There And Back Again, An Actor's Tale.

I picked up this book about Sean Austin, AKA Samwise Gamgie in Peter Jackson's The Lord of The Rings, in my local book store for a few quid. As most of my friends and family know The Lord of The Rings is one of my favourite series of films and in a way those films have a had a huge impact on my way of thinking. They are an epic, awesome spectacle of film making at its best. It creates a sense of awe whenever I watch them. I've poured hours into watching all the behind the scenes footage packaged in with the extended DVD versions of the films but I've never had chance to read anything about its production or director, Peter Jackson. So it was odd to pick this up, I don't honestly know much about Sean Austin and he certainly wouldn't have been my first choice actor to consider reading about so the book remained on my book shelf for quite some time. But I've now started reading it and I'm really glad I have because in some strange, almost path of destiny, sort of way Sean Austin could well be the best person to indulge at my current stage.



Sean Austin is probably most famous for his role in The Goonies, but he's not just an actor, he's an ambitious, creative soul who wants to produce, write and direct films. This resonated with me straight away and I knew I was not reading a book about one actors success in a great set of films, I was reading a book about a man who has walked down the path I'm just about to step foot on. The best half, first half, of the book is dedicated to Sean's back story which initially wasn't what I was looking for when I first picked up the book. I wanted The Lord of The Rings but as I read on I discovered what a fantastic introduction it is for someone like me. I don't know quite as much about film making as I should, that's a feeling that probably wont ever go away, I'll always have a hunger for knowledge and I'm always looking for something new to get my teeth into to help me develop my own film making skills, so this book is just what I needed.

I do find it difficult to relate with certain aspects of Sean's life; he had started in a much more positive place than I. He was raised by parents who had spent their life as actors, he lived in LA and by his early twenties he had Steven Spielberg's phone number. This is what most people simply don't have and never will have. But, what I can clearly see is that Sean has a burning passion to create quality films, tell great stories, act in brilliant films. He also appears to be quite insecure, this is something he doesn't try to hide and I'm grateful he doesn't, he's quickly made me realise that as an actor, creator your not really safe, your never in a place where you can put up your feet and lie on your pile of money. I don't think there is a time when anyone can say, 'I've made it.' And that's a good thing. It's sometimes easy to forget bravado doesn't indicate confidence and all successful people will have at some point self doubt regardless how powerful a personality they have. We all fear the risk of failure and rejection and it was nice that Sean shared his doubts in the book. I have fluctuating confidence levels so it was interesting to see how he deals with his own demons, particularly his weight. He deals with it by simply getting on with it, its the only attitude to have!

Sean has not achieved all his success simply by being in the right place at the right time, or knowing someone who can work on a film, or his parents getting him into roles, Sean has forged his career by working as hard as anyone from all walks of life. Its incredibly encouraging reading some of his anecdotes, not everything he touched turned to gold and his mistakes show a mortal side to his profession. It also shows a processes of learning even within the walls of Hollywood. A particular story he mentioned was the time he directed one of his own films, Steven Spielberg had allowed Sean to use the editing tools in one of the studios. So Sean turned up with the film reel but there was no one around and he didn't have the slightest idea how to set up the edit. Instead of asking for help, afraid he would look a fraud or inept, he picked up the reel incorrectly and all the film unravelled onto the floor. Panicking he left the building and never went back. I'm sure he's not the only one who has mucked like that and it just goes to show that once you cross that boarder, between student film maker and genuine film maker, you can still make mistakes but most importantly you still have to learn and you still need to ask for help.  

Like myself Sean doesn't believe he was the most well educated of young people during his teens so he sought to change that by self educating, reading, writing and creating. This mirrors my own youth. Growing up in Spain left me with a poor education and a limited vocabulary but I never stopped writing, I never stopped making films, even if I knew they were silly, it was all experience and practice. As I've got older I seem to be looking at film making from an academic level (reading books / writing on here) when I should be focusing on making films and trying things out. I hope with the new camera I bought the other week that's all going to change.

A lot of what I understand from these early chapters is that nobody is going to pick you up and put you in a position to become successful, or get an opportunity to make something cool and engaging, you have to do it all yourself, you have to make decisions, you have to stick to your decisions, you have to learn fast, you have to listen and watch, you have engage with new material and keep your mind open. And what's most important; your not always going to be right so you have to be ready to bounce back. When put down into simple words it seems like these points are a no brainer but from what I've seen of some students so far I don't belive everyone has the ability to put these points into practice. Raw talent is not enough, you need more and I believe that I have that, if I didn't there would be no point in continuing down this path.

I'm pleased that Sean put his early career into this book, its helped me straighten a few roads that had started to cross in my mind and I'm looking forward to reading more.