Extracts from Ron Perlman Chatting on A.O.L
September 16, 1997, 10 - 11 p.m.

Online Host: Tonight, OLDSMOBILE CELEBRITY CIRCLE welcomes RON PERLMAN!

Online Host: Ron Perlman is most noted for his starring role in the television series "Beauty and the Beast". Perlman is currently starring opposite Sigourney Weaver and Winona Ryder in "Alien Resurrection" and the independent film "Self Storage." Please welcome Ron Perlman to AOL Live! AOLiveMC10: Good evening and welcome to AOL Live, Ron Perlman! AOLiveMC10: It is a pleasure to have you with us tonight.

Perlman: It's a pleasure to be with you all.

AOLiveMC10: Here is our first question, from PopCultr.... What do you think is the single most important idea your fine series "Beauty and the Beast" expressed?

 

Perlman: Compassion. If I was to go on, it would be more than one. There were many key ideas that the themes danced around, but it mostly had to do with the human heart and, in turn, seems to have touched a lot of hearts.

 

AOLiveMC14: VISIONDAW has our next question up tonight... Which do you find more exhausting? Film or stage work?

Perlman: Stage.

AOLiveMC14: Iepunky has this next question... Mr Perlman, did you change your voice a lot for the role of the beast in B and the B?

 

Perlman: I altered it slightly, yeah. I was trying to find some sort of a timber that would accommodate the non-human aspect of the character and at the same time a tone of voice -- I remember the description of the character Vincent when he first appeared in the script I read. He brings Catherine down to his lair, and she hears the most gentle voice. That required a certain tone for his superhuman nature of his abilities, and the ability to disarm that superhuman nature. Almost a whisper. Those two concepts along with a gravelly whisper, and of course he deviated that when the situation arose.

AOLiveMC14: Ripley92 asks... Hello Ron, nice to meet you, will you ever be working with Linda Hamilton again?

 

Perlman: I hope so. We've become good friends and I admire her work immensely, and I think it's mutual. The fates are whole lot cooler than what one can devise, at least in my case. So you hope you meet people that you want to work with again, and hope to work with Linda again. It was a singularly pleasurable experience.

AOLiveMC10: From VisionDaw...... What was it like to act in City of Lost Children... the sets were amazing... and the story line... fantastic?

 

Perlman: Right. Well, it was one of the more interesting exercises of my life, given the fact that I was the only American in an exclusively French movie and that I was performing in another language that I was not facile in. I had to learn in a fundamental, lugubrious way. It was a rather scintillating experience as well, because I think I was the only American to see the film "Delicatessen." I read a review of the film and the impact it had on film festivals, and I went to the first showing of it in LA. I was struck with the unique quality of these guys' film making and their use of image making and their capacity to tell stories visually in a way I've never see before. When I was asked to consider that particular project, the deck was highly stacked. In reading the screenplay and discovering that they wanted me to play this character to "One," which was the closest I've come to playing Vincent because he was innocent in possessing strengths and abilities that was against his nature, and at the hands of these two incredible filmmakers, I don't think my feet touched the ground while I was there. Plus, it was in Paris. If that isn't my favorite city, it's definitely in the top two. So it was definitely one of the cool ones.

AOLiveMC10: Again from PopCultr..... What do you find most challenging and most rewarding about acting?

 

Perlman: It's never the same. There are no two days of my life that have ever been alike. One of the reasons why I considered becoming an actor was because I could never imagine myself in a job where I knew what I would be doing 5 years down the line -- what I was going to be making and where I was going on vacation. I've gotten to see the world, met some of the coolest people on the planet and the challenge of finding the disparate facets that all make up the human psyche and accessing them for any given role is trippy. It's very engaging and it never leaves me wanting. It always creates a challenge and enthusiasm in me that keeps the boy in me very much alive.

AOLiveMC10: Ripley sends us this one...... Hello Ron, I enjoy your work very much, my question is what was it like to work with Jean-Pierre Jeunet and Sigourney Weaver and Winona Ryder? what did you learn from it?

