Interview with Scottish Actor Duncan Airlie James

Well, I did some very simple acting things in my younger days, but nothing serious. I was really more into music, and I became a pretty good drummer. I played for a load of local bands, as well as my own bands, a couple of which went on to have small record deals and so on, in the early and mid-80’s.

As many people know, afer my musical “career” so to speak, I went on to become a very successful athlete in fighting sport, namely Thai / Kick boxing! That was a great life, and being the very driven fellow that I am, I achieved great success, ending up winning six World titles at different weights with various organizations, as well as having the honour and privilege of competing on the biggest fighting event in the World at the time, namely the “K-1” events in Japan and internationally. I was kind of known all around the World, as the Scottish guy who fought in tartan!

Mega proud and excited for I.d.2 being released today ! Go and see it people. pic.twitter.com/7ZidiNytaz

— Duncan Airlie James (@dajactor) August 12, 2016

I found great fulfilment and satisfaction in that career. It brought home to me that, like all sport, it is just another form of human performance, with the same / similar principles and behaviour methods. By that I mean, you have to do all your practise / training, and then GO, when – the bell rings, the whistle goes, etc., exactly the same as in any creative field, e.g. when the curtain goes up or the director says action ! What I mean is you can’t just “hide” when it is REAL and happening. It’s too late then. One CAN hide of course, but you really need to / should discover that about yourself beforehand! I hope that makes sense?

My competitive sport career came to an end in 2006. I was getting a bit bored with it all to be honest. I then had a small Gym, where I ran a few classes and did some personal training, a couple of which were from the Scottish film scene. It is them that I have to thank for encouraging me towards this acting journey I am on now.

indieactivity: Did you study acting?
Duncan: Yes. I’ve done quite a variety of acting classes, courses, etc. The best advice I ever got when I realised acting was for me was that, as a middle-aged man, having “lived a life”, so to speak, the best thing I could do was to get some good training under my belt, but only that which would help me / allow me to “access” my life experience[s], as it were. It was great advice.

I started with a basic and general class, i.e. Adult Acting, at the U.K.T.S.: U.K. Theatre School in Glasgow, taught by Paul Fontana. It was a great group of people, and it gave me a good grounding and starting point, and pretty much straight away I [re]discovered that awesome “tingle down the spine” feeling I used to have when I was a fighter. NOTHING compares to that!

Acting recreated that incredible feeling I would get in the build-up to a fight. And I realised pretty quickly that acting was definitely for me. My wee joke I say now is that “ding-ding” has been replaced by “action”. Haha! We did some good stuff at the U.K.T.S. I then also did some great training with Mark Westbrook at the well-known “Acting Coach Scotland” school, in Glasgow. Mark teaches the system / method of acting called “Practical Aesthetics”, and I work a lot with him when I am preparing for any role I get. His insight and thoughts on any role are excellent.

Before long, I realised that actually the ONLY thing that truly matters is truth on-screen or stage. What “system” you use to get you there doesn’t matter, as long as you get there. And like everything else in life, that is really a personal choice, and what one feels most comfortable with.

I feel it’s like that old saying about religion, namely that “all religions are just different paths up the same mountain”, which I suppose is to get to an understanding of the World / Universe, that religious people would call “God” or whatever. How you get there only matters slightly, compared with the main goal – actually going there!

I also briefly went to a few other acting coaches and groups, and worked with excellent voice and accent coaches. All really good.

indieactivity: What acting technique do you use?
Duncan: As I said in my previous answer, the “system” taught by Mark Westbrook is known as Practical Aesthetics and is based on the teachings of greats like Stanislavski, Meisner, etc. But like I have said, I prefer not to be “allied” to only one “system”, so to speak.

indieactivity: Do you take courses to improve your craft?
Duncan: Well as I mentioned, I felt that as an older person [re]coming to acting in my “middle age”, so to speak, the last thing I really needed to do was go to study a 3 or 4 year course at a big acting school or college, or whatever. I have found various individual coaches that have their own, great individual skills that I have worked with and that work for me. So I try to do as many private sessions and small workshops with them when I get the chance, as well as others I’ve heard about and that I think I can learn from / get something from.

The main thing I think I’ve learned or rather realised is, that it doesn’t matter what you use to get to the “truth” of any scene, but just that you do! By that I mean that you manage to reveal the essence, the truth of any scene. And how you do that as an actor is entirely up to you. I feel that means not being a “slave” to any particular method, as it were. Whatever your method may be, whatever method you use, as long as it gets you “there” – that is all that truly matters.

indieactivity: What acting books do you read?
Duncan: Jeez, I have read loads of acting books over recent years. And have bought many more that have sat on the shelf, haha! But I have dipped in and out of them at various points down the years I’ve been acting. I tend to go more for real technical books, etc., ones that deal with actual technical skills like accents, voice work, audition technique, professional skills and techniques, industry / business for actors, etc., etc., rather than acting “philosophy” or whatever.

indieactivity: How do you keep fit as an actor?
Duncan: Well once my sport career ended, I won’t lie, but I had become quite jaded and very bored with it. Not the sport or the martial arts……the martial arts changed my life! No, more the business of all that scene / industry, so to speak. It had become very unfulfilling, and nothing to match the incredible buzz and excitement of being an actual fighter and actually competing! So my drive and motivation to train hard definitely had ebbed away a good deal.

