professor Arnold always said--

[TICKING]

--humankind is the only virus cursed to live with

the knowledge of its impending morality.

[HONKS] Not a lot of people know about him.

[SIGHS]

You like-- you like spy movies, Mr.--

Mr. DeVere?

Nowadays, they are a little too serious for me.

Nowadays, they are a little too serious for me.

But uh, the-- the old ones were marvelous.

Give me a far-fetched theatrical plot any day.

Mm, mmm, mmm, mm, mmm.

See-- [CLICKS TONGUE] [HONKS] I really felt like a Bond movie

was only as good as its villain.

You know?

Like a line?

WOMAN: When I was a kid, that was my dream job,

gentleman spy.

When I was a kid, that was my dream job.

When I was a kid, that was my dream job.

No, no, no, not-- not-- not-- not-- sorry, not--

not a villain.

When I was a kid, that-- that--

that was my dream job, gentlemen-- gentlemen--

gentlemen-- gentlemen spy.

Well, I always thought that those old Bond movies

were as good as their villains.

Yeah, well, it's a shame.

It's a shame to--

It's a shame to--

As a child, I always fancied myself

as a colorful megalomaniac.

Yeah.

Yeah.

It's a shame we had to both grow up.

Right?

Yes.

Yes.

Well, bon appetit.

Cut.

OK, good effort.

It's kind of restless legs syndrome

of sorts, some kind of hyper--

Yes, you reacted to him irritating you in a way.

That's good.

You do know that that last line, it's

You do know that that last line, it's

a shame we both had to grow up, you know what that means.

Right?

Yeah, because the roles are flipped.

No.

It's a shame you both had to grow up because now you're

not playing at being anything.

We are what we are.

And one of us is going to kill the other one.

You know?

It's a threat.

[LAUGHS] It's a threat.

It's a shame we both had to grow up.

I mean, that's the one moment where

all the levity bullshit, everything goes out

the window in the scene.

That's-- that's the point of the scene.

Yeah, it was fanciful thinking about that bullshit

when we were kids, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.

We're grown now.

I know who you are.

And you know who I am.

And you know who I am.

We both know who we are.

You're the Bond villain.

I'm Bond.

You know?

We're grown.

We're not playing at anything anymore.

Shit's on.

You know?

But thanks for coming by.

Nice seeing you.

I'll be in touch.

You know.

MAN: Yeah.

It's kind of like [GRUNTS] that's the one time they look

in each other's faces and they know.

You know?

You're my enemy, you're my enemy.

You're my enemy, you're my enemy.

But I'm not going to just say that out loud to you,

just so you know.

You've been resting.

Come on.

All right?

All right.

All right.

And Axion.

Yo.

Yo.

Yo.

Yo.

Yo.

Yo.

Yo.

Yo.

So, you, you want to donate to my foundation.

Well, you are aware that I, uh, wound things down in that area

or whatever, you know?

or whatever, you know?

Well, climate change is, uh, a threat that affects us

all, Miss Devere.

No.

And you are one of the most powerful

that seems to share my concern.

[LAUGHING] Nah, nah, nah, nah, nah, man.

Nah, nah, nah.

I shut things down 'cause that shit wasn't going anywhere

you know?

Every bit of research, it was just

in the same direction and whatever.

Mm-hm, that climate-- uh, that carbon emission's a red

herring.

herring.

We're way past the point of no return.

And no matter the remedial actions we take--

[LAUGHTER]

Man, you know your shit!

You know your shit.

Yeah.

Yes.

Yes.

Uh.

I, uh-- I sometimes, uh, envy the blissful ignorance of--

knowing line?

MAN: Those less well-versed.

Those less well-versed in their shit.

Those less well-versed in their shit.

[LAUGHTER]

Ah, yo.

As, uh, Professor Arnold always said,

uh, that humankind is a virus that is cursed with the, uh,

horrifying knowledge of its host's fragile mortality.

Oh, Professor Arnold, man.

Oh, man.

You know, not a lot of people knew about that guy.

You know, not a lot of people knew about that guy.

Yo, yo, you like spy movies, Mr. Devere?

Ah, nowadays they're [LAUGHS] way too serious for my taste.

But the old ones?

Oh!

Marvelous, yes.

Uh, give me a, uh, theatrical plot any day.

Oh, man, those old Bond movies, now that's the shit.

Mm.

Mm.

That's what's up.

You know, when I was coming up, I, uh--

You know, when I was coming up, I, uh--

[LAUGHS] it's kind of embarrassing.

I often-- That was my dream job, yo, gentleman spy.

Hell yeah.

The old Bond movies, I always thought they're only

as good as the villain.

As a child, I fancied a future as a colorful megalomaniac.

As a child, I fancied a future as a colorful megalomaniac.

Well, it's a fucking shame we both had to grow up then,

isn't it?

Bon appetit, motherfucker.

Very good.

Thank you.

Awesome.

A great-- a great, great, great, great, great contrast there.

You committed to something that was perfect,

you know, great cover.

Who this guy is, you know?

You walked into the 'hood finally.

You walked into the 'hood finally.

[LAUGHTER]

Stepped yourself in there, you know?

Good.

You know, great choices, great, you

know, way to make this happen.

Wow, how'd you feel about it?

I almost lost it in the middle there because--

Well, you asked for a line, but, you know.

That's why you have, you know, cut.

Takes.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah, but you were in that.

I could see you carrying that guy through a whole film,

you know.

So that when the transition comes in

So that when the transition comes in

and he does things like that, then it's like, whoa.

So good.

How'd you feel about Hoody?

It was fun.

You enjoyed it because you didn't think as much this time.

WOMAN: Yeah.

You just let it be.

I let it go.

Let it go, be in that.

Feel-- feel confident in, you know,

the words and the character.

That's who he is, you know?

I'm-- I'm here.

And it's cool because then, you know,

you can find things as you go because it wasn't preplanned.

So, yeah.

So, yeah.

I mean, that was a lot of good--

lot of good discovery in that interchange, you know.

And that's what you want sometimes, you know.

OK, now you switch.

See what happens.

Switch roles.

Action.

So, do you want to donate to my foundation?

You-- you are aware I've wound things down in that area,

right?

Climate change is a threat to us all, Mr. Valentine.

And you are one of the few powerful men

And you are one of the few powerful men

who seems to share my concerns.

Well, I shut things down because things

weren't working for me.

All the research kept pointing to the same thing.

That, um, carbon emissions are a red herring?

Hm?

And that we're past the point of no return,

no matter what remedial actions we take?

no matter what remedial actions we take?

[CHUCKLING] You know your shit.

Mm.

[LAUGHTER]

Yes, I sometimes envy the, uh, blissful ignorance of those

less well-versed in their shit.

As Professor Arnold always said, humankind

As Professor Arnold always said, humankind

is the only virus cursed to live with the horrifying knowledge

of its host's fragile mortality.

You know, not too many people know about him.

You know, not too many people know about him.

Do you like spy movies, Miss Devere?

Well, nowadays they're all a little serious for my taste.

But the old ones?

Marvelous.

Give me a far-fetched theatrical plot any day.

Mm-hmm.

[CHUCKLES] The old Bond movies, oh, man, when I was a kid,

[CHUCKLES] The old Bond movies, oh, man, when I was a kid,

that was my dream job, gentleman spy.

[LAUGHS]

You know, I always felt the old Bond films were only

as good as the villain.

[CHUCKLES] As a child, I rather fancied myself

as a colorful megalomaniac.

as a colorful megalomaniac.

Mm-hmm.

[LAUGHS] Well, it's a shame we both had to grow up, huh?

[LAUGHS]

Is it?

Bon appetit.

Mm.

Yes!

Committed to that shit.

Love it!

Fuck yeah.

And see, you committed to this.

I mean, you were being alluring and all this other shit

to keep his mind off who you really are and--

to keep his mind off who you really are and--

awesome choice, awesome.

I mean, I believed all of that.

And I mean, come on, bond villains are quirky.

That was quirky.

I mean, you could have been moving

this shit the whole time, too, moved your shoes.

You could have put them closer and closer to you.

There's all kinds-- but once you made that choice,

you committed to it.

You lived in it.

Pulled yourself into who you were,

you know, and let her think--

let her think she cracked your shell.

let her think she cracked your shell.

You opened up just enough, like, yeah, bitch, all right,

I'm here, OK.

All right.

Or were you pretending to be open to her

so that you could pull her in to your shit?

So, yes, that's what we're talking about.

Those are the choices that make shit like this interesting,

because it could be anything.

So you've all had a chance to see it and feel about it.

So you've all had a chance to see it and feel about it.

Any new ideas anybody want to try?

Um, Harry.

Formidable man there.

You're Harry.

Action.

So you want to donate to my foundation.

You are aware that I've wound things down in that area,

You are aware that I've wound things down in that area,

right?

Climate change is a threat that affects

all of us, Mr. Valentine.

Mm.

Hmm.

And you're one of the few powerful men

that seems to share my concern.

Mm.

Hmm.

Mm, I wound things down because I wasn't getting anywhere.

