On dialogue, seeing what works for me, what doesn't. Think if there's any way I can improve that. I break down words, the evolution of the words. Clever scriptwriters can use words with lots of meanings, and find subtext in the lines. I'm a character actor, so I'm always asking myself what did the writer have in mind. I guess that's part of having a theatre background too. I'm always looking for the details, the subtexts. But then of course you do all this homework and then you get to the rehearsal process and throw it all out the window. Because there's no point if you're not working off what the other actors give you." Believe it or not, Shanks was studying economics at university when a chance encounter with the on location cast and crew of MacGyver spun his career path in a radically new direction. He counts himself fortunate to have had the support he needed to do it, especially from his father. "It's rare to get family encouragement in this business, and it's easy to get discouraged. My father has always been supportive and there for me when things weren't going well, helping me stay involved and motivated."
Even with the tough times, though, he couldn't be happier. "From acting I get a sense of satisfaction, of doing something well. Of doing a scene and feeling satisfied that I achieved something with it. I am a perfectionist. But perfection is unachievable, so I know there's always something more to strive for, a better performance. It's a balancing act, though, knowing when to accept what you've done and move on, not getting caught up in things you can't change. In acting there's always a chance to learn, to grow, to reach for bigger things. It keeps me moving forward. It's not therapy, but it allows you to exercise certain psychological demons. It's creatively fulfilling and exciting, and it's always different." But every job, no matter how fulfilling, has its drawbacks, and acting is no exception. "I'm actually pretty shy and reclusive," Shanks says. "I don't like public attention, being the focus of interest. I don't like to be recognized in public. I like my privacy. To be an actor you have to be able to study people, and if you lose your anonymity you can't do that. Not that it's really a problem for me at the moment, but I don't want it to be in the future."
And speaking of the future, what does he hope that life after Stargate will hold for him? "I'd love to work with Anthony Hopkins. I know he's supposed to have retired, but I don't think he'll stay away for long. I think he'll want to get back into it. Ralph Fiennes. Ed Harris. Ewan McGregor. I would have like to have worked with Stanley Kubrick. Steven Spielberg, of course. Everyone wants to work with him. James Cameron. I'd love to work on one of the new Star Wars films. Spielberg and Cameron are innovators. They have extraordinary vision and ability and they have carte blanche to do what they want to do. So often in this business what you want is controlled by the money. They have built up the trust so they can do what they need and want to do, to tell really wonderful stories. They have the sfx/vfx teams to make it happen. As an actor, they can take you in totally new directions." At least one ambition, however has already been fulfilled.
"I always wanted to play Hamlet, and I've just done that," he says. An enormous, daunting task, surely? "It wasn't that frightening. It was an intimidating work load. And it was an emotional and physical challenge. I'd spent two years out of theatre, and the longer I stayed away the more scary that idea became, of going back, which is why I did it. I'm always looking for challenges. I never want to get complacent. I want to stay open-eyed and excited about the work." Clearly, the experience is a career highlight. "It was great to work with new people. There was a great energy in the air. Initially the rest of the cast was a bit standoffish, thinking 'what's this TV guy going to do?', but once they realized I was prepared, I'd done my homework, and I was there to work, it went really well. I would have been exactly the same if the positions were reversed. I was challenged to the utmost."
Frontier Article: Walk Like An Egyptian
By: Karen Miller
1999
Thank you so much Karen for giving me permission to post this terrific article on my website :)