 

Perlman: It was my 2nd stint working with Jean Pierre. He also directed "City of Lost Children". It was interesting to watch him move from France to a big studio situation -- huge budget and major machine in motion. I thought he rose to the occasion brilliantly. He was very motivated to come here and be part of this. I guess he wanted to make a big Hollywood movie all his life, and he certainly got what he bargained for in this case. Sigourney and Winona are 2 wonderful people to work with. Winona has a highly tuned sense of humor. She's quite brilliant. She's very well-read and has a tremendous intellect. She and I share a common desire to laugh through our day and try not to take anything too seriously and try to find the light hearted facet of the day. We got along great, and Sigourney is very generous, caring and professional. She's really welcoming to what really is her franchise which is the 4th one for her and the 1st for me. Any chance of me feeling like an outsider was disarmed upon meeting and working with her. It ended up being a totally pleasurable experience for all concerned, at least from my point of view.

AOLiveMC10: PopCultr has sent some good questions...like this one..... What do you think is the key to great acting?

 

Perlman: Presence. I mean, I think that there are an awful lot of things that make up great acting. The best actors in the world are blessed with a good degree of intelligence. The first and foremost step is interpreting the material and understanding what the writer was trying to portray in terms of character and human condition. Once you've assimilated that and made up your mind what your character is, you have to get rid of all pre-conceived notion and just play the part. Once you can get to that point, you can commit some great acting.

AOLiveMC10: Our next question is from BeastFan...... We are all excited about your appearance in Alien Resurrection, any word on the rumored BATB movie? What about the pilot you did, Magnificent Seven. And Self Storage?

 

Perlman: Wow...that's a 4 part question. First of all, thank you that you're excited about Alien Resurrection. Second, there is nothing I can report about the BATB movie. No scripts or plans. There is just the possibility. Third, the Magnificent Seven was submitted to the networks long after the pilots. It will be a mid-season replacement. Look for that to air in January. Self Storage is a total labor of love. We did this originally as a play in the Odyssey Theater in LA -- very kinky, very twisted, very funny. I play my favorite character that I've ever played, comedy wise. It's completed and it's being shopped around for distribution and I'm hoping that it makes it to your local arthouse cinema soon.

AOLiveMC10: From KeeLynn....... Have you ever thought of going into another career, or has acting always been it for you?

Perlman: No, that's it. I'm in the right one. I hope, anyway, because I certainly haven't thought of anything else.

AOLiveMC10: This question comes from JROBIN50..... how do you decide which roles to play?

Perlman: Well, I'm halfway getting there once they ask me. I look for things that I think I can do. Characters that I find compelling and interesting, and I've played some really bad people but I thought they were executed well on the writing level. I've played good people, but they weren't written so good because they didn't have any idiosyncrasies. A couple of roles in the middle. I seem to be attracted to extreme characters that let me go far afield from the everyday. I don't know if it's my classical training or something deep seated in my psyche that calls out to be quenched. I have to ask my psychiatrist the next time I see him. It all starts with the writing. If the writing is good, then you've got my attention.

AOLiveMC10: Again from PopCultr....... Through "Beauty and the Beast" I think you have inspired many people to read more Shakespeare. Are you a Shakespeare devotee yourself? Did you help to select some of the quotes for the show?

Perlman: I am a Shakespeare devotee and I did not help to pick the quotes. Ron Koslow and the writers did a great job picking the quotes because if I did it, I would screw it up.

AOLiveMC10: Also from DANA08096...... Did you like the Alien series before you became a part of this new film?

Perlman: Yes, it's actually strange because that particular genre is not anything that I seek out in terms of entertainment. Alien 1 and 2 were spectacular films. Alien was so unexpected and compelling and really imaginative. It took a one-dimensional genre and was told in a simple and honest way that it made it even scarier. #2 almost surpassed it in terms of sheer energy and excitement.

AOLiveMC10: This next question comes from JROBIN50..... which role do you feel helped you grow as an actor the most?

Perlman: They all do. You learn probably more by your failures or at least the things that are less than successful than you do by your successes. There hasn't been anything I've done that hasn't helped me grow one way or the other.

AOLiveMC10: And this one was sent by VISIONDAW.... Which director helped you most to understand a role you had undertaken?

Perlman: Peter Brooke. He's English, but he's been working for the last 20 years or so out of Paris. He has a company there. He's directed "Lord of the Flies," "King Lear" and "Meetings with Remarkable Men." He's known for being an innovative director for the Royal Shakespeare Company. He's a genius. He knows more about theater than most ever know. If he gives you direction, it will be something you never thought of in a million years, and it's absolutely spot-on. He has directed company plays all over the world in locations such as the Kalahari.

AOLiveMC10: Also from BeastFan.... Did you have to learn to do anything special for the scenes in Alien Resurrection?

