MAKING WAVES — BOTH SIDES OF THE PACIFIC
Damon Herriman reflects on his career here and in the US, and working with Hollywood legend Quentin Tarantino.
Do you notice any key differences between working in the US and Australia?
There aren’t as many differences as you’d expect once you’re on set. There is a lot more food on American jobs — they really go overboard with the food options — but the acting part is very similar.
One difference — and something we definitely do better in Australia — is the audition process. Maybe it’s the sheer number of actors in Los Angeles, but auditioning there has much more of a cattle-call feeling. Often no rehearsal. Often no notes or discussion. Often no second take. It can be very disheartening, especially if you’ve put hours and hours of preparation into it.
Has your preparation process changed since your early roles?
I’m sure it’s changed since my very early roles. When I acted as a kid, I just learnt the lines and turned up. As an adult, I think it’s pretty much remained the same over the last 20 years or so. Always just asking myself, How would I behave in this scene if I were this person under these circumstances? It starts with reading the script and taking what I can from that. Then taking in anything I can that’s external to that: researching a role or setting, if required; asking the writer or director how they see this person; learning an accent if they have one etc. Once I’ve done that stuff, it’s almost like putting it all into an imaginary mixing bowl and stirring. Sometimes the recipe works out and sometimes it’s incredibly disappointing.
Are there any productions that you look back on and consider pivotal in making you the actor you are today?
There’d be a few. Certainly, The Sullivans, which was my first major role when I was 10. I really had no idea what I was doing when I got that job, and working with some wonderful actors for eight months was definitely a great training ground. Other than that, I think everything along the way adds something.
You’re in the Tarantino movie Once Upon a Time in Hollywood this year. What was the casting process?
It was a self-tape I did at home in Sydney. The most unusual part was that the scenes weren’t emailed like they normally would be. The actual pages were FedExed from America. That’s how careful they were about the script not getting leaked.
How does the production process for a film of this budget and profile compare to your previous projects?
There’s no doubt that walking onto a Quentin Tarantino set is a very different feeling. Part of that is psychological, of course. You can try and trick yourself into thinking this job’s no different from any other, but you know deep down that it is. The key is to not get overwhelmed by that idea, I guess. Thankfully, the set had such a calm, relaxed, friendly vibe, there was no real need to freak out.
The main difference I noticed was the use of time. It wasn’t fast. It wasn’t slow. We just shot for as long as it took for him to be happy. That was a real pleasure, not feeling a time crunch or sitting around for hours. It was the perfect way to shoot something. Unfortunately, only a handful of directors have the luxury of doing that.
What is Quentin Tarantino like to work with?
A joy. If you’ve ever seen him interviewed, he’s pretty much just like that. Incredibly knowledgeable and incredibly excited to be making movies. He knows exactly what he wants. They say he’s edited the film in his head before he even shoots it, and it did feel like that. He only shot what he needed.
You’ve had the opportunity to work with some amazing actors. Is there anyone who has particularly inspired you or who you’ve watched and learnt a great deal from?
There are so many. Ben Mendelsohn is right up there. He, for me, is about as good as it gets. I’ll watch him in anything, and never be quite sure how he does what he does.
Anything you’ve learnt since working and living in LA that you wish you’d known earlier?
For sure. When I first went to LA, I was 29 and pretty naïve about how it all worked. It was also very different then. For starters, there were few Australians around. Now, you can hardly walk down the street without bumping into an Aussie.
I wish I’d known that getting work in America isn’t just about whether you can act or not. It’s that, too, but it’s also about so many other things: how old you are; what you look like; what projects you’ve done recently and whether people are talking about them; who you know and who they know; being in the right place at the right time. So much of it is out of your hands. It’s almost like being able to act is more of a bonus than a necessity. I have so many friends who are brilliant actors and not getting work. If it was all about acting talent, they would be.
Any great advice you’ve been given by a fellow actor or creative about working in the US?
The piece of advice you hear a lot when you first go to the US is that you have to put aside the Australian instinct of talking yourself down. It’s pretty counter-intuitive for most Aussies to do that. We usually appreciate humility. Americans — at least in Hollywood — seem to be less comfortable with it. It doesn’t mean you suddenly have to become arrogant or an egomaniac. It just means that if you’re meeting agents or casting directors and they ask you what you’ve been up to, what you’re capable of, where you see your career going… err on the side of talking yourself up versus talking yourself down.
What are you working on at the moment?
I’m working in New Mexico on a new American series with a bunch of really lovely and talented people, including Jacki Weaver, who plays my mum. It’s called Perpetual Grace, LTD and it premieres on Stan in Australia mid-year.
Damon Herriman is an Australian actor known for his film and television work in Australia and in the United States. This year he will appear as Charles Manson, both in season two of Netflix series Mindhunter and in the film Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.
