Quentin Tarantino explains how he directs actors
Quentin Tarantino has a fairly solid track record when it comes to working with actors. Legendary names like Christopher Walken and Robert De Niro have appeared in his films, and he’s forged legendary partnerships with the likes of Harvey Keitel, Samuel L. Jackson, Tim Roth, and Uma Thurman. The infamous on-set crash involving Thurman might have put a spotlight on Tarantino’s more reputable actions, but by and large, the experiences with his actors tend to be positive.
While sitting down with the American Film Institute during a screening of his 2012 film Django Unchained, Tarantino was asked to explain his directing process. Tarantino revealed that his personal style was incredibly intimate, one that involved being as close to the camera and the actors as humanly possible.
“I’m not sitting there at Video Village in another room watching TV while my movie is being made,” Tarantino told the audience. “I’m wherever the camera is.” To illustrate his point, Tarantino picked out a member of the audience, set up a hypothetical shot, and positioned himself where he would be as if it were one of his films. The close proximity to both the actor and the camera helped Tarantino closely control the performance, something that he saw as essential.
“From time to time, I’ll ask an actor if it bothers them that I’m there,” Tarantino acknowledges. “It almost never bothers them that I’m there. That’s what they’re doing: they’re acting for me. They want me to like it. Every single actor, if it’s your cousin who you talked into doing the movie and he’s the worst actor in the world but he’s got red hair and you need the guy because he has red hair and he’ll do it for free, or if you’re talking about Christoph Waltz, it doesn’t matter. If you’re right there by the camera, when you say cut, they will all look to you to see what you thought.”
“They’re acting for you. They are just acting only for you when you do that,” Tarantino concudes. “So don’t be in another room. Don’t be watching TV. You’ve worked too hard to be watching TV while the most exciting moment of your life is happening. Be there, look at their eyes, see the environment around them. Fuck the frame for a little bit! You’ve got the frame, you know what the frame is supposed to be. See what’s outside the frame, but also, you’re just feeling the drama of the scene. When you watch it on a monitor, you’re almost too much an audience member. No, you’re a creator! This is the creative part! It’s back and forth, you’re a part of it.”
Watch Tarantino explain his method of working with actors down below.
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