How the language of movement moves actor Andre Holland

Andre Holland is a real theater actor. He played key roles in famous films like Moonlight and Passageand a Cinemax television series Nick. He is also no stranger to the stage, having starred in a 2018 production Othello opposite Mark Rylance at Shakespeare’s Globe in London. You can currently watch Holland play Black Panther Party founder Huey P. Newton in the Apple TV+ limited series A big cigar. All episodes are now available to stream.

more: Andre Holland on his role as Huey P. Newton in The Big Cigar.

In his Treat, Holland expresses his admiration for Complicité, an English theater company known for its avant-garde productions Street of crocodiles and Mnemonic technique. He has a personal connection to the company, having participated in workshops that involved him working with his physicality to land the role.

Under the direction of actor and director Simon McBurney, Complicité focuses on physical theater and non-verbal storytelling – skillfully combining movement, music and visual effects to create immersive experiences. This approach resonates deeply with Holland and prompts him to ponder the following question: How can I convey a scene or a moment without relying on language?

more: Revision Moonlighta film made with persistence and kismet (Business2017)

This segment has been edited and shortened for clarity.

At the moment, the most important thing in my mind is the work of a company called Theater de Complicité. It’s an English company (and) at the moment (they) are headed by a man called Simon McBurney, who is a great actor and also a great director. They did such shows Street of crocodiles and Mnemonic technique. So many amazing works. Their work really inspires me.

Simon went to school with a man named Jacques Lecoq who taught at a school in Paris that really focused on the body as the main way to build character. And for me, as a young black man growing up in rural Alabama, I was trying to find my way into theater and performance and often felt isolated and out of place whether I was working on Ibsen or Shaw or Tennessee Williams or whatever. a play we did at school at the time—(I) often felt like “I’m not sure I belong in this world.” I don’t feel like I can be fully myself in this space. And how do I make room in this performance? I discovered this work and found it not only so beautiful and so profound, but also so liberating. And (there was) a feeling that there is a place for me and for many other people like me in such work.

I like to work from a physical location. It frees me. i mean I spend a lot of time in my head in my day-to-day life, so just connecting with my body and seeing what it has to offer is very liberating.

I recently ran a workshop with Complicité. It’s like, how can you tell us the story of a scene or a moment without using language? When you train your body to work like that, I think it shows really well on screen because I think you notice things like him not touching that person, or just the reaction, the way the word elicits a response the human body. I think we as viewers don’t necessarily know why we get it, but we do. I think that kind of work had a big impact on me.