Olivier Twist: Acting Through Lies

Rahul Isaac

Laurence Olivier was one of the most prominent actors of the 20th century and is often

listed as one of the greatest actors of all time (Holden 6). Olivier had a long and illustrious career

both in theater and on the silver screen. His favorite and most critically acclaimed roles were

Shakespearean: Henry V, Richard III (Holden 1). However, in his entire career, Olivier assumed

at least 194 different identities on stage, screen or television in very diverse roles (Holden 3).

Thus there is much to be learned about acting by studying Olivier's style. Olivier was

unsurprisingly very passionate about acting, describing acting as that first sip of beer ever, that

you never forget (Olivier 349). He described acting as great art, but more than that, his life: The

only time I really feel alive is when I'm acting. (Somerville & Morgan 126) Olivier brought his

own distinctive approach to acting, taking inspiration from all schools of acting but strictly

following none of them. Olivier's thoughts on acting can best be described as stressing overall

fitness. In his own words, an actor needs the voice, the miming power, the hands and the

eyes. (Burton 24) However, the deepest theme in his works was the idea of making people

believe in what he was doing, regardless of how he himself felt. He once said what is good

acting but convincing lying? (Holden 2). On another occasion, he described acting, much less

cynically as the illusion of truth (Olivier 374).

Olivier described Noel Coward as a strong influence, citing the latter's professionalism,

saying He made me use my silly little brain. (Burton 15) Coward was instrumental in showing

Olivier the importance of exercising one's mind as an actor, introducing him to good literature

such as Wuthering Heights, Of Human Bondage and Charles Dickens. Olivier described Gerald

du Maurier as another highly influential actor in his youth. Gerald's genius was making acting

look easy by giving the appearance of being natural (Burton 13). Olivier also pointed to Alfred

Lunt's naturalistic acting style as another teacher (Burton 28). For example, Alfred Lunt's ability

to overlap dialogue with other actors, to mimic natural dialogue strongly influenced Olivier.

Another crucial early influence was Clare Eames. When Olivier was discussing with her the

difference between a straight part, as opposed to a character part, she was dismissive of the

idea, telling him There isn't a part in the world that isn't a character part. (Burton 16) Olivier

took this to heart and this became a mainstay of his acting style.

Physicality was central to Olivier's acting style. He took inspiration from classic

Hollywood actors such as Douglas Fairbanks, Rudolf Valentino and John Barrymore (Burton

16). During the silent film era, one's physical prowess was a major part of film acting. Growing

up with this, Olivier was inspired to bring a similar physicality onto the stage. Olivier insisted

that being fit should be an actor's first priority (Olivier 360). However, for Olivier, fitness went

beyond simply lifting weights and running, though it certainly included such things. Olivier,

much like Stanislavsky saw the body as an instrument that must be fine tuned. Absolute

control over every part of one's body is an essential part of acting. Furthermore, he argued that if

one did not understand one's body, one could not fully use it, leading him to suggest that an actor

go so far as to observe a physician, to fully understand the human body. He gave the example of

Hamlet, as evidence of the need for completely physical fitness. If an actor is unable to maintain

the highest of energy levels for the entire play, he will be unable to present a convincing Hamlet.

Furthermore, he cannot flag even at the end of the play, as one of the final scenes is a sword fight

(Olivier 361).

Equally important to bodily fitness is vocal fitness. Olivier was adamant about the need

for vocal warm ups in acting. He stated that actors who do not sufficiently warm up are in fact

using the beginning of the play as a warm up, resulting in an underwhelming performance.

Olivier himself would warm up for at least half an hour before every show (Olivier 361). In a

letter to an aspiring young actor, Olivier elucidated on his some of his warm up techniques. He

would practice consonants with an inch long piece of bone between his front teeth. For vowels,

he would use mah maw moo maw mah may mee may or some combination thereof

(Somerville & Morgan 146). Olivier also suggested breathing techniques such as rib reserve,

which involved the expulsion of breath by upward gentle push of the diaphragm while

sustaining the rest of the breath in the lungs for as long as possible as a way to resonance. Olivier

did a large amount of vocal training throughout his career for various roles. When he was cast to

play Othello, he did not believe his voice was sufficiently deep. Through long and rigorous vocal

training, he manage to attain six more notes in the bass, moving down from hardly reaching a

D to being able to get as low as an A (Burton 26-27). For Olivier, one of the most difficult things

to achieve was to plumb emotions to its very depths yet still remain audible to the entire

audience (Olivier 378).

