“I am being flippant but I am also being serious”: how a donkey inspired Tilda Swinton’s acting career
Nobody ever bats an eyelid when an actor names their inspirations because, more often than not, it tends to be world-renowned legends of their chosen profession. However, Tilda Swinton has always been a thespian unlike any other, which makes more sense knowing her biggest touchstone was a member of the animal kingdom.
Some of the greatest stars in cinema history will shout their love of Marlon Brando from the rooftops, worship at the altar of Katharine Hepburn, become overawed in the presence of Meryl Streep, or cite the maverick magnificence of Jack Nicholson as instrumental, but not Swinton.
Instead, it was a donkey that first opened her eyes to the subtle majesty of acting, which isn’t quite as strange as it sounds. Obviously, it’s very strange to hear one of the most celebrated and decorated actors of their generation ignore human performers in favour of a four-legged farmyard staple, but Swinton was focused on the bigger picture.
The Academy Award winner has never been shy about professing her adoration for Robert Bresson’s classic 1966 drama Au hasard Balthazar, which has been one of her favourite movies since the first time she saw it. The title character happens to be a donkey, and in Swinton’s estimation, the animal carried itself with the natural grace and effortless poise of a seasoned veteran.
“The best performance I have ever seen and continues to be an inspiration for me is a donkey in a great film by Robert Bresson called Au Hasard Balthazar,” she told Stephen Colbert. “And I’m not joking, actually. A donkey inspired me because you just can’t stop looking at the donkey, and there are all the humans around, and you go, ‘Get out of the way. I want to look at the donkey.'”
Bresson may or may not have wanted audience sympathies to lie with Anne Wiazemsky’s Marie, the farm girl who experiences the ups and downs of everyday life alongside her faithful companion Balthazar, but Swinton was much more interested in the donkey’s contributions to the art of acting than any of the film’s human cast members.
“I am being flippant, but I am also being serious,” she maintained, pointing to the merits of the work. “That donkey gives, in my opinion, the preeminent film performance.” However, there is a caveat to her lavish praise, with Swinton torn on whether that’s “because it is an incredibly sophisticated film performer or because it is a donkey.”
Swinton has become synonymous with completely transforming herself and immersing herself so deep into character that she’s frequently unrecognisable, but no matter how far she stretches her wings or broadens her horizons, don’t expect her to ever play a donkey or voice one in an animated feature, because the pressure of trying to emulate her idol would simply be too much to bear.
