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Nicholas Hoult knew he had the opportunity of a lifetime when he signed on to Clint Eastwood’s latest critically acclaimed film, Juror No. 2. Eastwood is not only an incredibly accomplished director, but also one of the biggest film stars of all time. Actors for generations have looked up to the Oscar winner, and his unrelenting filmmaking endeavors. While working with the legendary movie star, Hoult asked for acting advice, and Eastwood responded with sound perspective on the art form.
In a recent interview with People Magazine Hoult opened up about working with the Dirty Harry star, and what made Eastwood different from many of the directors he’d worked with in the past. Hoult praised Eastwood, and also talked about his general creative process, and his more easy going approach to the artform. While some may have been intimidated to ask such an icon of American movies about acting advice, Hoult thought that not doing so would be a missed opportunity. He said:
When you’re in the presence of a greatness like that, it’s like, ‘I’ll ask the dumb stupid question.’ I’ll say like, ‘Hey, how do you act? What do you do?’And he said it’s an emotional and instinctive art form. So don’t think too much — just do.
This is pretty sound advice, as actors have frequently talked about the craft in terms of “becoming” a character. If you’ve done enough character work and know the person you’re playing inside and out, behaving and responding as the character should be instinctual. If the emotionality is felt, acting emotionally should come naturally. Even as movies evolve and filmmaking techniques get more advanced, the bare-bones of performance technique seems to remain the same, even as Hollywood welcomes new generations of actors.
Of course, different actors have different approaches to character work. Some of the most intense performers like to embody their characters to their fullest extent. Daniel Day Lewis famously would embody and behave like his characters off screen. Jeremy Strong is also known for his intense character approach, often isolating himself during Succession to maintain his character’s head space. However, Clint Eastwood with his simplistic advice seems to have more of a “in the moment” approach to his characters, and maybe Nicholas Hoult will adapt this attitude as well.
It doesn’t come as a surprise that Eastwood would have a “no frills” approach to acting, as this also seems to be his approach to filmmaking. The 94-year-old director famously does minimal takes during production. Matt Damon once said Eastwood expressed annoyance when he asked for more during Invictus. Clearly, the director relies a lot on his instincts and hopes that his actors do the same. There can be beauty in the mistakes, and if you take on Eastwood’s perspective to performance, nailing it in one take should be a breeze.
You can see Nicholas Hoult in Juror No. 2, which is currently streaming with a Max subscription. The Clint Eastwood-directed film is getting a lot of buzz and may be an awards contender, so make sure to check it out. For more information on other exciting titles available on the streaming service, consult our feature on the best movies on Max right now.