Bruce Greenwood in ‘The Fall of the House of Usher.’ Photo Credit: Eike Schroter, Netflix.
Actor Bruce Greenwood chatted about his acting career and starring in “The Fall of the House of Usher” on Netflix.
‘The Fall of the House of Usher’
On playing the lead in “The Fall of the House of Usher,” Greenwood said, “It was a lot of fun. It was a deep dive into some wonderful dialogue and some really fun characters.”
This gothic horror drama miniseries was created by Mike Flanagan, which is based on the Edgar Allan Poe short story of the same name.
Greenwood stars as the patriarch Roderick Usher, and he was drawn to his character for several reasons. “The fun of it for me was him wrestling with whether or not he was going mad or not,” he admitted.
“I had tremendous help from both directors Mike Flanagan and Michael Fimognari. Also, my co-star, Carl Lumbly, and I had a great time together.”
Working with Carla Gugino
On working with Carla Gugino in this Netflix miniseries, Greenwood said, “I’ve known Carla for a long time since we did ‘Gerald’s Game.’ We’ve been friends for a decade now, and we had a great time together. We met on ‘Gerald’s Game,’ which is based on a Stephen King novel, and it was written and directed by Mike Flanagan again.”
“I just love Carla’s energy, and her whole mode of working is very positive. I have tremendous respect for her,” he added.
‘Thirteen Days’ film
Greenwood played the role of President John F. Kennedy in the movie “Thirteen Days,” which was written by David Self, and directed by Roger Donaldson. Greenwood played opposite Kevin Costner, who portrayed Kenneth O’Donnell, a political consultant and Special Assistant to President Kennedy.
“That was one of my favorite roles too,” he admitted.
“It involved a lot of research, and I realized that anybody who plays a historical character gets a couple of colors of the kaleidoscope, and nobody ends up ever creating a full picture but if you add all the performances together, you might get a broader sense of the man,” he elaborated.
“The script of ‘Thirteen Days’ by David Self was really strong,” he added.
‘Double Jeopardy’
On being a part of the thriller “Double Jeopardy,” Greenwood said, “It was really fun. I got to meet the director, Bruce Beresford, who I had been a fan of for a long time, and we became friends.”
“We got to shoot a lot of it in my hometown of Vancouver, even though we ended up in Bourbon Street in New Orleans, which was really fun,” he added.
Working with Annete Bening in ‘Being Julia’
Yet another fun experience for Greenwood was starring in “Being Julia” as Lord Charles opposite such actors as Annette Bening, who played the title role of Julia Lambert, and Jeremy Irons.
“Annette Bening is one of the most talented people that I’ve ever had the privilege of working with,” he said. “Annette’s level of commitment to any role is second to none.”
The digital age
On being an actor in the digital age, now with streaming, technology, and social media being so prevalent, Greenwood said, “It is morphing and changing, that’s for sure. If we retain some kind of control of our image remains to be seen. It is a pretty alarming time to be a performer on film.”
Key to longevity in the entertainment industry
Regarding the key to longevity in the entertainment business, Greenwood said, “First and foremost, you have to love it because it is stop and go. It is never constant, and everybody I know, who has had every level of success, we all share the thought of ‘what is the next thing going to be?’”
Handling being dialogue-heavy
Greenwood opened up about how he handles being dialogue-heavy and monologue-heavy in a lot of his acting projects in TV and film. “The brain is a muscle that you develop over time,” he revealed.
“You try and push away every other thought. You can’t be busy thinking about what is for dinner or anything like that. You need to put your personal life aside, and all those details have to be eclipsed by the thing that you are charged with doing,” he explained.
Stage of his life
On the title of the current chapter of his life, Greenwood said, “Music.” “I am playing a lot of guitar, and I am playing with friends,” he said. “I am taking a little break over the holidays where I am writing songs and playing music.”
Love for vinyl, CDs, and cassettes
Greenwood expressed his love for the resurgence of vinyl lately. “I have a huge stack of vinyl still,” he said. “With a vinyl record, you put it on and you listen to the whole side. You don’t skip through cut after cut. I sit down and listen to an entire album. I take it out of the sleeve, blow the dust off, and put it gently on the turntable, read the liner notes, and just listen deeply. I love that.”
He was surprised to learn that vinyl is outselling CDs in Europe lately. “Vinyl is also a way for the artist to expand the context of the songs but also, visually, you see the art of an album, and it contextualizes the album in some way or another,” he said.
“I still have 1,000 CDs or more, and I have probably a couple of hundred LPs at least. Also, I have a wall of cassettes. In fact, I just bought a new cassette player. I had a Walkman forever. When I was working on JFK’s voice for ‘Thirteen Days,’ I had a Walkman where I would listen to tapes of him talking,” he added.
Favorite mottos to live by
On his favorite mottos to live by, Greenwood shared, “Don’t wait, do it now.” “Also, don’t go to bed mad,” he said with a sweet laugh.
Advice for young and aspiring actors
For young and aspiring actors, Greenwood noted that they need to love the craft of acting. “My go-to is ‘you better love doing it’ because there are no guarantees,” he said.
“I learn something every time I go out,” he said. “It’s like being a musician; you never stop learning. The more you do it, the more there is to learn. Every time you get to a new depth, you are surprised because you didn’t realize you could get here.”
Best advice that he was ever given
Greenwood acknowledged that the best advice that he was ever given was the following: “Stop chasing your ego.”
Superpower of choice
If Greenwood were to have any superpower, it would be “eternal life.”
Success
Regarding his definition of the word success, Greenwood said, “Success is a moving target. It is making the people around you as happy as you possibly can. Success is also peace of mind.”
Fans and supporters
For his fans and supporters, Greenwood said, “I feel very fortunate. I am tremendously grateful to have their support, and let’s carry on.”
The late U.S. Army general and former Secretary of State Colin Powell once said: “A dream doesn’t become reality through magic; it takes sweat, determination, and hard work.” Bruce Greenwood is such a man and actor who epitomizes this wise quote.
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