That's all for today
Splashdown1995 asks:
a) What advice would you give to someone who wants to act professionally after graduating from a non-performance-related degree?
b) How does it feel to be Steven Spielberg’s muse?
Guardian contributor To answer b) - it feels better to be Steven Spielberg's friend.
Stuffandstuffan asks:
What did you think of the PJ Harvey concert that Twitter announced you were at?
Guardian contributor
BushfireBilly asks:
Why do you always seem to be wearing a hat when not in role?
Guardian contributor I've always liked hats, since I was a teenager, and they used to be such wonderful hats in vintage clothes stores in the 70s and 80s, some of which I still have. When I took the job at the Globe theatre, and had to do a lot more media work, I wanted to distinguish between when I was speaking as an actor, and as an artistic director. Now, I've just become fond of wearing hats, and of course, as I lose my hair, they keep me warmer and comfort my wounded vanity. I saw Maggie Smith recently - and this is great example of her wondrous talent - and she said: "What's with the hat? Is it because you're losing your hair?" And there is some truth to that now. But my love of hats began before I started to lose my hair.
Simother asks:
How do you look back on the movie Intimacy and why did you choose to do it?
Guardian contributor Intimacy was the most difficult job I've ever had. Hanif Kureishi's work and Patrice Chereau's words convinced me it was a very true and vital story about the difficulties people face finding intimacy in a big city like London. I know Hanif Kureishi's writing couldn't have been more intimate and revealing, but I found the making of the film and the subsequent publicity and personal attacks very, very painful. And I wish I hadn't made it.
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AlbertEinJockStein asks:
Would you rather eat an elephant-sized Malteser or a Malteser-sized elephant?
Guardian contributor
'I'd like to play Rooster Byron again'
ID2001779 asks:
When Jerusalem ended you said you’d like to do it again in five years. Your time is nearly up! Will you play Rooster again?
Guardian contributor Perhaps. I don't know. The play belongs to Jez Butterworth. I would like to, yes.
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ID304567 asks:
Stanislavski said that the elements of good acting are simpler, higher, funnier and lighter. I have seen these elements pumped up in a lot of characters you portrayed on stage, like the Rooster, Richard III and King Philippe V. Is this something you do on purpose or just a coincidence?
Guardian contributor Updated
duddyking asks:
My seven-year-old daughter loves Bing. How did you end taking the role of Flop?
Guardian contributor I was playing a part called Rooster Byron in a play called Jerusalem, and it reminded the director of Flop, believe it or not!
'I need more sensation than film can provide for me. The theatre is such a thrill'
Jo Allan asks:
I was just wondering how you’d found the transition from theatre to film and back. Do you feel like they require different parts of your self to get to the same end? Thank you.
Guardian contributor Thank you. They are very different, and require different skills. Not necessarily different skills of acting, but different skills around the acting that you do in both. I fear that ultimately I need more sensation and activity than film can provide for me. The theatre is such a thrill for me.
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Vic Tracey Campbell asks:
How are you how feeling about filming the downfall and execution of Cromwell?
Guardian contributor
JillBr asks:
I saw Nice Fish three times in Boston: the first preview, the middle of the run, and the next-to-last performance. I had read many of the Louis Jenkins poems before seeing the play, and it was wonderful seeing them come to life and sometimes interpreted totally differently from the way I’d imagined. I found myself laughing uncontrollably and then quickly brought to sobriety.
I do have a question that has been nagging me since January. At one point during the first preview, you turned to the audience and burst into I Believe in You, one of my all-time favourite Neil Young songs. You didn’t do that in the other performances. What brought you to include it in the play and subsequently take it out?
Guardian contributor My wife calls Neil Young Kermit the Frog whenever I put him on the record player! So he got cut. I love him - even to get him in for a couple of performances was pleasing.
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ID3462694 asks:
Given your role in Bing, were you ever worried that the audience would see the BFG as just a giant Flop?
Guardian contributor I get the impression that Flop exists in a reality entirely of his own. And is incomparable with any other living being in the entire universe. I must say, I'm very, very amused and delighted by the good humoured complaints from tired young mothers and fathers about Flop's persistent patience and good humour with young rascals.
'Advice to my younger self? Drink more water!'
Saul Barrett asks:
What piece of advice do you wish you had been told when you were a young actor starting out?
Guardian contributor Updated
jamesgrady asks:
Are there any parts in Shakespeare you’ve not done which you would like to? I would love to see you play King Lear one day. Also, how do you keep your head and stay playful as a performer? Especially now your work has such high profile and acclaim.
Guardian contributor I think Antony in Antony and Cleopatra is possible the most difficult role in the whole of Shakespeare. But I may be looking at it through the eyes of Cleopatra. I'm not sure at the moment whether I will play Shakespeare again.