You know, all the--

all the evidence kept pointing to the same thing.

all the evidence kept pointing to the same thing.

That carbon emissions are a red herring?

Ha.

Yeah.

[LAUGHTER]

And that we're way past the point of no return,

no matter what remedial actions we take?

[LAUGHING] You know your shit.

Well, I sometimes envy the blissful ignorance of those

less well-versed in their shit.

Mm-hmm.

Mm-hmm.

Professor Arnold--

Professor Arnold--

[SPITS]

--used to say that humankind is the only virus cursed with

the horrifying knowledge of its host's fragile mortality.

Hm.

You know, not a lot of people know about him.

Do you like spy movies, Mr. Devere?

Come again?

You like spy movies, Mr. Devere?

You like spy movies, Mr. Devere?

Oh, uh, nowadays they're rather serious for my taste.

Hmm.

But the old ones, marvelous.

[CHUCKLES]

Give me a far-fetched theatrical plot any day.

Ah, the old Bond movies, oh, man, when I was a kid,

that's what I wanted to be, a gentlemen spy.

that's what I wanted to be, a gentlemen spy.

I always thought that the old spy movies--

old Bond movies, only as good as their villains.

As a child, I fancied a future of a colorful megalomania.

[LAUGHS] Shame we all had to grow up.

Mm.

Bon appetit.

[LAUGHS] That was great.

[LAUGHS] That was great.

Fuck, yeah, you laughed!

[LAUGHTER]

Yeah, that was great.

Awesome.

That was awesome.

Yeah.

And great that you paid attention to it.

You're looking at him like that.

Only thing I wish you had done was--

[INAUDIBLE].

No.

Was when you made your Bond gun, if you pointed it at him.

And when you pointed it at him, you

went like on your thumb 'cause you saw some shit.

It's like, aw, shit.

[LAUGHTER]

Kept the gun pointed at him.

That was nails.

That was nails.

Oh, yeah.

If we were talking Bond, I mean, it's like, ooh.

That was nails.

Oh, OK.

All right.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah.

[LAUGHTER]

But, yeah, excellent choices.

Excellent way to be there.

It's like they always tell you, you listen, you respond.

You were responding to the visual thing that was being

given to you, which is awesome.

You were focused into your quirky shit,

you know, and listened to him at the same time.

you know, and listened to him at the same time.

That Professor Arnold passage was really great.

I liked the way you "bond villain-- bond movie's

only as good as a villain" thing, how you, you know,

rolled into that.

That was great.

But that's one of those studies in--

ah, come on in.

Don't stand out there outside the camera.

When somebody asks you to be a character

and not being afraid to step into a space, take a chance,

be uncomfortable, give yourself that latitude.

be uncomfortable, give yourself that latitude.

One thing about doing shit like that is when you do too much,

they can always pull you back.

When you don't do enough and as you, can you give me more?

You got to start thinking, what's more, you know?

Because it's easier to let go of shit

than it is to try and have somebody

pull some shit out of you.

So that's what you want.

You want to bring as much to the table

as you can bring when you show up.

as you can bring when you show up.

Have a full bag of shit.

So when they say, OK, you can lose that.

You lose that.

You can lose that.

You still have a full thing, you know, there in front of you,

a chance to do a performance or take a full swing

at what's going on.

That was awesome Thanks.

Thank you.

Thank you.

There are things you can do other than traditionally going

to acting school or whatever to make yourself a better

actor that are just everyday, common things like, you know,

being observant.

Let's go sit in the park and watch people.

Let's go sit in the park and watch people.

You know, or engage or sit in a restaurant and watch people.

Watch people eat.

See how people eat.

Different people eat different ways.

You know, figure that out.

Go to museums.

Watch people in museums and interact.

Or look at paintings of places and situations and, you know,

imagine yourself inside that.

Wow, yeah, galleries, dance concerts, I mean,

Wow, yeah, galleries, dance concerts, I mean,

go to things that are foreign to you.

See what the dynamic is.

Go to places where there are people

that aren't like you specifically so that you

can see who those people are.

Look at how they dress.

Look at how they carry themselves.

Look and how they interact with each other.

It's a life of observance so that you can pull something

It's a life of observance so that you can pull something

from somewhere.

I mean, there are moments when I walk down the street.

Or I remember when we were getting

ready to do "Negotiator."

My hairdresser's sister came to see him.

And I looked, and I saw her hair.

And I went, that's the hair I want for this movie.

And that's the hair I ended up having.

I ended up with that red hair because she had it.

It's just little things like that

that will pop into your head that you think

will make your character interesting

will make your character interesting

or change the dynamic of what you're trying to do.

I read so much because I just like

being outside of my reality, because I have one.

I know what it is.

I know what I do.

You know, if I'm not working, I don't particularly

want to just hang out in my world

or do the honey-do's all day long.

So I escape to another world and hang out

with some other people that are doing exciting stuff,

with some other people that are doing exciting stuff,

or living in a world of intrigue,

or sitting and watching a movie from Korea somewhere,

doing something, watching other people do what I do,

telling a story that's foreign to my experience

and wondering how I would be in that situation

and figuring that out so when that situation does pop up

on a page or somewhere, I have a reference point.

Or I have a particular kind of person

that I've seen do that thing and remember

that I've seen do that thing and remember

how that person existed in that dilemma or that situation

so that I can apply myself to it.

And that's what reading does.

It just allows me to expand and figure out

who all these people are.

There are all these jobs that I'm never gonna do.

But I can read about people who do specific kinds of jobs

that are foreign to mine and learn something about them.

And if I get a job, and somebody wants me to be a carpenter,

then I can remember a movie that I've

seen about a carpenter or a story

seen about a carpenter or a story

that I read about a carpenter.

Or I can pick up a book and read something about a carpenter

and figure out what carpenters do.

Carpenters, like everybody else, yeah, I build furniture,

but my life is this.

So I do this.

I might be a carpenter, but I kill people, you know,

whatever that is.

But if you don't read, I don't know

how you expand your horizons.

I would think it would be important for an actor

to read because that's what you do when you get a script.

to read because that's what you do when you get a script.

You've got to read it.

And if you don't have the ability

to read, interpret, and break down,

I don't know how you get to where

you need to get when you're, you know, doing your job,

because an essential part of this job is reading.

That's what you do.

You read a script.

Or they come in with changes, and you

have to read those changes.

Or if you're in television, they change--

you know, you've got pink pages, blue pages, yellow pages,

orange pages, and black pages, whatever page comes up.

orange pages, and black pages, whatever page comes up.

They're constantly changing, so you're constantly reading.

So if you can't read and interpret and put that

in front of somebody, the things that you

see on the inside of those pages,

then you're lacking one of the tools

for doing this particular job.

When young actors say, what should I

do to get where you are, I think the one thing

do to get where you are, I think the one thing

I always say is, you know, you need to go to New York.

You know, I mean, everybody wants to be on TV

or wants to be in the movies.

And there's a great opportunity now

because there are all these platforms

for these young actors to work, and that's great.

But there's something about being crafty that, you know,

theater teaches you.

There's something about the confidence

you gain from being live in front of somebody eight times

you gain from being live in front of somebody eight times

a week and hearing them do that or stand up,

or feeling the energy of an audience when they're with you

on stage.

They feel the emotion.

They sigh.

They cry.

They laugh.

They do these things.

That says you can do it.

You know, we can be in situations like this

or like on a movie set.

And you could do something, and you could do something great.

But the only reason you know that is

But the only reason you know that is

because the director comes up and says, that was great.

You know, I've been on movie sets

when people broke into applause.

But that's because I was doing something for Quintin.

I mean, when we did the diner scene in "Pulp Fiction,"

you know, the first time at the end of the end part with me

and Tim, you know, the crew broke into applause

because they hadn't seen it.

You know, it was kind of like, that was amazing.

That was great.

It's one of those things where Quentin writes movies.

It's one of those things where Quentin writes movies.

And he writes dialogue for characters that's theatrical.

I mean, you don't often pick up, you know, a movie script,

and you've got a two-page monologue.

And there aren't a lot of actors that can do that, actually,

honestly, that haven't done theater.

So when you have an opportunity to do that,

you have an opportunity to showcase skills

that people don't have.

that people don't have.

It takes something to keep people's attention

that long, even on screen when you're doing it,

you know, so that they're paying attention,

so they're listening to you, so that they're

engaged with what you're doing.

So you have an opportunity to do all those things

that you learn.

I would also encourage young actors, old actors, anybody,

you know, to watch movies from other cultures.

you know, to watch movies from other cultures.

Watch foreign films.

It's reading again.

I know.

People don't like reading movies.

But you watch those films because you

learn what acting techniques are in other cultures, what

works in that particular culture, how they tell stories,

how those actors' emotional dynamics are

different from ours in terms of how things happen.

Some cultures are depicted as cold.

Some cultures are depicted as cold.

Find out how people deal with disaster in that culture.

You might be asked to do that.

Or you might find it an interesting way

to react to something tragic in a film or a situation

or a story you're in that is more interesting than the way

we normally do it.

So watch foreign films.

Go to the theater.

