The Greatest Showman - #1117 - Acting Transformation

Renly is an actor, and that has never changed, no matter what the outside world may say.

For a long time, he has been striving to explore and refine his acting skills in his own way. His aim is not to surpass others or set new records, but to continually improve himself—climbing to new heights in the craft. In the realm of art, self-improvement is a pursuit of a "perfect state" that is either unreachable or perhaps doesn't even exist.

It is not an easy road, and it might be a path that seems endless. However, Renly has no regrets.

Last year's Anti-Cancer Me marked the first time Renly felt a breakthrough in his acting. It shattered the conventional performance boundaries between Method and Expressionism, giving his character a more authentic, nuanced, and multi-dimensional texture. His performance merged with the character, transforming it into something that felt both grounded and alive.

In the subsequent Detachment, he took it a step further, finding a common thread between Methodism and Expressionism. With this understanding, he was able to inject more vitality into the character, bringing the script's core ideas into sharper focus, and making the character part of the larger harmony of the film.

In his current project, Gravity, Renly has effectively blurred the lines between performance techniques, stepping beyond the rules of traditional acting methods to see the character from a higher perspective.

Every actor should recognize that performance methods are merely tools. The ultimate task is to breathe life into the character. Whether through Method or Expressionism, as long as the actor can achieve this, it's an excellent performance.

For many young actors, especially the talented ones, acting often starts as an instinctive response to the character. They rely on raw talent and intuition to imbue the character with life, creating a unique energy. This was true for Jennifer Lawrence in Winter's Bone, and for Timothée Chalamet in Call Me By Your Name.

However, relying solely on talent won't sustain an actor's growth. Eventually, actors must hone their skills—methodologies and techniques must evolve beyond natural instinct to break new ground. Without such development, their performances can become routine, and the unique energy fades. This is one of the key distinctions between Hollywood and European cinema.

In Hollywood, young stars like Macaulay Culkin appear quickly and burn out just as fast, like meteors that flash across the sky only to disappear before their true transformation can occur. Meanwhile, the European film industry nurtures its actors through a gradual evolution: starting with raw talent, moving into skill development, and ultimately mastering the art of integrating those skills into a seamless, natural performance.

This process can be likened to a philosophy of Eastern thought: "See mountains as mountains, see water as water; see mountains as not mountains, see water as not water; finally, see mountains as mountains, and see water as water."

Inadvertently, Renly has crossed from Phase Two into Phase Three of his development—not just as Ryan Stone, but as an actor.

Although Renly isn't fully in control or fully aware of the next steps, and it's too early to declare Phase Three complete, the essence of performance lies not in formulas, but in the unpredictable spark of inspiration that drives an actor's evolution.

Originally, Renly intended to recreate the intense performance process of Buried Alive, adopting a method-driven approach to truly immerse himself in the character's world. Little by little, fictional circumstances and emotions began to anchor themselves in his psyche, until they evolved into something tangible and real.

Both Method and experiential acting techniques dissolve the boundaries between reality and fantasy, allowing an actor to empathize deeply with their character. This process re-examines the character's story, experiences, and insights from a personal perspective, which in turn enriches the performance.

Such a transformation is difficult to explain without becoming overly academic. However, in both Buried Alive and Transcendence, Renly was fully immersed in the emotional and psychological worlds of his characters—Paul Conroy and Henry Bass—through his method of acting. Even in moments where the line between film and reality blurred, he remained committed to portraying the characters authentically.

But now, in Gravity, the character of Ryan Stone has become a fusion of Renly's past roles—Chu Jiashu and his own persona as Renly Hall. These three distinct characters have been woven together to form something new and wholly integrated.

This marks a further evolution from Anti-Cancer Me, as Renly reaches for a higher level of understanding. Ryan's journey in space mirrors Chu Jiashu's ten years of confinement in a hospital bed, while also representing Renly's own personal transformation. These three stories are no longer separate; they have melded together, breaking down the barriers of time and space.

They say that art is both born from life and transcends it. Every artist's work carries echoes of their own memories, stories, and even thoughts—many artists create semi-autobiographical works, or art that evolves from their own experiences. Painting, literature, music, performance: all of these forms carry traces of the artist's soul.

As an actor, an understanding of a character's emotions—fear, joy, sorrow—comes from an actor's own life experiences. This is the foundation of Method acting. Robert De Niro, for example, wasn't a taxi driver in real life, but for his role in Taxi Driver, he spent months living like one, drawing inspiration from that experience.

But what happens when an actor can't experience the character's reality in a direct, methodical way? Like Renly in Gravity, it's impossible for him to literally experience space travel or be an astronaut.

This is where the art of performance transcends experience. The actor must resonate with the character's emotions and extrapolate them from their own experiences. It's as if the actor's soul is fragmented, with one piece becoming the character, infused with the actor's own life and understanding.

Ultimately, the role becomes part of the actor, and vice versa. The actor can then re-interpret the story, read the script anew, and re-imagine the character's emotions from their own perspective.

Renly now understands this process intimately. Through Method acting, Ryan has become Renly, and Renly has become Ryan. But in his performance, Renly also skillfully weaves in Expressionist elements, controlling every emotional shift with precision. The actor is no longer just playing the character; they are embodying the character from the depths of their soul.

After leaving the phase of "seeing a mountain as a mountain," Renly now stands at the threshold of "seeing a mountain as not a mountain," having glimpsed the final stage: "a mountain is still a mountain."

At this moment, Renly can feel Ryan Stone's presence, but he is fully aware that he is not Ryan. He knows that he is Renly Hall. However, if he were to begin shooting now, he would know exactly what Ryan's character needs and how to perform it.

This experience is abstract and difficult to articulate, but actors can sense it, and it manifests in their performances.

Consider Meryl Streep, widely regarded as one of the greatest actresses in American history. Mid-career, Meryl began playing roles that seemed similar—strong, independent women, both firm and fragile. Yet, far from repeating herself, each performance was distinct. The subtle differences in her characters' expressions, movements, and speech revealed a unique inner world each time.

This is the magic of her performances—each character bears the mark of Meryl's essence but is distinct in its own right.

Renly now feels that he's on the cusp of this quality—an achievement that will deepen his performances and expand his potential. He is eager for the next filming opportunity, knowing that the journey is only just beginning.