Anson Mount urges film students to start producing while in school.Photo by Emory Dunn“The lighting is horrible in here,” said the actor as he sat down in SCAD’s Jen Library. Which is true, but one would fail to notice when sitting across from the multi-talented Anson Mount. From his wavy hair to his slightly Southern-twanged voice, remnants of his character Cullen Bohannan from AMC’s “Hell on Wheels” are still present.
When asked how he broke into film, Mount replied with a chuckle, “You don’t really break into film, that makes it sound like it’s some sort of escape from prison. I was fortunate enough to get signed to an agency right out of grad school.” His first film role came in “Tully” as Tully Coates Jr.
Mount, who has worked in television, film and theater talked about the technical differences between each platform.
“Part of what you are going to the theater to see is the craft. We want to see the artist’s hand. That is one of the joys of theater. We want to see the set changes — set changes are fascinating to an audience. But in film if we see the artist’s hand for even a second, we check out. We don’t want that. We want be completely consumed and convinced that this thing is happening.”
He also had a few words of wisdom for students.
“Don’t wait around for the man to discover you. You have to become your own producer. If you haven’t produced, if you’ve been at school and allowing other students to produce things for you to be in, then you have been too lazy. You need to spend some time while you are here or during the summer getting some experience with producing something.”
After a moment of thought he added:
“Too many actors go to L.A. or New York, and they sit around waiting to be discovered, trying to be people’s friend so their friend will want to cast them. It is a waste of a life.”
Contact Eboni-Jade Wooten.