Years ago I took an acting class through the community college. The professor was a working actor from Chicago. He told us a story of a small play he had seen when he was younger where a background character walked on stage with so much Presence that he actually upstaged the lead actor. It was not on purpose, it seemed, it was just that this bit player performed so well that he inadvertently caught the attention of the audience, or at least my professor and his friends. He claims that the upstaging offender was Robert Redford before he was famous.
Yesterday, I was flipping channels and came across a program already in progress on Directv's 101 (where they showcase channels and programs we may not be watching but might be interested in). The program was a National Geographic documentary called
"The Conspirator: The Plot to Kill Lincoln" and it was fairly interesting. Now, as sometimes happens with documentaries, it's not always easy to tell when they were made. I noticed that James McAvoy was playing a part in what appeared to be reenactments, and I thought, "Wow, he was a reenactment player? But he's got such presence! Wow." Then that reminded me of the story I told you about above regarding Robert Redford. I've been a fan of McAvoy since seeing
"Penelope" which is a fun movie if you haven't seen it yet, check it out.
OK, so here's the coincidence: McAvoy wasn't a reenactment player; the documentary had borrowed clips from a new film coming up. Now, I promise that I haven't seen previews or news about this movie.
"The Conspirator" opened in select theaters on Friday and it's directed by Robert Redford.
I can't wait to see it.