Actress Dolly De Leon talks to The Inside Reel about tone, instinct, theater and characterization in regards to her new film: "Ghostlight" from IFC Films.
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Short filmTranscript
00:00♪♪
00:10♪♪
00:16Good luck, honey.
00:17You don't say good luck.
00:19It's break a leg.
00:22Break a leg.
00:23♪♪
00:28This kind of story, it has to be handled very specifically.
00:33Could you talk about that?
00:34Because Rita has to be both welcoming,
00:37but yet stern, empathetic,
00:39and yet world-weary in certain ways.
00:42Could you sort of talk about that balance
00:44within her, if you could?
00:47Well, it's really, I always go back to the material.
00:50It's really, all the answers are on the script
00:53and how it's written.
00:54And it's really all about finding where she's coming from.
00:58Why is she rough around the edges?
01:01Why is she abrasive sometimes?
01:03It's not because she means harm.
01:05It's because there's a deeper underlying meaning behind it.
01:08And I just go there to the basic of the human being.
01:11Whatever we see in their behavior
01:13is just a manifestation of what's really going on inside.
01:16So I just dig really deep into them
01:19and find out what makes them tick.
01:21And then whatever comes out of that
01:23is what comes out of that.
01:27I think it's really great that you found a place
01:29where you feel welcome, Daisy.
01:32I just don't want to screw that up for you.
01:34You should have told me.
01:35I know.
01:36I won't judge.
01:38The lines are the easy part.
01:39The hard part is the emotional journey.
01:41But beyond, like, obviously,
01:43I was talking to Kelly about this,
01:44you have to find those moments in between.
01:47Keith finds those moments of like, should I do this?
01:50And then Rita is sort of that anticipation.
01:52I think there's one scene
01:54when you are both acting together
01:56and you're like, it's all right.
01:58And yet there's so much said in between.
02:00Could you talk about it?
02:01Because the words say enough,
02:02but then the behavior needs to instinctively take over,
02:05I would think.
02:06Right.
02:07And if you think about it, in acting,
02:10there are words, right?
02:11There are lines.
02:13But those lines are sometimes,
02:14they're just masks that are just put on by the character.
02:18Mostly in the things that we watch
02:20or in everyday life, in real life,
02:24you know what they say?
02:25Words speak, actions speak louder than words.
02:28Sometimes we say things we don't really,
02:30we don't really mean that,
02:31but what really is truthful is the behavior.
02:34So it's, if you think about it, it's tricky,
02:37but it's really quite simple.
02:39And it's just a matter of protecting yourself.
02:42And all of us protect ourselves every day
02:44when we face people, right?
02:46I'm protecting myself when I'm talking to you now,
02:48you're protecting yourself when you're talking to me.
02:49So it's really the same principle, basically.
02:53It's just going back to what motivates them.
02:55Why are they saying this?
02:57What are they trying to hide?
02:58What are they protecting?
02:59Come on.
03:06Come on.
03:21What is, what's this?
03:24Your salvation.
03:26I'm kidding.
03:28We're rehearsing a play.
03:30Everyone, this is...
03:33Damn.
03:34Dan is the new Aaron.
03:36Everyone is replaceable.
03:38Especially in theater,
03:39whether we're talking about classical theater
03:41or something like Romeo and Juliet,
03:42it's about those inherent masks, as you were saying,
03:44that we put up to each other.
03:46But there's sort of classical sort of archetypes,
03:49the reluctance, you know, that sort of comes through.
03:52Can you talk about that?
03:52But it's specifically in this,
03:55it's also putting it in perspective of age,
03:58of race, of so many different things, you know?
04:01Could you sort of talk about that?
04:02Because, you know, you have to sort of show her perspective,
04:06but also sort of conduct everybody else
04:10that's within that theater troupe.
04:12This is actually, for Rita to stage something
04:16like Romeo and Juliet and casting herself and Dan
04:19as Romeo and herself as Juliet,
04:22it's a big middle finger to the world.
04:25To say that, F you all, I'll do what I want.
04:28I don't care what Shakespeare said.
04:29I love him, but this can happen.
04:32And no one can tell me otherwise.
04:34I've been, you know, Rita, this is Rita talking.
