Nighy says young actors refuse to learn lines
A NEW generation of actors are failing to learn their lines before turning up to work, Bill Nighy has said, criticising their “discourtesy to their fellow professionals”.
Nighy, 67, the Bafta-winning actor, said it had become fashionable for film and theatre actors to deliberately refuse to learn their lines ahead of time, mistakenly believing it would improve their performance.
Saying actors must refocus their attention on preparing properly, Nighy argued the trend had been propagated by those who simply “don’t want to do their homework”.
The actor left school with two O-levels and went on to appear in criticallyacclaimed works on stage and screen.
Asked for his advice for young actors, he said: “If you’re doing anything, whether it’s a play or a film, learn every single word that you have to say backwards, forwards and sideways before you go into a rehearsal room and before you go on a film set.
“That might sound like an obvious thing, but it’s not currently: there is a fashion for not knowing your lines.
“It’s been invented by people who don’t want to do their homework, even as a creative choice.
“You will not become imprisoned by intonations, and therefore it’s a discourtesy to your fellow professionals.
“The idea is ... you say the lines over and over and over and over and over again until you can give the impression that you’ve never said them before and it’s just occurred to you. That’s the gig.”
In a self-deprecating talk, Nighy told the Cheltenham Literature Festival how he suffered with anxiety, having to force himself to go on stage.
Discussing how he had overcome it, he joked: “I discovered if you stood still and kept a straight face – many people’s careers are based on this – you can be mistaken for having inner life. People make millions of dollars doing this.”