Watch other actors work so you can see what succeeds for them

or what works in a real situation for you

as you watch an actor in real time doing what they do.

as you watch an actor in real time doing what they do.

Go to plays that have, you know, like,

legendary Broadway stars in them,

people that have theater reputations.

And see why those people's reputations are

what they are, how effective they are at what they do,

and why they are that effective, and how you can incorporate

that into what you do or how you approach

how you want to do something.

how you want to do something.

The first time I see my performance

is when they let me see the movie.

So I'm sitting there watching that and figuring out

what they kept, what they didn't keep, or how the edit works,

or whatever.

And if it's fine with me, then I go to the movie

to enjoy the movie for the first time with an audience,

to see what their general response is

to what's on screen.

You see yourself as everybody else sees you.

Do you like what you see?

Do you like what you see?

Do you not like what you see?

Do you believe yourself, number one, when you're watching it?

Are you proud of what you did?

If you're honest with yourself, can you

give yourself an honest assessment of your performance

and what you did in that particular story

or in that film or how you related

to the characters you wanted?

Did the most important thing you wanted

to convey about that particular character come out on screen

to convey about that particular character come out on screen

when you did it?

Can you give yourself an honest assessment

of whether you were any good or not?

[LAUGHTER]

You know, so sometimes maybe you're

sitting there, watching yourself.

And you decide maybe I need to direct.

Yeah, OK, not be in front of the camera,

maybe I need to be behind it, you know.

Or what took them so long to find me?

Any old, stupid thing can happen.

But it's just a way to have an honest assessment of yourself.

But it's just a way to have an honest assessment of yourself.

You know, for me, it's all about the entertainment aspect of it,

in terms of I wanted to be in this film

because I wanted to be in this story.

And is the story the story I thought it was going to be?

And did I do the things that I wanted

to accomplish in this story?

And am I happy with it?

That's it.

I think actors, directors, and producers

are sitting there waiting on the guy to walk in the door

that they've visually seen in their minds in their movie.

And if he's good enough, they'll cast him

because it's the look that they want,

because that's who they are, They're visual artists.

because that's who they are, They're visual artists.

When you go in a room, what you want to do

is make a lasting impression.

So no matter what you do when you go in there,

you go in there, and you go in there

with a vengeance artistically.

Sometimes that can be extremely difficult

because an audition is bullshit.

I've been to those.

I've been-- I auditioned for "My Cousin Vinny."

I've been-- I auditioned for "My Cousin Vinny."

I went in and auditioned.

And the audition was seven words.

Mud-- you got mud on your tires.

Now, I don't know how you go in a room

and you impress people by doing that.

But you go in there, and that's when you go in there

and hope you're the guy they were looking

and hope you're the guy they were looking

for when you walked in the door, because anybody

can say that, mud--

you got mud on your tires.

But there are some people who might go in there and say, mud?

You got mud in your tires.

Somebody'll do it wrong.

And you hope that enough people go in there and did that wrong

and you did it right that they'll cast you.

But what you want to do when you go in

that room is show them that you took the time to number one,

learn that shit.

Don't go in there with a piece of paper your hand reading it.

Don't go in there with a piece of paper your hand reading it.

Number two, you spent some time with it,

and you want to know what's going on in that scene.

That if you're connecting to somebody

who's reading with you, then you connect with that person.

Make eye contact with them.

Be in that moment with that particular person.

You also want to do it with a certain amount of energy

and show them that you make choices, direct choices that

and show them that you make choices, direct choices that

mean something to that particular moment

that you're acting in.

That you're not just randomly throwing words around the room.

That you're not just being loud or angry or crying.

You know, take them on a roller coaster ride, go up and down,

you know, start somewhere, have a middle, and an end.

Know what that is.

Know how you want to get there.

Make them want to leave that room with you.

Because when you're finished, you're going somewhere.

Because when you're finished, you're going somewhere.

And they might want to go with you because you're

that interesting.

Be that interesting when you go in and read.

It's only OK to improvise in an audition if you're asked to.

There's no need for you to change somebody's writing.

They-- they gave you what they wanted to hear.

Your-- your opportunity to improvise or fix something

Your-- your opportunity to improvise or fix something

is after you get the job.

You can say to the director, you know,

I was sitting at home thinking about this and dah, dah, dah.

It would sound better if I said it this way.

And they'll either say to you know, no,

do what's on the page, or let me hear what you want to do.

But don't try and surprise people

by coming in there proving to them that not only am I

a great actor, I'm a brilliant writer.

I changed your shit to make it better.

Even though I said they're waiting

on what they have in mind to walk in the room,

I am not an advocate for putting on a costume

to go to an audition.

They have a costumer.s that person

will put you in the clothes if you get the job.

Don't try and prove to them you understand

what they have on the page because I'm already

dressed for it.

They're not going to ask you to wear your clothes.

Number one, be off book, like I said.

Number one, be off book, like I said.

Always be off book.

It's conscientious.

It's professional. s It's proving

that you can learn the lines.

If you can't learn them to try and get the job,

why would they think you're going to learn them

once you got it, you know?

So prove to them that you can learn them by learning them.

Be there.

Be off book.

Have an emotional depth and range when you go in the room.

Have an emotional depth and range when you go in the room.

Even if you're supposed to be loud, angry, and abusive,

there are depths and there are dimensions

and there are channels that you can

use to make that interesting and something more

than just outright shouting and aggression.

Figure that out.

Always have an emotional arc.

Have a place to begin, have a place

to be in the center that crystallizes it,

to be in the center that crystallizes it,

and have a good ending for it.

That is just the way conversations work.

That's the way performances work.

I don't want to say that there's difference

between auditioning for a play and auditioning for a film.

But there is.

There is a-- a rule of thumb in theater

There is a-- a rule of thumb in theater

that you talk to the person in the last row.

But you still have to be able to talk

to that person in the last row with emotional dynamics--

up, down, middle, all those things.

And movies, there is such thing as being too quiet.

I work with actors that I've had to lean

over trying to hear what they're saying

or wait for them to stop moving their lips

or wait for them to stop moving their lips

so I know it's time for me to speak.

Don't be that.

Always let them hear what you're saying, enunciate.

Don't mumble.

There are some actors who made a career out of mumbling.

If you're in an audition situation,

you won't be one of them.

So always enunciate.

Be polite and listen.

If you're given a direction, try and take it,

even if you think it's wrong.

even if you think it's wrong.

Try and take it and do it, and do it and have it make sense.

Don't be surprised in the moment.

So before you go in that room, think about the different ways

that you can do it.

Try all those ways, either out loud, if that's how you do it,

or in your head or in a mirror or wherever you do it.

So that when they do ask you, you've

thought of that possibility and you can take that direction

and incorporate it into what you've already done

or what you know to do or what you want to do.

or what you know to do or what you want to do.

Don't-- don't say to them, I don't think my character would

do that, because they're right.

You're right.

Your character won't do that because you won't be hired,

and you won't be getting that check.

So don't do that.

Don't ever say, I don't--

I don't think I'd do that, because you won't be doing it.

Not a big deal.

[CHUCKLES] And be on time.

Be early.

It's hard to say to you and it's a harsh thing for you to hear.

But when they look at your resume,

there's something right about actors who work,

and there's something wrong with actors

who haven't worked in a while.

That's just who they are, and that's what it is.

So if you're giving them your resume,

don't tell them when that play was

don't tell them when that play was

or when that last thing you did was, or don't

put on there a movie that came out 10 years ago,

and that was the last thing you did.

Give them your picture and take your resume off of it.

Just give them your picture and go in there and do what you do.

You know, they know you're there because you-- you're an actor.

They don't have to know what the last time you acted.

Back when you were auditioning--

Back when you were auditioning--

it's been a minute, I'm sure--

did you have a mantra, something that you

said to yourself or an attitude, or did you

give yourself a pep talk before you go and audition?

In the beginning, I was like everybody else.

I got sides.

And I looked at what was happening in that moment

and said, OK, what am I trying to accomplish

in this particular moment?

And what do I want to present myself as?

And I present my best self with confidence and assurance.

You know, I go in the room.

You know, I go in the room.

I know what I want to do.

I do that thing.

I do it well and hope they cast me.

And like I said, when I left and if they didn't ask me,

and I found out later somebody got that job,

I felt sorry for them that they didn't cast me, you know,

because they would have had a better movie with me in it,

you know, or a better play or a better

whatever I'd auditioned for.

But every job's not yours.

And that's how you got to look at it.

That I can do every job, yeah.

That I can do every job, yeah.

But apparently every job's not for me, or I'd have them all,

you know?

Or I'd have every job that I go in and audition for.

I mean, I've gone to auditions.

The difference between what happens here

and what happens when I was a young actor in New York and we

were all going to auditions, if I went to an audition,

I could do a great audition, but I would also

know that this is not for me.

But I knew who it was for.

And I could call them and say, you know,

they're reading people for this thing.

You should go.

You should go.

You're the guy they're looking for.

And that person could go down there, and 9 times out of 10,

they got that job because I was right about it.

But part of this is the giving aspect of it.

