Emotions are a Universal Language. No matter how you express yourself, you often don’t need words to describe how you are feeling. Others can tell, just by looking at you, if you are angry, sad or happy.
And that’s the work of an actor – to use feelings to express a message. To take advantage of body and facial expressions in order to reach the audience, to touch them with emotions.
But, what happens when you have to act in a second language? Well, for me it’s a tremendous challenge that I love to work with. Why? Because feelings don’t have to come just from the mind, they can also come from your body, and then be expressed through spoken words processed by your brain. So, an actor has to find the perfect balance between body and brain.
In this first semester of 2020, I’ve been fortunate to have the experience of working with two student projects that gave me an opportunity to act in English.
The first one was “The Card(s) on the Table”. Thanks to Tom Caruk (@tomcaruk), I was given the character of Bruno Marlone, a mafia boss. The story relates the consequences of a bank robbery in his city.
I had this wonderful opportunity to work with the amazing British/Spanish actor, Ben Vinnicombe, who shared with me a lot of his experience and gave me priceless advice.
The second was a project by Hungarian director Dario Otis (@dario_otis) in a fresh comedy about a Tinder date that from the start doesn’t look good, but then finishes even worse! I shared the screen with wonderful Spanish actress Clara Ruiz Prada (@clara_ruiz_prada). We both enjoyed the hilarious experience of acting in a comedy in English.
Nowadays, the chance of acting in other languages gives an actor an advantage since it keeps you on track for international jobs. It may not be easy, but it sure is fun. And it’s a great way to confront the challenge of showing you can get your point across – even in another language.