Responding To the Environment: A Reflection with Anthony Hopkins and Colin Farrell - PART 1

Sir Anthony Hopkins, Jordan Woods-Robinson, and Colin Farrell on the set of Solace

I spent a day on set with Sir Anthony Hopkins and Colin Farrell. It was an intimate scene, at the climax of an action thriller called Solace. The type of scene when the good guy and the bad guy finally end up in the same room at the same time. I was the lucky actor who got to be between them (literally) when it happened.

We were in an Atlanta skyrise, in a penthouse apartment that must have been close to 3,000 square feet. Gold fixtures, marble counters, and cardboard everywhere protecting what I'm sure was very expensive flooring. I had spent the morning filming another scene in the restaurant downstairs before reporting up to the 2nd location.

The crew was moving their entire setup to the penthouse, as we waited for the other 2 actors to join us. As Sir Anthony walked in, there were probably 70-80 crew members, producers, PAs, and other folks lining the perimeter of the main living room and kitchen space waiting for the 1st AD to call rehearsal.

However, before the director even had a chance to summon the actors, Sir Anthony Hopkins - THE Sir Anthony Hopkins - made his way around the entire perimeter of the room. He shook each person's hand, looked them in the eye, gave a friendly acknowledgement or asked them how their evening was, and moved on to the next person.

At first, I was shocked. This was taking up so much time. It probably added 15 minutes to the morning in an industry that is already "hurry up and wait" and on a project that was close to cutting my first scene in the interest of saving time.

But then it started to wash over me - how this simple act from the Number 1 on the movie was reminding everyone in the room that it takes a small army to tell these stories. That the camera can wait until we all embrace each other as storytellers and agree to collectively tell this story.

After that, we returned to "normal" as we started rehearsal of the scene - which was about a 9-minute scene that we shot continuously in 1 take each time so it took multiple passes at timing, choreography, camera movement, and conversation as we figured out the structure of the beast.

But, as we moved through the space, it was no longer a borrowed apartment. It was now a shared playground. It was a communal space of discovery, conversation, collaboration, exploration, and equal ideas (even as I stood between these two powerhouses).

Sir Tony (no, I've never actually called him that) had just responded to the environment in such a way that it now brought everyone into the scene. This was no longer a set. These walls now bore witness to a group-driven art piece.

I've never had the pleasure of being on set with either of them again, since then. I don't know if this was a common occurrence or an instinctual act on Mr. Hopkins' part.

But I do know 2 things.

1. He read the room that day and brought the environment and everything within it into the storytelling atmosphere.

2. I'll never forget it. (And I bet neither will anyone else in the room.)

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PART 2 reflecting on what I learned from Colin Farrell and his work within the environment coming soon!