That you can't go home and be bitter about the job

you didn't get.

And if you do have an opportunity

to tell somebody that's in your age group that

is right for that job to go and get that job, you should.

is right for that job to go and get that job, you should.

You shouldn't you know, hold people back

because it gives back to you in the same way you give,

you know?

It's easy to look at somebody and go, oh, shit,

that bitch is here again.

She gets all the jobs, you know.

She gonna be gone at some point.

Or she'll be priced out of they're range.

And you'll start getting those jobs.

Don't worry about them.

There's nothing you can do to control that.

All you can do is go in and be the best you you can be.

At a certain point, when I was doing theater,

At a certain point, when I was doing theater,

I lost sight of all this.

This wasn't my goal.

And a lot of times when you go into a room to audition,

don't go in there looking for the job.

Go in there to present your best self to those people.

Because if that job is yours, you'll get it.

But if you present your best self,

those same people do other jobs they'll

remember you when the job that's for you pops up in their head.

remember you when the job that's for you pops up in their head.

They're like, remember that girl that was

in here that did that thing?

She's perfect for this.

Don't go in there thinking about the job.

Go in there thinking about, wow, another great day

to have an acting opportunity.

I'm going to act for some people today and not just in a mirror

or in a class.

I'm actually going to act for some people that, you know,

can do me some good.

Not that going to acting class is not good.

But just go in there to have that joy

But just go in there to have that joy

of acting in front of some people,

because that's what we do.

We do this for other people.

We do it for ourselves because we need

to be satisfied as artists.

But we do it to present ourselves.

This is a look-at-me business.

You know, and all those actors that talk about,

well, I can't stand to watch myself on screen,

so why should anybody else pay $12 to look at your ass

if you can't watch it, you know?

So go in there and present your best self.

Take it as this is a day I get to act for somebody else,

Take it as this is a day I get to act for somebody else,

you know.

And be happy about it and be joyous about it,

be confident in it.

And go in there and rock the house.

And you might have rocked the house.

You just didn't get the job because they didn't see you.

Best I can tell you.

When people ask me why I work so much, I go,

it's because it's what I do.

It's like any acting opportunity is a great opportunity for me.

You know, if I could get up every day

and go somewhere and act, I'd be the happiest person

in the world.

You know, writers get up and write.

Painters get up and paint.

Why can't I get up and go act?

You've been quoted as saying that there is--

along your path, that there's no small role.

Right.

How has that evolved throughout your career,

like, from start to where you are now?

Any day that I have an opportunity

to go act for somebody, I take it.

I go do it.

And [SIGH] it's a corny, little statement.

You know, there are no small roles, only small actors.

You know, there are no small roles, only small actors.

But, you know, it's true.

Every role is important.

If somebody's got something to say or something to do,

then it moves the story along.

Um, but saying all that, I never worked as an extra.

But that was because I was a stand-in for Robert Hooks when

I was in college.

They actually came to Atlanta and shot a movie,

and I was his stand-in.

I stood there while they set the lights

I stood there while they set the lights

and did the whole stand-in thing.

And, you know, I ate when the actors ate.

And, you know, people knew my name, and they treated me well.

But I saw how they treated the extras.

And I said, oh, shit.

I ain't never gonna do that.

[LAUGHTER]

I'm not gonna do that.

I'm not going to eat last and stand in the rain

and not have nowhere to go pee, you know, all that.

You know, so I never did that.

But, no, there are no small roles.

You take every chance you can to act,

and you never know who's going to see you

and you never know who's going to see you

doing whatever it is you do.

Breaks come from nowhere.

That's the one thing.

Nobody can teach you how to get your break.

Your break always comes from being in the right place

at the right time.

And nobody can teach you that.

You know, and that whole luck is the perfect meeting

of preparation and opportunity.

If you ain't prepared when opportunity knocks,

who knows when he be coming back that way.

You know, so do it.

You know, so do it.

Yeah, step up every time you can.

So you think even as far as, like,

a business decision, you still shouldn't say no to a job?

For instance, like TV is concerned,

I feel like a lot of times in television as an actor

you can get stuck in what they call a costar actor, somebody

who comes in, says a couple of things, and that's it.

So I feel like you kind of get pigeonholed

in that, rather than being thought

in that, rather than being thought

of for a top-of-show guest or a, you know, one-day guest star.

So do you feel like it's still good to say yes to all of that,

regardless of, like, being pigeonholed in a sense?

Because in TV, you kind of get stuck.

You know, if you let yourself, I feel

like you can get stuck there, rather than saying,

you know what?

No, I'm not going to do cop number one.

Thank you so much.

Thank you so much.

I have plenty of cop one.

I'm not gonna do it anymore.

Thank you.

You can do that, if you feel like that's where it is.

You know, I mean, I don't know about that.

Or is cop number one always the same guy?

You know what I mean?

Can cop number one, you know, talk differently,

look differently, whatever?

Can you, you know, wear a wig?

Right.

Or not be shaven or grow a mustache

or put a scar on your face or, you know, walk differently,

or put a scar on your face or, you know, walk differently,

carry yourself differently.

You can always change you to do what that role calls for,

as long as it's not distracting in,

you know, some way that's way outside the story.

But if you feel like you've done enough of that, then fine.

And if you find yourself doing it too much, get a new agent.

[CHUCKLING]

Right, right.

Find some more representation or somebody

who can get you in front of the people

who can get you in front of the people

you want to get in front of for those bigger parts that

can connect you to that thing that you think

is going to project you to the next place.

And maybe that's the thing.

That's a business decision, and this is a business.

And sometimes, you got to step off another cliff.

You got to, you know, I mean, lose that--

Climb up another mountain.

Yeah, man, lose that security blanket or those people who've

been able to do what they did.

And find that person that can take you

And find that person that can take you

to the next place, you know, that can put you

in the room, that doesn't get the script after it's

gone through five different levels of casting, you know.

You have to make choices.

And those choices dictate whether you

flatline, bottom out, or go up.

That's difficult.

For me, I make choices that are things that make me happy.

For me, I make choices that are things that make me happy.

I make choices of films that I want to go see,

that I want to go see with me in them, because that

was one of those things.

Like, when I was doing theater, I always

wanted to go see the plays I was in,

but I only wanted to see them if I was in them.

Couldn't do that.

Now with the movies, it's perfect.

I get to pick things I want to see me in, and I can see them.

So that's what I do.

I choose things that I want to see me in.

I choose things that I want to see me in.

I don't chase things because--

I mean, my agent says things to me

like, oh, this movie is so important.

It's gonna be Oscar time.

They're gonna [MUMBLING].

Uh, I don't chase Oscar bait.

It's like I'd rather do "King Kong."

I'd rather do a popcorn movie because I'm

gonna have fun doing it, and people are gonna

have fun coming to watch it.

And that's who I am.

I do movies that I tend to--

I do movies that I tend to--

that I would have gone and seen if I was a kid.

So when somebody says, they're doing a King Kong movie,

and they want you, I'm like, I'm in.

I wanted to see me in a King Kong movie.

I've been running from King Kong since I was a kid.

So I get to really do it onscreen and watch me

and King Kong in this?

Hell, yeah, I'm in.

You know, so the choices you make make what happens,

or they move you.

You know, people win Oscars.

You know, people win Oscars.

And, you know, the next thing you know,

they're doing something.

And you go, ooh, they did they do that?

Or some people don't do movies until that season.

I'm not that person.

Like I said, the greatest reward I have

is people spending their money to go and see

the movie that I'm in, having a statue of some sort

because I did something great one year.

Or now, I'm starting to get Lifetime Achievement Awards.

I'm just kind of like, oh, shit.

I'm just kind of like, oh, shit.

Am I done?

What's happening?

Is this it?

I've gotten a couple of those, you know.

Those are great honors that people are paying some homage

to the fact that I worked, and I entertained them,

and I did what I was supposed to do in my career,

not necessarily that I was the greatest, but that I did it.

And I did it often, and I did it often enough.

And I entertained them enough that they appreciate me

in that way.

That's great.

But, you know, winning an award for,

you know, best this or best that, I mean,

you know, best this or best that, I mean,

the best in what moment?

The fact that the writers, the younger writers and directors

I think these days, live in a society that's

very different from the one that the traditional Hollywood

filmmaker used to live in allows us greater leeway

filmmaker used to live in allows us greater leeway

in terms of who we want to be in a story, which

leads to that whole diversity issue that people talk about.

Or I watched Charles Barclay's television show

the other night on race, and the whole show

was is Hollywood racist.

And it was interesting only because they

And it was interesting only because they

were speaking to some young Korean actors,

or Korean performers, who are probably in that place

we were in in the '70s, '80s, you know,

in terms of how they're portrayed on screen

and how many opportunities they have

to be whatever characters they think they should be on screen,

which is any character.

which is any character.

And because these young screenwriters

and these young directors grew up with all these ethnicities,

they tend to populate their films with the world

they grew up in, so that all the criminals aren't black.

All the criminals aren't Hispanic.

The lawyers, doctors, cops, everybody

is of a different ethnicity.