04:36I've been turned down by everyone right, left, and center,
04:40and I'm done with it.
04:42I will do things my way.
04:43And that's what she did.
04:44And that's a testament to her character.
04:46No one will stop her from doing what she wants to do.
04:49And I think it's a wonderful message to everyone,
04:51especially women of her age,
04:54dance to the beat of your own drum.
04:56Don't let anyone control you or control your choices
04:59and tell you what you can or can't do.
05:01And that's what Rita does.
05:02And that's why I love her.
05:04Here's a space to your heart.
05:05Come on.
05:07No, I don't, I'm not an actor.
05:11Can you read?
05:14Did he audition?
05:15Do you have a monologue we can see?
05:16Something classic?
05:19I should-
05:20What?
05:20Where do you have to be?
05:23Sit down and play pretend for an hour
05:25and then you can go back to your life.
05:29But you as an actress, I mean, you do the same thing.
05:31You take no prisoners.
05:32You go for it.
05:35But yet it's interesting,
05:36because there's always like,
05:37even with that hard edge of drama,
05:39there is that humor.
05:41And that comes through so wonderfully in here,
05:44because the thing is that you realize like,
05:46she knows what she's doing no matter what,
05:49but you can sort of offset it.
05:50And that's the great thing about this kind of story
05:54of a story within a story within a story.
05:56Can you talk about that
05:57and finding that balance of energy in characters?
06:01Obviously you've done it in so many different films,
06:03but specifically here.
06:05I think it's also because I've been in the theater world.
06:10That's, I mean, I'm a theater actor as well.
06:12That's really where I grew up, where I started.
06:15So it wasn't so hard to find that balance.
06:21But what's really tricky, actually,
06:23if you think about it is acting
06:25with theater acting in front of a camera,
06:28because the camera makes you so big
06:30and theater acting is already big.
06:32So that was the tricky part to not play it too big.
06:36Even if we're supposed to be performing in a theater,
06:38we still had to consider that we are being filmed.
06:41So that was the tricky part.
06:43And I learned that actually from Keith,
06:46because when he would do his scenes
06:48in the theater and Catherine,
06:49I also learned that from Catherine, she plays Daisy,
06:52their acting was very contained, but still very effective.
06:58So I said, ah, so this is how you do it, okay.
07:00So I just followed their lead.
07:02And sometimes that's also key.
07:04It's observing everyone on set,
07:05especially the very talented actors,
07:08just observing them and see how they do things
07:10and learning from that immediately and following suit.
07:13Honestly, I was just in good company.
07:16I was in very good company.
07:18What happened to them?
07:19Here's a hint.
07:20It's a tragedy.
07:22You're shaking.
07:23It seemed like you might want a chance
07:25of being somebody else.
07:28When things get hard, you either blow up or bail.
07:31It's a bad habit.
07:32Because that goes to that.
07:33You know, it's also looking what, you know,
07:35respecting, you know, what came before,
07:36but also looking at like, what came, you know,
07:39with like Catherine, it's great to see you guys
07:41in that one scene when you're in that bar
07:43and you can see the joy she has.
07:45And, you know, it's about passing that on.
07:47Kelly passing that on, you passing that on.
07:50Could you talk about the power and joy of theater
07:53and what that means to you?
07:56So to me, the joy of theater is really very important.
08:00And it's something that I would love to be shared
08:02with the whole world, not just theater practitioners.
08:05And I'm hoping that this film is going to be able to do that
08:08because it clearly shows that the relationship
08:11between the actors and the actors themselves
08:13clearly shows that the relationship
08:16between father and daughter has been strained.
08:18And they haven't been talking for quite a long time,
08:20but because they found something that they have in common.
08:23Dan was never a theater practitioner,
08:25but he found a love for it.
08:27And he found that commonality with Daisy
08:29and they were able to connect again
08:30because of that one thing.
08:32So it's really very precious
08:33and it's really very important that we find things,
08:37you know, to be able to connect with people.
08:38And this film really shows us that, that it can be done.
08:43There you go.
08:44What?
08:45You're happy.
08:46Okay, weirdo.
08:46Many of us live our lives repressing our emotions
08:50because out there, they can be a liability.
08:53But in here, we can put those into good use.