Perlman: I had to learn to be butch. I've never been in the military, but I had to learn how to handle the weapons pretty well. That's about it. There's an underwater sequence that was probably the most harrowing, most dangerous experience I've ever had in cinema.

AOLiveMC10: From Gonky.... In the "City of Lost Children" many of your fellow actors spoke only French. How difficult was that experience?

Perlman: It was really never difficult. It was sometimes awkward because there are times when you wanted to sit and talk to someone and you had a translator -- she would sometimes be out and I would feel somewhat handicapped. That was more of an annoyance. The company of actors is as warm as I've ever been around. Having those feelings were more important modes of communication. With the exception of Miette -- the 9 year old girl I played opposite -- everyone else spoke English. There was also the co-star and the 2 directors. Everyone else spoke English.

AOLiveMC10: LuvDaBeast would like to know..... Question: Ron, you are such a talented actor. What would your dream role be?

Perlman: I might have already played it. I've been so fortunate. I don't want to sound romantic or corny but I really have loved the roles I've played in a big way. I wouldn't even dream of - everyone wants to play Hamlet, just to see how it turns out. It's the best mouthful ever put into the mouth of an actor. But I'm not dying to play Hamlet. If someone asked, I would say yeah -- when and where. But I've been satisfied with the bodies of roles that I've had the chance to inhabit.

AOLiveMC10: EnzoFri44 asks..... Question: Hi Ron, I was wondering how you liked working in France. And how the French film industry differs from the American industry.

Perlman: In the American Industry, you usually arrive at 6:30 in the morning and get breakfast, makeup, costume and eat lunch at 12:00 and leave at 8:00 at night. At France, you get there at 10:00 and do makeup, eat lunch of wine, baguettes, nuts and great dessert and a fair share of the crew gets drunk. Then you work for about 7 hours. There's a physical difference in that regard scheduled wise. Other than that, film is a universal language. The camera is operated the same way. The style varies like fingerprints. That's not indicative of a style of country -- that's indicative of a directorial style.

AOLiveMC10: Newyorkst asks.. how long knocking around town.....before you actually got a break....and a series......

Perlman: I had a few big breaks before the series. I started acting professionally in 1973. I got my first film role 7 years later in "Quest for Fire." I went back and did theater in NY, had kids and moved out to LA in '85. In '86 got my 2nd important film role "In the Name of the Rose." B&B started in '87. In terms of seminal events, that's about it.

AOLiveMC10: From DVD LIVES...... Question: was it more or less difficult having no dialogue for the film "Quest for Fire"?

Perlman: It was challenging, but it was one of the best times I've ever had acting. I guess it was a delicious sort of challenge. I actually just finished a low budget movie which was Ed Wood's last film. It's his script that has been sitting in an apartment for the last 25 years. It's the best thing he's ever written -- no dialogue. So it's the 2nd film without dialogue I've done. You almost engage the audience more when you don't speak. You leave it at a visceral place. Rather than polishing scenes that are well-rehearsed in dialogue scene, every scene in "Quest for Fire" was improvisation. No one would know what the other would do, and it made for very satisfying work and some very experiencing scene-lay. And yes, I did enjoy it.

AOLiveMC10: From Lombard18 also....... Question: What other interests do you have besides acting? Are you involved in any charity projects?

Perlman: Yes, I try to do as much charity work as I can. I'm involved in reading programs for underprivileged children and on the board for Books for Kids. I do work for Make a Wish Foundation and play in celebrity golf tournaments for good causes -- YMCA, Gang Intervention East LA, just to name a few.

AOLiveMC10: We have time for one last question from our audience.

AOLiveMC10: From Lombard18.... What was the biggest obstacle that you faced while making the rounds in the beginning of your acting career?

Perlman: Myself, I guess. I don't know of anyone who doesn't go through a long pronounced period of rejection. There's no commodity like a proven commodity, and it's not easy finding those people who will take a shot on a proven commodity. There were times when I doubted whether I was going to be able to make the cut and survive all the rejection and not take it personally. If you could just continue to visualize succeeding and believe in yourself and not beat yourself up too badly and let the world do that for you, your chances are better for you to finally and ultimately break through to some type of success.

AOLiveMC10: Thank you for joining us tonight, Ron! We enjoyed having you with us.

Perlman: It's been a great pleasure being with you guys. I liked the questions a lot and look forward to meeting you again. I hope that Self Storage sees the light of day and that you like that one. I also hope you enjoy Alien Resurrection as much as I enjoyed making it as well.

AOLiveMC10: Good night Ron!

 

 

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