And, you know, if you're Asian, and they

And, you know, if you're Asian, and they

want you to be in a movie, and they ask you,

do you know Kung Fu, I mean, don't get offended.

That's what they know.

Just say yes or no.

And if you don't want to do it, you don't do it.

I hear people say all the time, well,

I'm not gonna play another criminal.

Or I'm not gonna play another guy in jail.

Or I'm not gonna do this.

I'm not gonna do that.

OK, well, not gonna do that means people are not

gonna see you, either.

gonna see you, either.

So in my mind, I would take roles--

you know, it's like the robber in "McDowell's."

Yeah, it was an Eddie Murphy movie,

but it was still another robber.

But I figured, I'm gonna go in here

and be the most interesting robber they've ever seen,

so that when I go in there, and I rob McDowell's, and I leave,

people are gonna want to know, where are you going?

You know, so in my mind, I'm robbing this place.

I could have been a junkie, but no.

For me, when I did it, I was, like, robbing McDowell's

because my girlfriend had been on my ass

because my girlfriend had been on my ass

because I wasn't buying formula and diapers and whatever.

And I couldn't afford them, and that's

what I was in there doing.

I was robbing them so I could get

some formula and some diapers so my woman would leave me alone,

and we could have sex and be in love again.

So you can make up anything that makes it OK for you

to go in and do something.

Don't just not do something because you're

sick of seeing that image, or you're

sick of seeing that image.

If you're sick of it, then change the way,

If you're sick of it, then change the way,

or change the rules, or change the purpose that

sent you into that situation.

Don't just do it because, OK, you're a junkie.

And junkies rob people.

Or I'm a crackhead.

I'm gonna rob some people.

You know, change all that up.

And when you go in there, make that urgency something

that people can feel or understand

why you are committing that crime for a greater cause.

That's personal.

That's personal.

That is life or death in that particular moment,

and that creates dynamism for a person sitting there,

watching you.

Then you're not just some carbon-copy, cut-out, you know,

robber, black-ass fool, robbing somebody.

Or you're not that Asian dude that knows Kung Fu.

Or you're not the Hispanic kid who's

in the cartel or a gang-banger.

You know, you're doing it because of.

If you're a gang banger, OK, fine.

It's family tradition.

It's family tradition.

My grandfather was in the gang.

My dad was in the gang.

I'm in the gang.

It's a family tradition.

It's a thing of pride.

You either want to do it, or you don't want to do it.

You can do it with relish, or you can do it with reluctance.

But give it some dynamic.

Give it something that is something out of the ordinary,

even though you're playing some kind

of standard, carbon-copy role.

But it's an opportunity for you to be seen.

It's an opportunity for you to work.

And if you can do something that changes the dynamic of what

And if you can do something that changes the dynamic of what

that character is, with the purpose of what

that character is in the story still being the same,

people look at you differently.

And the producers are gonna go, shit.

We never thought of that.

I mean, we didn't expect him to be all that.

You know, so find a way to make yourself special.

One of the things that served me well, when you get an agent,

One of the things that served me well, when you get an agent,

you have to make the agent understand

how you want to work with him.

I think one of the common mistakes

that people make or young actors make is when you get an agent,

you think you're working for somebody.

Guess what.

They're working for you.

10% of nothing is nothing.

One of the rules I had when I first got my agents

and managers was not to send me in for roles that specifically

and managers was not to send me in for roles that specifically

say African-American.

Let me see the breakdown of that script.

And I want to go in, and I want to read

for this role, that role, that role.

I don't care what his race is, because it shouldn't matter.

If it doesn't impact the story in a racial way,

then it shouldn't matter what race that character is.

So always insist on going in for just

a character, not the African-American character.

When I heard about managers, I just

assumed it was another person that

wanted some more of my money.

But then I found out what managers actually do

and the kinds of relationships they have that agents

don't have that allow you to meet writers, producers,

and other people that aren't just based

in a specific project.

These are people that are planning

to do things, that could put you in their plans.

to do things, that could put you in their plans.

They can connect you with writers

who can write specifically for you, because they're writing.

And they've seen something that you're in,

and they know that you can embody

a character that they may create,

you know, specifically for you.

And they do put pressure on agents

to produce and bring you more work,

or they'll help you find an agent who can do that.

So they're important.

So if you can find a manager or one that

believes in you to the extent that they exert pressure

believes in you to the extent that they exert pressure

in other places that an agent can't, you should get one.

Well, the recommendation for actors

who don't have representation yet is to, you know,

do what I did.

Go to auditions and wait until, you know, there's a break.

Even when I didn't have an agent,

I knew that there was a certain in the day when all those union

I knew that there was a certain in the day when all those union

people had been seen or whatever.

And they're at the end of the day,

and they might see that one dude that's just

kind of hanging around there.

I just wanted to come in.

I heard you were doing something, so I'd say,

I just wanted to come in and read.

And they might let you do it.

Sometimes, it just takes some sticktoitiveness,

you know, to get in there and make that happen.

Or sit there.

See, and they see you all day, sitting there.

And they go, you've been here all day.

When's your time?

Uh, hopefully now, 'cause, you know, I'm the last person here.

Uh, hopefully now, 'cause, you know, I'm the last person here.

Everybody else is gone.

They might see you.

Take that moment.

So take a chance.

Step off the ledge.

Got nothing to lose, you know.

That's for sure.

A job well done is a job well done.

You know, you do it to the best of your ability.

And I think, too, that understanding

that, even having a responsibility at home

that, even having a responsibility at home

to complete certain tasks or to meet a certain standard,

means something.

Having someone to answer to is very important in terms

of who you become in your self-worth,

because you have to have a standard for yourself.

Having had people who set a certain bar, it's like for me

when I was a kid, my job was going to school.

when I was a kid, my job was going to school.

My job was bringing home a certain kind of grade.

And if that didn't happen, then there was consequence.

There's no consequence for a lot of people anymore.

They don't have people to answer to.

Not only did I have to answer to my parents.

I had people, teachers, who had an expectation.

When you get to your professional lives,

you have expectations, or people have expectations of you.

you have expectations, or people have expectations of you.

That's why they hired you.

So the directors that I worked for had an expectation.

At a certain point, the actors that you are performing with

have an expectation of you also that when

you're inside this story, the writer wrote the story.

The writer expects you to bring that story

to life in a realistic kind of way

and to convey the meaning of what they wrote to an audience.

So when audiences pay their money,

they have an expectation of being entertained or satisfied

they have an expectation of being entertained or satisfied

in a specific way.

So you have to work toward doing that.

You don't have to consciously think about it.

But the standard that you set for yourself

allows that to happen just kind of automatically.

Then an audience becomes satisfied

because you satisfied the things that the writer wrote.

You satisfied the director's expectation of it.

And you and the actors on the inside of that

have reached an agreement to set that standard

have reached an agreement to set that standard

for this particular story or this particular moment

in the story that has to be effective and work

in a specific way.

I think any and every opportunity to act

is a gift if you're an actor.

You know, like I said, I went in and read seven words,

did seven words.

Any and every, my wife used to tell me,

Any and every, my wife used to tell me,

why you take that piddling-ass job?

I said, well, [SIGH] I think that writer is talented.

And I think the director is probably

going to direct another movie at some point.

And even if I don't get this job,

they're gonna remember my black ass when I leave out of there.

They're gonna know.

I know exactly who to hire for this next movie.

Or the casting person will go, oh, my God.

And they'll call, and they'll send me to somebody else.

Everything leads to something else, and you never know.

Everything leads to something else, and you never know.

Things happen.

You know, I've auditioned for things

that I didn't get and got a call.

And they said, you know, you were so great in that audition.

I didn't want to waste you in that little role right there,

but I got this job.

And you would have overpowered that guy, whoever the guy is

who was gonna be the lead guy.

And it's just the way it goes.

But, you know, it's all about the experience.

This is what happened.

When I got to New York, I was one of those people--

I mean, as savvy as I was supposed

to be about the business, I thought acting

was like everything else.

You know, you start in the mail room.

You end up at the corporate office, you know.

So I figured, OK, I'm here.

I'm doing theater.

Blah, blah, blah, blah, you know.

If I'm lucky, I get good enough, I got a soap opera.

If I'm lucky, I get good enough, I got a soap opera.

You know, I'll do a soap for a while.

I'll go from soap opera to a real TV show, from TV show,

I get a movie, and I'll become a movie star.

I thought it was a progression.

I didn't realize all these other things have to fall into place

to make that happen.

Well, I moved through the Negro Ensemble Company.

And I eventually started working at The Public.

I think the first thing I did at The Public,

I think the first thing I did at The Public,

I did a production of "The Mighty Gents"

that Ntozake directed.

So it was me and Richard Lawson and Tucker Smallwood Otis

Young-Smith, Gary Bolling.

And something happened, and Tucker fell out.

And this kid came in, his understudy, guy named

Denzel Washington came in.

Denzel Washington came in.

And he ended up doing the part.

So there we were.

From that, I went to "Mother Courage"

with Gloria Foster, Morgan, Robert Christian.

It's amazing, amazing, talented people.

