Hollywood star and Shakespearian actor Sir Patrick Stewart showed up for an acting masterclass... at Huddersfield University.
He certainly gave the students – and everyone else – food for thought with what he said.
Three groups of second year drama students performed excerpts from plays they will be presenting in May as part of the Second Year Drama Festival.
Seated alongside the student directors Sir Patrick, who had studied the scripts beforehand, asked the actors to try subtly different techniques and approaches to their parts, resulting in dramatic differences in interpretation that were immediately apparent.
He stressed how important it is for actors to be able to make changes and to respond to direction, adding: “We must jump into the deep end of a new idea and inhabit it completely.”
He also shared some golden rules, such as a prohibition of what he termed “demonstration” when actors flagged up their feeling or thought too hard about their lines.
He said: “Never think about what you are going to say, but think about your feelings and experiences.”
Sir Patrick said that he sought parts that presented new acting challenges and is now considering a role as a deeply introverted musician.
For a stage actor this would be a considerable challenge.
“How far inside myself can I go in creating this character, and yet still make an impact?” he said.
He was asked why he returned to the role of Professor Xavier in current blockbuster Logan.
“It was the story,” he said. “Logan is unlike any other X-men movie. Tonally, it is very different.”
He described the challenges of making Logan, in which Xavier suffers from dementia. The Mississippi location was infested by hordes of insects attracted to the lights during the night shoot. It included Xavier’s death scene.
“But dying is easy on film,” he said. “It’s all about breath control. On stage, however, you can be ‘dead’ for 20 minutes!”
