Why musicians have a habit of being great actors, according to Paul Thomas Anderson
It’s not a statement that should be bandied around lightly, but it’s a testament to his ability to draw the very best work out of his cast members that it’s hard to look past Paul Thomas Anderson as being the greatest actors’ director in modern cinema.
Every single one of his features contains at least one knockout performance, if not several more, with many stars – Boogie Nights‘ Burt Reynolds and Magnolia‘s Tom Cruise, to name but two – having never been better dramatically or performatively than they were under Anderson’s watch.
He steered Daniel Day-Lewis to an Academy Award win for There Will Be Blood in what’s one of the 21st century’s most towering showcases, nudged him towards another nod with Phantom Thread, and has helmed Oscar-nominated turns from Julianne Moore, Joaquin Phoenix, Amy Adams, Philip Seymour Hoffman, and Lesley Manville.
In fact, of the nine films he’s directed in his career, only four of them – Hard Eight, Punch-Drunk Love, Inherent Vice, and Licorice Pizza – didn’t gain any acting recognition from the Academy, but Adam Sandler still made the Golden Globes shortlist for a turn that came so far out of left field no less of an authority than Day-Lewis called it one of the best he can remember.
Inherent Vice‘s Phoenix and Licorice Pizza‘s Alana Haim were also in the running at the Globes, which leaves his debut as the only one that didn’t spawn an award-nominated performance. Anderson has made several features where music is key, but he never cast musicians in major roles until first-time actor Haim led the cast of his 2021 romantic dramedy.
It’s a road that artists have travelled on either side of the divide for decades, with Anderson offering his own thoughts on why musicians regularly make for such great actors. “It helps that they’re comfortable in performing, without naming some of the some of the great rock stars who can’t act,” he told Time Out. “Because you are a rock star does not mean that you can act; and as we’ve seen, just because you’re a great actor does not mean you can be a rock star.”
Anderson is completely right in saying that just because somebody is comfortable on stage, they’re not destined to take those gifts to the screen. Of course, there are plenty of examples to the contrary, with the filmmaker invoking one of the most storied as a counterpoint to Haim’s surprisingly accomplished performance in Licorice Pizza.
“Tom Waits has success at both because he’s never not truthful, and I think that extends to Alana as well,” he continued. “That’s why the performance is so messy and unwieldy; you can’t quite grab a hold of what she’s going to do next because she’s incapable of performing something that doesn’t feel honest to her. Lord knows, there were a couple of times that I tried.”
Licorice Pizza was a daunting challenge for Haim, albeit one where she was comfortable enough to “point out, very delicately, that the director was asking for something that wasn’t going to happen.” There’s no magic formula, but as someone in the know, Anderson puts it down to a combination of a strong working relationship, a natural ability, and the willingness to engage in dialogue when things aren’t coming off as intended.