However, after a few years, that wee “itch” began to get itchy, haha. I began to find the desire and interest to throw myself back into serious fitness and fight training again. Mentally, I have always been very “into” things like meditation, spiritual practices, hill walking, etc., etc., and I find that all those kind of endeavours keep me well-grounded and “tuned-in” as it were. I just love being out in the wilds of Scotland, and indeed almost anywhere in the World like that. So nothing really specific for acting, but more just general, all-round physical and mental wellbeing.

indieactivity: How do you prepare for a role?
Duncan: Once I’ve been cast in a role, I try to find out as much general info about the project as I can, I mean like – who’s directing it, who are the other cast members so far, who is / are the producer[s], where is it being done, etc. General stuff really. I try to find out all I can about the character, and to get their views on the character they want me to play. That’s in an ideal World of course.

This all gives me a good idea as to where to “aim” so to speak, with portraying the character. If I’m not able to get this info in advance, then I just keep trying to find out more and more about the project, giving me more and more valid “pointers”, as it were. Of course, if I’m lucky enough to have any rehearsals for the project, you then discover how well the choice[s] you’ve made are, or if they aren’t working. But far better finding this out then, than actually when you arrive on set to start shooting!

indieactivity: How do you create a character from a script into a person?
Duncan: When I get the script for a role, I read the script quickly and get a general and overall feel / “vibe” for the story. I highlight my character’s lines, I make wee side notes about “him”, etc. I then leave it for a day, read it again the next day, and make more wee notes. I continue that process, looking at each scene I’m in and just doing the proper script analysis. I also always try to get the views of and work through my role with my main acting coach and / or pro actor friends.

I then put the whole script into a great app I have for learning lines, which can structure the script the way you need it to be. You can playback other characters words, etc., so you learn your own character’s lines in the right “order”, etc. It is a fantastic tool!

With a good load of preparation time for any role, I try to throw things around with the character I’m playing, to see if something unusual throws itself up. I do find that very often, my initial feelings, “vibes” etc., about the character are usually pretty good. But sometimes, something wonderfully unusual or even “weird” pops up. You then have to decide if that is a good choice to make or “direction” to go in with the character, and I seek the advice of good people, acting coaches, etc.

However, with the usual way things can change literally on the day on any project, I try to learn lines, scenes, etc., in a very “modular” way, as it were, a method I have to thank the phenomenal acting coach Mel Churcher for turning me on to.

indieactivity: How do you stay fresh on a production set?
Duncan: Generally, depending on the start / call time of each day, I usually try to get a workout in, in the early morning. But if I can’t do that because it is an early start, I will usually aim to workout at the end of the day. If the day has been an intense, non-stop day, I end the day with a good bath, and aim to get a great sleep.

In terms of staying “in character”, it depends on any role, and what that role entails / “requires”. I haven’t played any big roles yet, that really require to be constantly “in character” even in-between takes, or off set. Hopefully I will get to do those kind of roles. I really want to.

indieactivity: Describe a memorable character you played?
Duncan: Well I “like” all the characters I have played thus far. All for different reasons. I’d have to say though that the weirdest one is that of Danny – the crazy ostrich puppet in the short films “The Greyness of Autumn” and its sequel “Autumn Never Dies”.

I played the voice of Danny. Greyness won a lot of praise, great reviews, and a few awards. Autumn is in the final stages of post production, but should be out I think, before the end of the year.

indieactivity: Explain one creative choice you took on set?
Duncan: Well when I did the role of Major Bormann in the short film pilot Fanatic, that we did in Scotland in 2015, I initially thought of him as a kind of hard, tough, and uncompromising approach to the character. He was a retired special forces Major, and so I approached him initially with the kind of obvious choice, namely as a real badass. But as we got right up close to the shoot, and after chatting with the director, my friend Luke Aherne, I really began to rethink that choice, of playing him as a stereotypical tough bloke I mean.

And then actually on the shoot, I immediately felt it was totally the correct decision, and FAR more appropriate to bring a real “vulnerability” to him. He was a middle-aged, retired officer, who had done his “bit”, and had been asked to come out of retirement and straight into a dangerous “action” scenario, leaving behind his wife and kid.