In fact, I was Morgan's understudy,

which is one of those funny things

because you had to go to understudy rehearsal, like,

twice a week.

One day, for some reason, Morgan and Robert Christian

were sitting in there.

And after the understudy rehearsal, you know,

Morgan was like, you don't really

Morgan was like, you don't really

need to work that hard because I'm never going to miss a show.

But you do have something.

You're going to make it.

I was like, thank you.

So that was that.

But being in New York and being in a nurturing environment

is that thing.

I remember when I did "Coming to America,"

I was talking to the director, and he

was saying that he'd never been in an audition situation where

was saying that he'd never been in an audition situation where

all the actors there in the room were sitting

around talking to each other before it was their turn

to go in the room.

He was used to being here in LA where all actors come in,

they're sitting there looking at their scripts--

blah, blah, blah.

And I tell people the reason for that

is because we know each other, in a way,

in New York because we're generally

going to the same auditions.

So if we have to go on 14th Street

to an audition and our next ones on 23rd,

to an audition and our next ones on 23rd,

we walk together to the next audition.

Or the next audition's at 30-something Street,

we walk from there to the next audition together.

Or if I go to an audition and I know I'm not right for it,

I'll pick up the phone and call my friend

and go, hey, they are reading people for this thing

that you're perfect for.

You should go.

And here, it's more of an adversarial situation

because you're in your car and you drive to the audition.

You go in there.

You see the same dudes that you've

You see the same dudes that you've

been auditioning against, you know, all the time.

You might be friends peripherally, or--

if you've done something together,

maybe you'll say something or you'll say, hey.

And then, you get in your car and you go somewhere else.

And you don't really spend time together.

We used to go to each other's place.

We would go and watch each other work, go hang out after play,

talk about the play, talk about what was going on.

What are you doing tomorrow?

Oh, I'm going to that, too, duh, duh, duh, duh.

Or they'd come see your play.

Or when we were all on unemployment,

Or when we were all on unemployment,

we all went to the same unemployment office.

It was like, you know, Club 25.

We would go there and we'd see each other every Wednesday,

pick up our checks, go to the same check cashing place,

cash our checks, go have a drink,

do whatever, and hang out.

But we were always together and we partied together.

Somebody was having a party, everybody

that was working in New York showed up at that party.

So we had a relationship that was familial.

We were a big arts family, a community

We were a big arts family, a community

that was a tight knit, wonderful, artistic, loving,

and nurturing community.

Everybody, you know, did that.

And we even went to free readings

at Frank Silvera Workshop.

You know, you see the same people there.

But it's an environment that's healthy.

And you don't sit at home and wonder

why you're not getting parts or why you're not doing this.

Because I tell people, you know, you go to New York,

you can connect with some writer's workshop

and just read new works.

and just read new works.

It gives you an opportunity to do what you do--

perform.

Then, "A Soldier's Play" happened,

which was like amazing, you know,

the first time you're in a Pulitzer Prize-winning play,

but the kind of thing that--

where-- when I read that play, it

was like, wow, oh, my god, we're going to do this?

was like, wow, oh, my god, we're going to do this?

And then the first day of rehearsal,

us sitting around the table and having all the different actors

there and all the different voices,

it was like everybody is reading.

And by the time we finished it, everybody kind

of looked up at everybody was like, oh, my god,

this is going to be special.

So the next day, the most amazing thing happened.

Adolph Caesar comes in, and he says,

ah, first day of rehearsal, ah-- he

ah, first day of rehearsal, ah-- he

threw his script across the room and was like, I'm ready,

motherfuckers.

What are y'all going to do?

And everybody is like, psh, OK, you

ain't the only one learned all this shit.

Let's go.

And everybody was off book, like, the second day,

and we just started doing the play.

And by the third week of rehearsal, we were like,

can we get somebody to come watch us?

I'm tired of doing this for each other.

We-- you know, it's like--

[GRUNTING]

--let's just do this.

But it was that kind of play.

So by the time it opened, it was like dynamite.

So by the time it opened, it was like dynamite.

It was explosive.

We were at it.

We felt it, you know.

And that's one of the first Hollywood disappointments--

one of the things that directly correlates

to, OK, so this is what the business is.

So when Hollywood decided they were

going to do that play as a movie,

OK, they plucked Denzel and Larry and Adolph out of it.

And now, the rest of us were like, we're not

And now, the rest of us were like, we're not

going to be in the movie?

We've been doing this for, like, a year and a half.

And one of the reasons "A Raisin in the Sun"

is an enduring movie is because those people did the play.

All those people did the play, and they did it

for a long time.

So you don't have to direct them.

All you got to do is just turn the camera on.

And we were those people.

It's like, you don't have to direct us.

All you got to do it turn the camera on and put us

in the right setting.

You'll have an awesome movie.

Movie is just OK.

And I mean, that's not to say that, you know,

And I mean, that's not to say that, you know,

Howard knows that is--

guy did a bad job because Howard was one of my best friends

at the time.

You know, we had done "Ragtime" together.

And we did a thing called "Trial of the Moke"

about the first graduate from West Point for PBS

and "Milwaukee" together.

So he and I were really close.

But it's something about taking people

that had lived, breathed, and understood those characters

for over a year, and don't have to think about it,

or instinctually know what's going on that allows something

or instinctually know what's going on that allows something

to live and breathe on a reality that nobody else can create

in a short time that a movie theoretically allows you to do.

But it was hurtful for all of us.

And we did the play for a long time after that, you know,

while they made that movie, even went on a national tour

with the play, you know, after all that.

I directly correlate my sobriety to my success.

I directly correlate my sobriety to my success.

So I don't have the issue of relapsing or doing

all these other things.

You know, I mean, I--

I still have moments where like, you know,

all addicts or alcoholics or whatever, I think I'm well.

But that's just like one of those things.

So when people say to me, well, you've been sober for 20 years.

So when people say to me, well, you've been sober for 20 years.

You can have a glass of champagne.

And they stick it out.

And I mean, we're trying to toast somebody.

I never had one glass anything in my life, you know,

so I don't drink.

So I know I'm not well.

And it's OK.

Give me some sparkling water or something,

so it looks like I'm doing that.

But I directly correlate that.

So I would think that if, OK, if I start drinking again

or I start using again, I'm going to fall a lot faster than

or I start using again, I'm going to fall a lot faster than

I rose, because I know how to fall.

I know what that is.

It was hard rising.

And I paid the price to do that.

So I understand it.

I was-- I was tortured by something,

but what I was tortured by was something that

was personal to me in terms of when

I was in the throes of the end of my addiction.

It was, oh, poor me in another kind of way.

It was, oh, poor me in another kind of way.

Because I had done "The Piano Lesson" at Yale

and created the role of Boy Willie.

But it was written for Charles Dutton.

He happened to be off doing "Crocodile Dundee 2."

so I did the play first at Yale.

So when they got ready to go to Broadway, he was back.

They took him.

They made me is understudy.

And in my stupidity, I took that job and I shouldn't

have because I sat backstage and listened to him

do that role every night and wished it was me.

do that role every night and wished it was me.

And that was something I had never done before.

I wished I had somebody else's job.

Because I always figured, you know,

the job that person has is that person's job, it's not mine.

I didn't get that job because it was his job.

He was supposed to have that job or whatever.

But there I was sitting back there doing that.

And I'm listening to him and making myself crazy.

I'm sitting on a fire escape behind the theater,

you know, smoking, cocaine, listening to him doing it,

thinking about how it should have been me.

thinking about how it should have been me.

And then he gets a Tony nomination,

and I'm like really losing my mind.

So that was the thing that made me crazy.

And it led me to the end of my addiction to,

you know, being so drunk and passed out on the floor

that my wife and daughter found me passed out

on the kitchen floor.

And there I was.

And the very next day, I was in rehabilitation,

but didn't look back after that.

When I was in rehab was when Spike

called me to say, you know, in a usual Spike fashion, Sam!

"Jungle Fever."

June.

I was like, Spike, I'm in rehab.

Yeah, I know!

I know!

I know.

He said, yes, you are playing a crack addict.

I said, oh, cool, I've done the research.

Let's do it.

Click.

Hung up.

And I showed up.

And I was two weeks, week and a half out of rehab

when I showed up on set.

I didn't need make up.

I didn't need nothing.

I didn't need nothing.

I was still detoxing.

It was great.

And when Ossie shoots Gator and he dies there

in the house on the floor, cathartically--

realistically in the movie, Gator's dead.

Cathartically, the addict that was in me died on that floor.

And it changed everything for me in that particular moment an

then that particular instance.

But like I said, Spike had a different conception

But like I said, Spike had a different conception

of who Gator was, so that when I got there

and I started talking to him about who I wanted him to be

and how I wanted him to use his parents,

his brother, all the people around him

to aid his addiction, or just get money from them,

or use them or manipulate them in whatever way--

and I look high, in a way, but I'm not

going to play I'm fucked up all the time.

going to play I'm fucked up all the time.

Because when you're not fucked up

and you're trying to get something,

it's another kind of desperation and cunning.

And that's how I wanted to play Gator.

