I Need To Talk About Tilda

On Day 3 of the Cannes experience we saw We Need To Talk About Kevin, Tilda Swinton's new movie. It was an great film (I won't go into too much detail about it; I will write a review for it). She was amazing in it, but that's like saying water is liquid. Tilda Swinton delivers great performances time, and time again. From Michael Clayton (She won a Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress) to Burn After Reading, she's always captivating, and natural. It's like she's not trying; it's just who she is. She has a tendency to play ice queens (she played a literal ice queen in the Narnia films). Judging from her roles, and how convincing she is in them; I thought she was a thespian who took her craft as serious as a heart attack. I was dead wrong.

When Tilda talked with our class, she couldn't have been more different from the characters she's portrayed. She smiled, laughed, and told funny stores. She's so down to Earth without a trace of ego. I couldn't believe it; Tilda Swinton was like us (except she's a critically acclaimed actress with an Oscar; I'm a struggling screenwriter who's never won any type of contest. I'm also a guy and not Scottish).

Three things she talked about stood out to me:

1. When thinking about signing onto projects she doesn't look at the script, she looks at the people. She believes movies should be a collaboration with all the people involved. The most important thing to her is trust; she works with people she has a history with. There are some exceptions (Like Tony Gilroy, writer/director Michael Clayton), but genuine people are first, and foremost.

2. She talked about how her children inspired her. She told a story about her son seeing Vertigo for the first time (its a Alfred Hitchcock film). He liked the movie, and wanted to see more of his films because the direction was superb (he was ten; at ten I thought Batman and Robin was a good movie).

3. The final thing I took from her talk was the answer to a question posed by yours truly. I was curious about how she improved as an actress over the years. I like to hear about the creative process people go through in preparation for a major work. I asked this question:

"How have you grown as an actress?"

I had to repeat the question because she didn't hear me; she thought about for a moment, then answered:

"I don't know. I don't think I've grown as an actress."

I felt like I asked a stupid question, but she elaborated:

"I'm not an actor. Sometimes I feel actors get caught acting. I'm a performer...I can't say I have really grown as an actress."

Then it hit me. I thought about everything she said. Never she referred to herself as an actress. I believe what she meant was that some actors make movies in order to show how good they can act. Its not always Oscar bait movies, but they're showy roles. Some actors are caught acting for acting sakes.

Performing implies that a level of professionalism goes into making a film. I thought about it like this; we don't act in front of our family; they're the only ones who see all three dimensions for better, or for worse. She only collaborates with people she knows so it's not acting; it's a role to be played. She seems to look at it like a job; not a hobby, or a vehicle to fame. Its freeing to think of it in that regard.

Well, that's enough psycho babble. I'm not her spokesman; I'm just an young man trying to understand. Most people can come to their own conclusions about what she meant; that's just how I interpreted. Her approach may not work for everyone, but it works for her. One thing was for certain; she wasn't performing in front of us that Saturday afternoon. It's impossible to fake elegance, and intelligence; no matter how good of an "actor" someone is.