Will Smith in “Concussion
Since the local acting scene is still dominated by “personality” performances (actors pretty much just being themselves), we have riled not a few stars with our brash declaration that they will never become good, let alone great, actors if they don’t take the essential extra step of creating characters.
Only when they portray people distinctly different from themselves can they deserve the tag of creative artists.
Still peevishly in the dark, some local stars ask us to provide them with examples of creative actors to emulate, and we came up with names like Meryl Streep, who makes it a point to look, sound and be different, from one film to another.
We also cite the way that Michael Douglas transformed himself into Liberace, Will Smith as Muhammad Ali, and Peter O’Toole as Lawrence of Arabia.
But those acclaimed thespic “touchstones” are so old, our peeved interlocutors complain. Can’t we come up with a more recent performance that they can look up and study?
Well, as a matter of fact, we can. Just last month, we watched on TV another Will Smith starrer, “Concussion,” which was released in 2015, and it featured another standout character created by the deservedly acclaimed actor and star.
He portrayed a forensic pathologist, Dr. Bennet Omalu, who exposed the deadly side effects of the violent sport of football, which subjects some players’ brains to permanent injury, or worse.
Smith’s portrayal of the real-life medical hero was made more challenging by the fact that Omalu was born and raised in Nigeria, so the actor didn’t just have to look and move like him, but had to speak with a thick Nigerian accent as well—very different from his generally American depictions in the past.
What made Smith’s characterization of Omalu so totally impressive and convincing was the fact that it went beyond his sounding like the Nigerian immigrant he was portraying, and depicted his heart and soul, as well.
Thus his “Nigerian” way of speaking English didn’t sound technically “learned” and “correct,” but became part of his totality as a person, making his performance fully believable and worthy of viewers’ trust and involvement.
Even better, Smith’s thespic creativity was rewarded by viewers and critics’ awards for excellence.
He was hailed as best actor by the African-American Film Critics’ Association, the Hollywood Film Awards, the Palm Springs International Film Festival, and the All Def Movie Awards.
In addition, his convincing, textured and insightful portrayal was nominated for honors by many other awards groups, including the Golden Globes!
Smith’s relatively recent standout portrayal should motivate our own actors to go beyond their usual practice of projecting their own personality, which limits them as creative artists—and go on to essay a wide range of other characters—which is what “acting” should really be all about.