And that's what I did, so that the result of that

was, you know, people saying, oh, my god.

That was my son.

That was my brother.

That was my cousin.

That was, you know, my grandson who came to my house

and stole--

stole my whatever or just went to my purse and took this.

You know, people related to Gator in a very specific way

for that specific time because everybody

for that specific time because everybody

had a Gator in their family.

And I consider that, you know, job well done.

And it was cathartic and wonderful.

And like I said, it projected me to the next place.

And I just kept going from there.

I used to call my agent.

I had this game I had with agent where I would call

and I would say, oh, Hollywood call today?

She'd go, no.

And Spike-- I saw Spike at a Knicks game.

He said they would go to Cannes with "Jungle Fever,"

and I was like, oh, am I going?

He was like, no, we're just taking the stars.

I was like, oh.

So they took the Turturro brothers

and Annabella and Leslie and whoever else they took.

And then, they created the Best Supporting Performer

Award at Cannes for me.

They'd never given it before and hadn't given it since.

They'd never given it before and hadn't given it since.

But they created that award for me.

And I called my agent one day and said, hey,

did Hollywood call?

She said, as a matter of fact, yeah.

They created some award for you at the Cannes Film Festival.

And these people want to see you about this movie.

I was like, what?

She's like, yeah.

So I ended up doing, you know, "White Sands" and not

"Malcolm X."

And that was-- that was the next [INAUDIBLE]----

my trajectory changed.

So I'd-- oh, I'd auditioned for "Reservoir Dogs" in New York,

So I'd-- oh, I'd auditioned for "Reservoir Dogs" in New York,

and I was supposed to read with Tim Roth and Harvey Keitel.

And when I got the audition, it was

Quentin and Lawrence Bender.

Now, I didn't know who either one of those guys

were really, but those guys--

Quentin, I mean, Taran--

Tim and Harvey weren't there, so I had to read with them.

And they were awful.

They sucked.

I was like, who are these guys and why am I reading with them?

I left the audition going, shit, they fucked my audition.

I left the audition going, shit, they fucked my audition.

I'm never going to get-- they were so bad,

I had to look like I was over, I think,

because they had no idea what they were doing.

And I didn't get the job.

But then I am at Sundance, and it's

the first screening of the "Reservoir Dogs,"

and I'm there.

And when it's over, I go up to Quentin to tell him

how much I liked the movie.

And he's like, how did you like the guy who got your part?

He remembered me from the audition.

I'm going, well, your movie would have been better with me

in it, but he's OK.

He's a soap opera actor.

You needed a movie star.

[CHUCKLING]

And he was like, eh, I'm writing something you're perfect for.

And he was like, eh, I'm writing something you're perfect for.

Don't worry.

I'm writing something for you.

And I forgot about it and went about my business.

And I'm doing this movie in Virginia,

and I get this script in a brown wrapper and it's "Pulp

Fiction."

I sit down.

I read it front to back.

And I stopped.

I was like, no.

I flipped it back over.

Front to back again, read it.

I was like, this is fucking amazing.

And if the Weinstein's--

I didn't even really know who they were--

let him shoot this, this is going to be great.

let him shoot this, this is going to be great.

I don't know if everybody will love it, but I know I love it.

My friends will love it.

It will have a certain audience that's going to be like,

oh, my god.

This is great.

And I do the movie.

So after I shoot that movie, I end up in New York.

And I'm shooting-- Quentin's editing and doing whatever.

I'm in New York, and I'm shooting

this movie called "Kiss of Death"

with David Caruso and Nick Cage.

And I had auditioned for "Waterworld."

And I had auditioned for "Waterworld."

And I was like, I hope I get that movie.

I can go to Hawaii and kick it and play some golf in Hawaii.

And somebody comes-- comes to me later that day and says,

oh, you didn't get "Waterworld."

Laurence Fishburne got it.

And I was like, oh, OK.

But he was supposed to do "Die Hard,"

but if you want to "Die Hard," you can do that.

And I was like, really?

"Die Hard?"

Hell yeah!

I've always wanted to be in a "Die Hard" movie

because I remember I was watching "Die Hard 1."

My friend Reggie VelJohnson plays the cop who's outside.

My friend Reggie VelJohnson plays the cop who's outside.

And I was sitting there going, how did Reggie get that job?

When was that audition?

Why didn't I go to that?

But then, all right, here's my chance

to be in a "Die Hard" movie, so I'm like, boom, great.

Let's do it.

And when I'm doing "Die Hard," I'm talking to Bruce.

And Bruce goes, when this movie comes out,

it's going to change your life.

And I go, well, what about when "Pulp Fiction" comes out?

We're in that.

And he's like, "Pulp"--

Pulp"-- "Pulp's" going to be good,

but this movie is going to change your life.

And sure enough, "Pulp" comes out.

And sure enough, "Pulp" comes out.

It's great.

I get the Oscar nomination.

All is wonderful, well, and good.

But when "Die Hard" comes out, it's

the highest-grossing movie in the world.

All of a sudden, people all over the world

know who I am because we're doing press

for it and everything else.

And things do change.

So I learned the difference between an artistic success,

which "Pulp" was, which is great,

and a box office bonanza success, which means everything

to your career because, all of a sudden,

to your career because, all of a sudden,

you mean something to the box office.

Now, granted, Bruce was the star of that movie,

but people love Zeus, that character in that movie.

So people are, you know, yelling my lines at me on the street

and they're saying all this.

And it's just happening.

And it's like things change.

And the way you can negotiate or the kinds

of things that come at you after that are very different.

So that's the break.

So that's the break.

"Pulp" was great.

"Die Hard" was better.

There are, like, several really interesting lessons

that I've had that stuck with me.

The first one was in 1980 when I went to my first "Ragtime"

interview.

I was sitting outside, waiting to meet the director.

And James Earl Jones came in, the preeminent black actor

And James Earl Jones came in, the preeminent black actor

of our time, at that time, in 1980.

And I'd read the book and everything

getting ready to come to this audition and be there.

So I knew there was a Booker T. Washington role in this.

So I figured, oh, James Earl Jones

is going to be Booker T. Washington in this movie,

blah, blah, blah.

And he sat down.

I introduced myself.

Told him how much I admired him, blah, blah, blah.

I said, so you're playing the role of Booker T.

Washington in this movie.

And he's like, no, I'm here for an interview, just like you.

And he's like, no, I'm here for an interview, just like you.

And I was like, oh.

Shit.

I just assumed because you're James Earl Jones and "Great

White Hope," and [INAUDIBLE],, that there's

scripts on your door that you're reading.

He was like, mm-mm.

I was like, oh, fuck, this what I got to look forward to?

First lesson.

[LAUGHS]

In " A Time to Kill," the weight of what had happened in that

film, I mean, that has a whole interesting kind of story

in that, in that when I did that movie,

I went into it with one intention.

And I did that.

And it was one of my first editing room lessons

in Hollywood because in the book, and in my mind,

in Hollywood because in the book, and in my mind,

and in my heart when I did that, the movie, for me,

was about a father letting his daughter know that no matter

what happens to her in the world, he'll protect her,

and he'll make the world a safe place.

So when he killed those guys, he didn't kill them

because they raped her.

He killed them because he wanted her

to know that those two guys will never be in the world

to hurt you again.

to hurt you again.

And if anybody else does it to you,

I'll be here to do that for you again.

I am protecting you from the world.

And all the scenes that I did where I expressed that verbally

were taken out of film so that when you look at the film,

you see Carl Lee as this conniving Negro who purposely

killed these white guys, and now, he's

trying to find a way to get out of it by using his daughter's

rape as the crutch.

And one of the biggest things that

And one of the biggest things that

happened for me was when I got that job

and I got there, the first scene I shot in that movie

was me going to Jake's office, Matthew McConaughey's office,

and telling him that exact story that he tells

the jury in the courtroom at the end of the movie,

the exact-- almost exact same speech, how they raped her,

what they did to her, they peed on

on, they threw her out of truck, da, da, da, the whole speech.

When I got through doing that, everybody in the room

When I got through doing that, everybody in the room

was crying.

The cameraman was crying.

The script supervisor was crying.

The director, Joel, was just, [FAKE CRYING] oh, my god.

This is amazing.

You're gonna be great.

And then when I saw the movie and it was gone, I was ruined.

In my heart, I was just [GRUNTS]..

You know, because at that time, I still had--

I still had that actor Oscar thing in my head.

You know, because Oscars are won through moments.

I know, because I'm just a movie bug--

I know, because I'm just a movie bug--

I watch movies.

I'm a buff.

I watch it-- that Academy Awards are sometimes

based on whole performances.

And sometimes they're just based on this dynamite ass

moment that was in that movie that happened.

You know?

And they run that thing.

And when that was gone from that particular role, I was like,

the effectiveness of this movie is awesome.

You know, it's great, and it's all of that.

But when you take that part of the story from me,

But when you take that part of the story from me,

it changes who I am in the dynamic of the story

without me knowing that you did that.

Because I acted a whole nother role.

But when it got edited, it became something else.

