For the Love of Toni Collette*
As a result of a script I'm struggling with right now, I've been thinking a lot lately about supporting characters. Major supporting characters, who have needs and arcs of their own, as well as those who simply have a function in a given story.
Sometimes, in a script, supporting players feel like supporting players -- they come in, do their thing, and go. On the page, they look pretty insubstantial. When you're reading a script, you just don't give them much thought.
But these are the people that populate the movie the script wants to be. And don't we want excellent actors to play even these less glory-filled roles?
Consider Toni Collette's career. Since her endearing Muriel, she has not really become a lead (despite my adoration for her, and everything, in About a Boy). She's not the superstar people will pay to see in any old thing. Instead, she largely takes the supporting role. The co-worker in Changing Lanes. The not-quite-love-interest in The Hours. The mom in Sixth Sense and Little Miss Sunshine. None of these roles is huge... and yet they all had enough meat to them to warrant Ms. Collette's signing on.
I'm thinking we need to pay attention to the supporting roles. I'm thinking that our movies are only going to be stronger if Toni Collette is in them.
Ergo: write meaty, interesting supporting roles, and Toni may follow...
*Toni Collette is simply one example. Feel free to consider your own: James Franco? Zooey Deschanel?
Sometimes, in a script, supporting players feel like supporting players -- they come in, do their thing, and go. On the page, they look pretty insubstantial. When you're reading a script, you just don't give them much thought.
But these are the people that populate the movie the script wants to be. And don't we want excellent actors to play even these less glory-filled roles?
Consider Toni Collette's career. Since her endearing Muriel, she has not really become a lead (despite my adoration for her, and everything, in About a Boy). She's not the superstar people will pay to see in any old thing. Instead, she largely takes the supporting role. The co-worker in Changing Lanes. The not-quite-love-interest in The Hours. The mom in Sixth Sense and Little Miss Sunshine. None of these roles is huge... and yet they all had enough meat to them to warrant Ms. Collette's signing on.
I'm thinking we need to pay attention to the supporting roles. I'm thinking that our movies are only going to be stronger if Toni Collette is in them.
Ergo: write meaty, interesting supporting roles, and Toni may follow...
*Toni Collette is simply one example. Feel free to consider your own: James Franco? Zooey Deschanel?
posted by Jennica at 2:33 p.m.
2 Comments:
Agreed. Too many secondary characters seem to know that they are “secondary.” They should not.
This is obvious, but let me think out loud.
Give each secondary character an objective in the world of the script. From there, bring them to each scene with a “mindset” based on that objective. Let it conflict with the main character and his objective and mindset.
Secondary characters are also great to show some contrast with the major players. Is your protagonist an uptight, society gal? Let her have a scene with the “loose” cabana boy.
And, lastly . . . and we’ve all seen this (ER this week), let the protagonist realize the direction that his or her arc needs to go based on observing a secondary character or on advice from a secondary. The secondary character might be talking about his love of fishing . . . but it sure parallels the empty-nest loneliness of the protagonist.
Good luck on that script!
In Primal Fear, (terrible name for that movie, I can never remember what it's called) Richard Gere defends Ed Norton, alter boy accused of murder. Gere has two characters helping him with the case. They are so well-rounded and memorable. I wonder -Is it because of the directing or the writing? Or the acting?
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