As I said, this of course was a discussion both Luke and I had, and indeed we both felt that it gave the character a far better “path” to travel, so to speak. And most everyone that has seen the project seems to agree. Fanatic was a short ‘proof of concept’ film done in Scotland in 2015, that turned out really superbly. So now the search is on for proper funding and / or production backing to make the full feature film

indieactivity: What do you want most from a director?
Duncan: Clarity of vision. And the ability to communicate that!

indieactivity: What actors do you long to work with?
Duncan: God, where do I start with this one? Haha! I honestly do love so many actors in the World industry just now. I would have to say though that, at this point in time, I particularly love Brian Cranston and James Spader. I mean, Breaking Bad and The Blacklist are two of my absolute all-time favourite programmes and really are in my opinion, phenomenal pieces of work.

But my list is huge. I could rattle off loads of mega names I admire massively, but so can every actor! I personally love actors like – Ed Harris, Morgan Freeman, Mark Ruffalo, Patrick Stewart, Willem Dafoe, Ian McKellen, Denzel Washington,

Brad Pitt, Judi Dench, Susan Sarandon, Cate Blanchett, Meryl Streep, Jodie Foster, Angela Bassett,…..Jeez, where do I stop ? Haha.

I am also a massive fan of both Arnie and Stallone! Two of my all-time heroes.

As a Martial Artist in the mid 80’s, like many, many others, I stole some of the training ideas from Rocky 4! Haha. Like those upside down abdominal curls he did in that barn. I freely admit it. Both Rocky’s AND Drago’s [Dolph Lundgren]. But then, when you see Arnie, with that M60 machine gun towards the end of the film Commando, well…..he was, and still is ….THE Man!

indieactivity: Why?
Duncan: Well I found myself completely blown away by and immersed in, the characters that both Brian Cranston and James Spader created in the major roles they have become known for, namely – Walter White [Brian C.] and Raymond Reddington [James S.]. They’ve done many other characters I know, but these guys just knocked me out ! Just superb in my opinion. Of course, that is also really the same for all major, top end actors, I mean in the characters they bring to life.

indieactivity: What advice would you give to actors?
Duncan: Who am I to give anyone advice? I’ll gladly tell other actors, indeed anyone, about my own experiences, careers I’ve had, and so on in my life so far, and if they take something / anything from that, well that’s good. I have always felt an affinity with that great saying, “if you have been successful, it’s your DUTY to send the elevator back down”! Brilliant words.

And that applies not only with career and / or material success, but I think even more so with general success in life. I advocate and believe in, helping other people up – JUST for the sake of it! Add to, contribute to, and build up – Karma.

indieactivity: Briefly write about your career?
Duncan: My career is going well so far. I have a good agent in London and I have been getting “in the room” auditions-wise, for some major films and TV productions. The biggest projects I have done thus far, are – TOMB RAIDER, which has just been released, and OUTLAW KING, being released in late 2018. Both fantastic films.
In Tomb Raider, I played Terry, the fight trainer to Lara Croft.

A small, great role for me. It was awesome working with the superb Alicia Vikander, who won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress in 2016, for The Danish Girl. She is an absolutely lovely girl, a real delight to work with, and a complete and total pro. I’m a lot older than she is and I learned so much from working with her, and watching how she approached this massive role.

Everyone who I worked with on that shoot was fantastic, from the other actors like Hannah John Kamen [Ready Player One, Star Wars : The Force Awakens, Killjoys, Black Mirror, etc.], who is another gem of a girl, to the director Roar Uthaug, who was a really lovely guy, all the crew, and the guys from Warner Bros. It was a really great experience.

And then also, my most recent role was that of Beaumont, a nasty English soldier, in the huge movie “Outlaw King” that features Chris Pine as Robert the Bruce.

It has a great cast of superb actors from Scotland, England, and international, like – James Cosmo, Stephen Dillane, Tony Curran, Sam Spruell, Aaron Taylor Johnson, Callan Mulvey, Billy Howie, Alastair Mackenzie, Steven Cree, Florence Pugh, and many others. My character Beaumont is just a small role. This film is going to be really epic, and has some of the best and most brutal battle scenes ever filmed!

It was great working with David [Mackenzie] again. He is real hot property just now, having done the really successful film “Hell or High Water” last year. I worked with David before on the film Starred Up, a few years ago, that was regarded by many as one of the best ever British prison movies.

After those two films, my next biggest role was playing the EDL thug “Hunt” in the feature film i.d.2: Shadwell Army, which came out in August 2016. It was great working with actors like Linus Roache, Neil Pearson, Paul Popplewell, Simon Rivers, and indeed all the cast on that film were lovely. As were the director and the crew. The director Joel Novoa is a cool guy! Everyone was just great.

Going forwards with the rest of my career, obviously like every other actor, I am just keen to work on as many fantastic projects as I can, and with as many more great actors as possible. I am just a complete lover and enthusiast for performance and performing! It is my utter and total BUZZ “drug”, what “gets” me, as it were.
Nothing else comes close, apart from stepping through the ropes of a ring, hearing the bell go, and fighting!

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