After that conversation with Quentin,

and me receiving "Pulp Fiction" in the mail,

and being told that the role of Jules was mine,

and we were going to make this movie, I'm in New York

and we were going to make this movie, I'm in New York

making a movie called "Fresh" with Lawrence

Bender, the producer that I read with for "Reservoir Dogs."

So I'm now working with him.

And he's also a producer on "Pulp Fiction."

And while I'm there, I get a call

from my agent saying that some actor had

come in and auditioned for "Pulp Fiction" for some other role,

but he wanted to read Jules so they could

see what he could really do.

And all of a sudden, they were, like,

so impressed with what he had done.

so impressed with what he had done.

Because I had been in and read Jules

because they said they just wanted to hear

what Jules sounded like.

So I went in and I did this cursory reading with Quentin

and, you know, some of the producers or whatever.

And I went off to do "Fresh."

And they said the guy was so great that they were, like--

might have to reconsider, and give him the job, and da,

da, da.

We know you came in and read.

It was good, but this guy was great.

And I was like, I was just reading.

Wait a minute.

So they called Harvey Weinstein.

Harvey says, OK, you got to have an acting contest.

Harvey says, OK, you got to have an acting contest.

So bring that guy back, and bring Sam in.

So now, I'm furious because I had

to work that Friday, get on a plane, get on the red-eye

that night.

I got the script.

I'm on the plane, furiously scribing notes in the margins,

breaking down the speeches, hitting the hot points,

underline this, do that, blah, blah, blah.

underline this, do that, blah, blah, blah.

What am I trying to achieve?

I'm doing all the things that I learned in the theater

to do when I'm breaking down a role because I

wasn't there yet.

And we had another month and a half

before that movie was supposed to start.

So I hadn't done it.

I was engrossed in "Fresh."

And that was a pretty cerebral part also.

So I'm on the plane doing everything

that I would do over a possible week, two-week period

before I actually start diving into learning what

was going on in the script.

was going on in the script.

And so I get to the audition that next morning.

And nobody is there.

I'm there by myself.

They said, well, the other guy has been here already.

They've gone to lunch.

And then they come back and said, OK, we're ready.

And they introduced me to all these people that I hadn't met.

And there's one guy who's like, oh, you--

you don't need to introduce me to him.

I know he is.

And I love your work, Mr. Fishburne.

And now, I'm like, heated, heated, heated.

And now, I'm like, heated, heated, heated.

And I got this hamburger in a bag because I'm starving.

So I go in the room.

And I'm eating a hamburger and doing the audition

at same time.

And we start doing it.

And we're doing this scene in the car, me and this guy

they hired as reader.

And we're doing the scene.

And I'm killing it.

And this motherfucker gets lost on the page.

And I'm like--

And I'm like--

I just stopped the audition.

I went off on him.

I cursed him out and told him, you know,

if you-- if you can't do it, I can do both parts my fucking

self.

OK?

So either get it right or get out.

And boom, we do it.

So I go through the audition, wham.

Do every scene that Jules is supposed to do.

Leave, get on the plane, go back.

Start fresh Monday.

Lawrence comes my trailer that morning and says,

OK, the job is till yours.

Don't worry.

Everything's cool.

But to be honest, we had really gone to lunch

But to be honest, we had really gone to lunch

to come back and try to figure out

how to tell you that, you know, we got to cast this other guy.

And it wasn't until you did the diner scene that you, like,

rocked it, and knocked it out because we never

knew how this movie was supposed to end

until we saw you do that scene.

So lesson in that is never accept the fact that somebody

tells you that something is yours,

tells you that something is yours,

and never not do all the things that you've

done to be the creative person that you are when you go

into a room with some people no matter what they tell you,

even if they tell you, well, we just want

to hear what he sounds like.

You don't have to have the performance down.

Just-- just let us hear.

That's bullshit.

Always go in there.

Every time you're in front of somebody, you're being judged.

So that was-- that was that lesson.

So, wow.

Thanks, guys, for being here today

and for suffering through whatever it was I

was throwing at you, and trying to see if I could pull out

of you or whatever.

Hopefully, you got something out of this,

something that will be beneficial

that you can use going forward in this business called show.

that you can use going forward in this business called show.

See how that works for you.

At least things to think about.

Things to try and do, things to enhance your thought

process when you're looking at a script

or looking at a character and trying to figure out

how you want to go in a room and present your best self to them,

you know, whatever.

Or if you look at these films again and say,

what was he talking about?

That's not what they're doing.

That's not what they're doing.

But, you know, it's a tough business.

You know, there are a lot of things that go your way,

a lot of things don't-- mostly don't.

You know, we here know a lot.

We learn how to deal with it, you know.

You guys are still going to auditions,

so you know that, you know.

That that's just the nature of the beast.

It's designed to defeat you in a way.

Is there anything, like, in particular,

that you can think of, like one thing that you

wish that you could go back and, like, tell yourself?

wish that you could go back and, like, tell yourself?

The one thing I wish I could go back and tell my young self

is be patient, you know.

Everything happens in its own time.

I lost sight of this because I was doing

Pulitzer Prize-winning plays.

I was working with actors and directors who

were helping me find my way inside of a character

were helping me find my way inside of a character

to develop and create a method of working that serves me

well now.

The kinds of things that we talked about in here today,

were things that I learned how to explore character,

and explore the meaning of what I was doing,

and what was going on inside the story.

And not wish for what this was, but that's it.

I will teach myself patience, you know.

But it's all about, it's all about getting up and going

But it's all about, it's all about getting up and going

to work, you know.

Don't be afraid to get up and go to work.

Well, you guys are great.

Look forward to seeing you, hopefully

somewhere on a movie set.

Agreed.

There is no formula for success.

If there was and we could put it in a can, a lot of people

would buy it.

And that person would be rich.

But the one thing for sure is success is, you know,

the byproduct of hard work, you know.

the byproduct of hard work, you know.

Or what is that?

Luck is the perfect meeting of preparation and opportunity,

you know.

If you're not prepared and opportunity knocks,

I don't care how wide the door open is, you're not

gonna get through it, you know.

Gotta be prepared.

So it's all about that and understanding

the mechanics and fundamentals of what we do and how we do it.

Those people tend to be more successful than the others,

you know.

You can't be a great basketball player if you can't dribble

and you can't shoot, you know.

You can't be a great actor if you can't understand

You can't be a great actor if you can't understand

and dissect the emotions of the people you're

trying to interpret and interpret them in a way

that people understand and recognize.

So what do you want?

Do you want to be, do you want to be an artist

or do you want to be famous?

As independent as we want to be about who we are,

we also have a responsibility to the rest

of the people on this planet to be a certain kind of person

of the people on this planet to be a certain kind of person

to make this planet work.

To, hopefully, make it a better place for everybody to be in.

So when you have an opportunity to do something that makes that

possible, you should do it.

That's just the way of life.

My grandmother fed hungry kids in my neighborhood who

said they were coming to play with me,

but they just came by my house cause

they knew we had some food, and my grandmother fed them,

they knew we had some food, and my grandmother fed them,

you know, and she would feed them.

Or my mom and my grandmother were bakers

so every cake plate in my house had a cake on it

and every cookie jar was full of cookies.

And there was always fried pies on the back of the stove cause

my grandfather ate them all day and every day.

And, you know, there was just stuff.

So they knew that those kids were coming by here.

Sure, they played with me, but they fed them too, you know.

Or kids that had too many kids in their house, they did that.

Or if they see the neighbor down the street needed something,

the old lady, you know--

the old lady, you know--

Sam, take this over to Miss so-and-so's house,

and sit there and talk to her, you know.

And bring my plate back.

So, you know, you learn to answer to people.

Having a responsibility to society and to yourself

to set a standard that creates in you a thing that

makes you the kind of person that

can relate to other people.

Actors should be able to relate to other people.

Actors should be able to relate to other people.

Actors are in the business of relaying their feelings--

or relaying the feelings of whatever their character is

in that story--

to an audience out there.

That's your responsibility.

And when I hear actors say I can't stand to watch myself

on screen, I go, well, why the hell should somebody

pay $15 to watch you and you don't want to watch yourself?

You know, what's your standard?

If you don't watch yourself, how do you

know you're doing it right?

You know, so give me a break on that, you know.

You know, so give me a break on that, you know.

It's a look-at-me business.

But having people to answer to and understanding

that it's not an obligation, but it's

something that's going to make your life better.

Because when you meet that standard, there's a reward--

whether it's applause, whether it's

a hug, whether it's a smile--

but the most important thing being, you know, job well done.

but the most important thing being, you know, job well done.

When you finish this course, first thing you should do

is sit down, think about what you've seen,

see how those things apply to you and try them.

See how much fun you have or don't have.

And then, send me a tweet telling me

how much you loved it.

SAMUEL L. JACKSON: Fuck, that was awesome.

CREW: That was amazing.

CREW: Yeah, cut, cut.

SAMUEL L. JACKSON: I don't feel like I

can do it any better than that.

I can't do it any better than that.

That was--

CREW: That was nice.

SAMUEL L. JACKSON: That was outstanding.

CREW: Nice.