SIMON RICHARD BOUGHEY TALKS GABRIEL'S REDEMPTION: PART ONE
"A greater challenge to take myself seriously"
Daniel John
Based on the novels by Sylvain Reynard, ‘Gabriel’s Redemption: Part One’ is the beginning of the next chapter of Tosca Musk exploring a couple’s efforts to earn the seemingly impossible, love and forgiveness. How did you get to be involved with this chapter, were you at all familiar with the previous films or the source material of which it is based on?
I confess, I was not aware of the books or the movies until I was submitted for Professor Wodehouse by my agent, and then I did a bit of hasty reading and research to catch up! I was, however, impressed with the quality of the writing when I read the script, particularly where it pertains to Dante and the academic work. Sylvain had all that spot on. The lecture on Rodin you see me giving in the movie, that was provided by Sylvain overnight. Tosca told her she wanted some material for the scene we were shooting the next day and Sylvain came up with this. It not only read well but was in precisely the right academic idiom.
As the character of Wodehouse you make a new introduction to this film series. A doonish, bookish, professor, with academics at heart. How did you approach him. Any past teachers of yours that you could draw from?
Well, Professor Wodehouse is an Oxford don. I read history at Cambridge many years ago, and several of my closest friends from that period are now academics, so you can say I had plenty of source material. Having said that, I never consciously modelled Wodehouse on any person from my past. I certainly knew the basic outline of the sort of person Wodehouse is, and the world in which he moves, but, like any other part, it becomes largely a work of imagination. You read the script, pay attention to what he says, and others say of him, and then let the acting imagination do its bit, imagination is an actor’s best friend.
As a seasoned theatre actor you are no stranger to having an audience. But as a Meisner-student particularly, what was it like using that energy directly for the role, playing off an entire classroom of people?
Good question! Yes, that scene required theatre skills, and I remember relying on those rather than Meisner when shooting that. One has to be aware of projecting voice and physicality. I think attending many lectures as a student all those years ago may have helped that as well although, to be honest, not every academic is a good lecturer, far from it! You have to try to remember that what he is saying is of vital intellectual importance to Wodehouse. This is his life, and it’s important to him that these ideas are communicated.
What made you decide to become an actor?
It started a long, long time ago in Staffordshire in England, where I grew up. My dear dad, whom I lost last year, was a very good actor and public speaker. He trained at a theatre school in London in the early 1950s, and though he worked for most of his life as a teacher, he was an active local actor when I was growing up. I first went to the theatre with him and to see him, and I thought it was the most magical place in the world. I still think so. And I’ve wanted to do it ever since.
Would you say it was a greater challenge to start take yourself seriously, or not take yourself too seriously?
Personally, I think it was a greater challenge to take myself seriously. I am English, and we struggle to take anything seriously. That’s our great gift and our curse. Americans are better are honouring themselves and what they want to do with their lives. They do not have a permanent editor on their shoulders whispering in their ear, “You? You can’t do that! Don’t be silly.” I’m not much one for contemporary buzz words and phrases, but I do quite like the idea of “living in your truth.” That’s what you have to do, and what I have had to learn to do.
Are you enjoying getting older as an actor?
Well obviously the parts change as you get older, but in many ways, they also get more interesting. I’m now very much an older character actor, and that’s fine. Older character actors tend to say more interesting things, which draw from their life experiences. Everyone gets kicked around by life over the years, and older characters show the burrs and scars inflicted by life. That’s much more satisfying to play. They also are often people of stature and command as well, so a few lines can go a long way. As when Wodehouse speaks in 'Gabriel’s Redemption', people have to stop to listen. He’s senior. He’s got gravitas. He’s earned his stripes. So that’s quite nice too. As I’ve got older, I’ve got a whole lot more relaxed about acting. I used to put a lot of pressure on myself, which is hugely counter-productive. So that is a real blessing. Paradoxically, or perhaps not paradoxically, its importance in my life has grown as I’ve become more relaxed about it. I’ve realized how lucky I am to be able to do something I love and have a supportive wife and want to do as much as I can of it while I still can. Actors are storytellers, and I love that.
Have there been moments when you’ve wanted to quit?
Oh yes! It seemed to be all too much effort and with far too few rewards, but even if I wanted to quit acting, acting wouldn’t quit me. It’s always there, and it’s too much a part of who I am to ever close the door on it. To refer back to one of your earlier questions, it would be a denial of living in my truth.
I am glad that you have not as you unquestionably have many great roles ahead of you, and I hear you recently have been playing a king?
Thank you. I hope so. Yes, I’m the king in a medieval period movie called 'Raymar' we shot in Shreveport a couple of months ago. Great production, with a great crew and a drop-dead gorgeous costume! I wanted to wear it around town when we’d finished shooting, maybe issuing a few proclamations and making war on recalcitrant nobles. I’m also shooting a period movie in Virginia later this summer, about which I can currently say little!