To achieve truthfulness, an actor can employ a number of different methods. Olivier

drew a distinction between actors that start from the inside versus those that start from the

periphery. (Burton 24) Olivier gave Alec Guinness as an example of an actor who starts from

the periphery. An actor who starts from the inside finds himself in the parts he plays. An actor

like Guinness, on the other hand, finds the all parts of the character, not necessarily in himself,

but in people around him. He puts these pieces together to become a new person. Olivier

believed that he was such an actor. He would find an external starting point, some kind of hair,

make up, clothing article or even a false nose, to use as a jumping point for characterization. The

rest of his performance followed from instincts (Holden 2). This anti-intellectual approach is

characteristic of Olivier. Despite this, Olivier strongly believe in the importance of an actor

exercising his mind at all times. However, to Olivier, simply learning lines and performing a

character in a play was sufficient exercise. If one was not in a play, he suggested, one should

learn something else, perhaps a speech or poem to keep one's mind supple.

Olivier's acting style was unique, differing from both Strasberg method acting and

Stanislavsky's system. Olivier did not believe Lee Strasberg's method acting was particularly

useful in theater (Somerville & Morgan 125). Strasberg suggested that actors draw from their

own memories, emotions and experiences to create connections with their characters. Method

acting implies convincing yourself that what is happening is absolutely real. Olivier admits this

can be useful in film acting, where the camera, the microphone, the studio itself can draw you

away from the scene. However, in theater acting, these distractions are absent. Thus actors need

not try to suspend their disbelief. Instead, the challenge they face is trying to convey what they

are expressing to a character a few feet away in a way that an audience member who may be fifty

yards from them would understand what was going on. For Olivier, an actor did not need to feel

the emotion he was trying to convey. He simply had to make people believe that he was

(Olivier 378). As we have seen above, Olivier was heavily influenced by Stanislavsky and there

are many similarities with Stanislavsky's system and Olivier's style of acting (Burton 31). For

instance, they both stress the need to train the body so it can be an effective tool. However, there

are also distinctive features in Olivier's acting. For example, Olivier was often completely

ignored the psychology or motivations of a character, finding such discussions too abstract

(Sommerville & Morgan 126). He favoured acting by trial and error, trying something until he

got it right. This was in stark contrast with Stanislavsky's system, where understanding a

character's through line and super objective is an essential part of playing the character.

Furthermore, to Olivier, an actor's goal should be to reproduce the playwrights vision, rather

than impose his or her own vision on the character (Somerville & Morgan 125).

Laurence Olivier did not go to a traditional acting school in his youth and thus his early

influences had a massive effect on his acting style. We have seen that his highly physical style of

acting, stressing fitness of the body, the voice and the mind was a product of this. Furthermore,

Olivier's style was distinct from both Strasburg's method acting and Stanislavsky's system in that

he never felt the need to deeply connect with the character's emotions. Rather, he relied on his

ability to give the appearance of having whatever emotion was required. This idea of lying to

the audience is perhaps the best way of thinking of Laurence Olivier and his acting style. In one

of the many stories told about the great actor, Olivier was becoming frustrated by the

inconveniences a fellow actor was causing the director because of his dedication to method

acting. In exasperation, Laurence Olivier remarked O gracious, why doesn't the dear boy just

act?

Works Cited:

Olivier, Laurence. On Acting. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1986. Print. Burton, Hal. Great Acting: Laurence Olivier, Sybil Thorndike, Ralph Richardson, Peggy

Ashcroft, Michael Redgrave, Edith Evans, John Gielgud, Nol Coward. New York: Hill and Wang, 1967. Print.

Holden, Anthony. Laurence Olivier. New York: Atheneum, 1988. Print. Somerville, Kris, and Speer Morgan. "Laurence Olivier's Letters to Young Actors." The Missouri

Review 30.4 (2007): 121-49. Web.