A shared task: filmmakers and actors faced with acting

Abstract

Introduction. To be or not to be... The dilemma of acting
Daniel Gascó

Discussion
Mariano Barroso, Celina Murga, Felipe Vega, Pablo Berger, Àlex Brendemühl, Eduard Fernández, Emilio Gutiérrez Caba, Tristán Ulloa

Conclusion. The living map of Javier Bardem
Lola Mayo

The actor’s work is an element whose complexity is difficult for the spectator to perceive while watching a film. To reach that end result, a whole process is necessary, a process that starts even before filming begins. The casting, the selection of actors, the significance of which often goes unnoticed, is crucial to the success or failure of a project. This discussion attempts to shed some light on all of these inner workings of a film related to the work of actors and their symbiosis with the rest of the cast and crew who give shape to a film project. Through the opinions of four filmmakers —Mariano Barroso, Celina Murga, Felipe Vega and Pablo Berger— and four actors —Àlex Brendemühl, Eduard Fernández, Emilio Gutiérrez Caba and Tristán Ulloa— we will identify the key moments of the actor’s work in a film production, the importance of methodology and intuition in the actor’s craft, the relationship between performance and staging and the main role models on both sides of the camera for some outstanding representatives of Spanish cinema. This is, in short, a first-person, multifaceted perspective of what it means to act and to direct actors.