Eric Pierpoint
You've played more than a few larger-than-life characters. Is there a difference between how you approach playing a human versus playing a non-human/alien?
There are some obvious differences in terms of how the make up works on you. The trick is to find the truth inside that will also match up with the external look of the makeup. For example, playing George in Alien Nation, or a Klingon in Star Trek. With George, once I got the make up set by the artists, I spent a lot of time adjusting to his look. There was a sweetness inside, an innocence. His voice would be perhaps mid Atlantic, more neutral. That would give the impression he could be from anywhere. A caring soul emerged. The Klingon, a very harsh and aggressive look with the make up. Here was a being that would just as soon kill you as talk to you. The voice became deep and gruff, his soul driven by the need to conquer and control.
There are some obvious differences in terms of how the make up works on you. The trick is to find the truth inside that will also match up with the external look of the makeup. For example, playing George in Alien Nation, or a Klingon in Star Trek. With George, once I got the make up set by the artists, I spent a lot of time adjusting to his look. There was a sweetness inside, an innocence. His voice would be perhaps mid Atlantic, more neutral. That would give the impression he could be from anywhere. A caring soul emerged. The Klingon, a very harsh and aggressive look with the make up. Here was a being that would just as soon kill you as talk to you. The voice became deep and gruff, his soul driven by the need to conquer and control.
And on the other end of the spectrum?
Playing a "human" – there is not much need to worry about anything other than finding the truth in what you are doing with the part. Some parts are played with "heightened reality". For example, if it's a British comedy like The Importance of Being Earnest, one cannot simply play it in a casual, low key kind of way. The fun is in how damn important seemingly trivial things are. Performances are pushed out, whereas quieter pieces/dramas can require more subtlety. I was just in The Lion In Winter playing King Henry. Switching to Death Of A Salesman will require a different set of acting muscles.
But, truth is all important. With Phil Cobb, he's obsessed with his coming demise. If I thought I would die during one of my own backyard barbeques, I would be fascinated/crazy to find out which one it would be. Who would I invite? Surely my best friends would think I was nuts and head for the hills after repeated invites to witness my great end. But, Phil also has a heart. He finds love in the end. My own life is full of great moments and a lot of just average ups and downs like all people. Life can never be perfect. I know I may have regrets down the road, but I will have had great memories, too. Can I also learn what Phil learned in the end? He comes to the conclusion that "...the entire matrix is in good hands." He wants to settle things with his friends before he "goes".
There can be a lot to settle, after so many years on the planet. I think there's this super condensed life review process that takes place. It's that split second right before, during, or after a big event (good or bad) – a graduation, a wedding, a car crash – when your whole life just sort of flashes right before your eyes. Maybe it's the brain trying to process all the stuff you couldn't get around to and just shoved aside?
I had the experience of near death when riding my motorcycle one day. As I rounded a blind bend in the road, suddenly a car pulled out right in front of me and made a U-turn. Time compressed, all my nerves fired up, things seem to slow down and my mind worked overtime. The main thought was..."I can't believe this is happening to me!" It was a huge shock that my life had come all this way, only to end like this. Suddenly, unexpectedly, as if it was all happening to someone else. How could my life be so trivial? One minute you are cruising along, the next swept away by helicopter into a trauma center. I came through the event with a broken wrist, concussion, mangled shoulder. Mostly, aside from the physical beating, I was knocked for a loop emotionally. It took a while to get my sea legs back.
Also, this past year, I lost my father who passed away from complications resulting from hip surgery. Here was a man who had led a very full life. A vibrant person, a big time news man. All that vitality taken over by frail mortality. I was with him most every day he was in the hospital when he passed. I believe I am a changed man because of these events and losses. I can see my end. I just don't know when it will come. But, the life I live now leads me to do different things, try new ways, and appreciate the temporary condition of mortal being.
What do you make of the afterlife, spaceships, and alien colonies?
Am I on an alien colony? Already in the afterlife? think it's pretty naive to think that we are the only "intelligent?" life forms in the entire solar system. I'm just waiting for the "visit" or a chance in my lifetime to travel way out there and see something for myself. Until something in front of me is an obvious alien, I can only philosophize about it all. Maybe that being doesn't have to have three heads and eight eyes. It could look like a gerbil. I just want to see it/him/her.
You just sold a novel! What's it about?
The story is historical fiction set in the 1870's American West. It is written for Middle Readers and is about the struggle of three orphans who set out on the Oregon Trail. The journey begins in central Kansas and ends in the Bitterroot Mountains of Montana. It is a grand adventure, full of danger, challenges, survival and the many lessons they must learn along the way.
It has just been sold to a publishing company out of Chicago and will be in stores early next year. More information will be coming out on my website, so tune in.
