Actor Corey Johnson on Anthony Hopkins, The Mummy and Why Acting Is Reacting

What can an actor learn from watching Anthony Hopkins, Sam Mendes and Brendan Fraser at work?

Corey Johnson's first film was John Schlesinger's The Innocent, as Anthony Hopkins's right-hand man. He watched Schlesinger struggle to get a menacing line out of Hopkins, then stop to reload the camera, ask Hopkins about Laurence Olivier, let him do his impressions for the crew, and roll while he was still relaxed. The line came out exactly right. Corey says you don't always realize what you've learned on a set.

In Episode 252, the second of two parts, Christian Taylor and her friend from Catholic University pick up where Part 1 left off. Corey talks about The Mummy, his biggest film role, and why a remark about Brendan Fraser always finding the camera left him feeling that screen acting wasn't what he did: he was a theater actor. He describes rehearsing just two scenes for a week each on a new Alejandro González Iñárritu film, shot partly on real film, and watching Sam Mendes direct a West End play like someone playing three-dimensional chess.

Then the two friends disagree. Christian believes acting school should teach the business of acting; Corey says every out-of-work actor already runs a business, and the craft is what matters. Christian listens back to her own work; Corey never watches his on-screen performances, because, as he puts it, "that way madness lies." He ends on what he believes acting really is: reacting, staying open and letting yourself be vulnerable.

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In this episode, you'll learn:

• How John Schlesinger relaxed Anthony Hopkins into the take he needed
• What Corey learned on The Mummy about acting for the camera
• How a film rehearsal differs from a stage rehearsal
• What it was like to watch Sam Mendes direct
• Whether actors should be taught the business of acting
• Why Corey never watches his own performances
• Why Corey believes acting is reacting

CHAPTERS

0:00 Part 2, and His First Film, The Innocent

4:54 The Trick That Unlocked Anthony Hopkins

7:05 Trust on a Film Set

13:42 The Mummy and Finding the Camera

16:57 Rehearsing a Film for a Week

19:32 Shooting Out of Order

21:54 Watching Sam Mendes Direct

27:05 Generous Actors and a Great Cinematographer

31:57 Is Acting a Business?

34:48 Learning the Camera on the Fly

38:05 Why Corey Doesn't Watch Himself

44:48 Acting Is Reacting

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

What was Corey Johnson's first film?

Corey Johnson's first film was The Innocent, directed by John Schlesinger and shot in 1992, with Anthony Hopkins, Campbell Scott and Isabella Rossellini. Corey played Hopkins's right-hand man and later helped him with his American accent during dialogue replacement.

How did John Schlesinger get the performance he wanted from Anthony Hopkins?

Corey Johnson says Schlesinger wanted a line to sound threatening without looking threatening. While the camera was reloaded, he asked Hopkins about Laurence Olivier, and Hopkins entertained the crew with his impressions. Schlesinger then rolled while Hopkins was still relaxed, and the line landed.

Why doesn't Corey Johnson watch his own performances?

Corey Johnson says watching himself would make him judge the result instead of the character, from his hair to how his suit sat. He believes changing how you work to fix the end result is "a snake eating its own tail." Christian Taylor, who listens back to her own work, admits he has a point.

DOCUVIEW DÉJÀ VU PICKS

Corey's picks: Strangest Things, a documentary series he narrated, and the documentary he narrated for the 30th anniversary of Tiananmen Square.

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ABOUT THE GUEST

Corey Johnson

Actor and Documentary Narrator

Corey Johnson grew up in New Orleans, studied drama at Catholic University and in London, and has built his career in London on stage, on screen and in voiceover. His film and television work includes The Innocent, Saving Private Ryan, The Mummy, Hellboy, Band of Brothers and September 5, and he has narrated hundreds of documentaries.

ABOUT DOCUMENTARY FIRST

Documentary First is a weekly podcast about the people behind documentaries and how the work changed them. Host Christian Taylor, director of the award-winning The Girl Who Wore Freedom, talks with filmmakers from Ken Burns to first-time directors. Listen Notes ranks the show in the top 5% of all podcasts worldwide.

THE COREY JOHNSON EPISODES

• Part 1 of this conversation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s-K2VyTmhDE
• Saving Private Ryan with Corey on the Movie Rob Minute, Part 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lDDoJx1DmVw
• Saving Private Ryan with Corey on the Movie Rob Minute, Part 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rnFnXJ5Ny0g

RESOURCES MENTIONED

• Corey Johnson on IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0424819/
• The Innocent (1993) on IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0106185/