Yes, when your gets high profile and acclaim there's further to fall. Perhaps I need to improve my skiing skills - they seem to know how to fall with great enjoyment and grace. We're all bound to fall, aren't we? But playfulness as we see in children is the beginning of anything new.
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Iggyboo asks:
It’s a long way way from Whitefish Bay to Wolf Hall. Which flavour of Kopp’s Frozen Custard would T Cromwell favour? – Katie (Bay expat)
Guardian contributor
HJULIUS asks:
About acting and conveying emotions: how deep do you have to go – is it gut, intuition or calculation? Any thoughts about day-to-day emotional awareness and control?
Guardian contributor I'm not a very good person to ask about emotional awareness and control! I would appreciate any help you can give me in my day to day life.
In the theatre, inside plays, I wonder more and more whether emotional expression just makes the audience passive. But people trying to deal with their emotions or people being surprised by an event, before they have an emotional response... I wonder whether these are more affecting and moving, and possibly true.
'I have to remind myself constantly not to get too attached to what other people feel about what I do'
Lamia7 asks:
This is really for my acting students, as well as for you: can you articulate how you begin working on a role? Then, how do you develop it? Has this changed over the course of time? Do you change things up as you go along? I once interviewed Nigel Hawthorne and he said he played a role differently every single night, which drove his fellow actors and directors crazy. He wanted to keep it fresh for himself. Is your prep-work specific? Also, I want to thank you for your wonderful acceptance speeches; I have to listen to them several times to comprehend what you’re getting at, but they’re always a treat!
Guardian contributor I really don't know how to describe how I do things. The process is continually evolving. Thank you for your kind comments - I've very glad that you enjoy my efforts. I did write to myself the other night, that no matter what you do, there will be some people who like it and some people who don't. If you believe in the story you're telling, of course you can't help wanting people to listen. But it would be a horrible thing if everyone was the same. The fact that people have different tastes and different beliefs and preferences is what makes the world a beautiful place. I have to remind myself constantly not to get too attached to what other people feel about what I do, and I suppose try to stay true to my imagination.
Chase Brown asks:
Seeing as you were raised in the States and trained in the UK and have worked in both, I was wondering what you find is the biggest difference between the two industries.
Guardian contributor That's a very big question - the Guardian should do a piece on it!
Megan Valentine asks:
As an actor, playwright and previous artistic director at the Globe, do you ever feel drawn to one job description, or is it constantly evolving? If the latter, how do you manage this?
Guardian contributor Yes, my roles in the theatre are constantly evolving. For me, they all revolve around a central job description of being a storyteller in this particular society. Telling stories involves acting in them, it also involves someone taking out the rubbish at -the end of the night or in the morning. And that's how I began as a 13-year-old and enjoyed very much the appreciation I got from the older kids for doing something so mundane and useful. I loved being part of the gang. And that has always been where my greatest joys have come, being part of a family or group.
'I have such deep trust in Hilary Mantel's storytelling skills'
Mick James asks:
When I saw Wolf Hall on stage in Stratford I was amazed to see Hilary Mantel in the audience, but later learned this was quite a common occurrence. Given that the Cromwell trilogy is a work in progress, how do you feel about the creative partnership that has been forged between Mantel and Ben Miles and its influence on the development of a character that you may well play again yourself? Do you have your own views on unexplored aspects of Cromwell’s past and future, or is it “just the text” for you?
Guardian contributor Ben Miles is a very old friend and an actor I admire very very much. If Hillary is inspired by that creative partnership that can only be for the good, to my mind. I don't have my own views on the unexplored aspects of Cromwell's past and future. I have such deep trust in Hilary's understanding and storytelling skills, that I am as excited as everyone else to read whatever she comes up with for the last years or months of Thomas Cromwell's life.
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Fridtjof Ryder asks:
What do you consider the role of the performing artist now, in this age of change, the 21st century?
Guardian contributor To bring people together. To give people a collective experience, and I suppose, as your question suggests, to give them an experience of how things change. How things have changed in the past, how things are changing now, and the perhaps frightening way that things may change in the future. Personally, I want an experience that isn't just intellectual, but is emotional, visceral, sensual, and perhaps even unconcious, ie soulful and spiritual. I find technology increasingly isolating, and I credit some of the popularity of live music at festivals, live theatre, dance, opera, to a strong need that people have to be in company, to experience something together. One of my heroes, Sir Francis Bacon, observed that human beings were capable of great thoughts when in a company of people, than on their own. And I experience that particularly at the Globe theatre, where the audience is given such power and freedom.
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Christopher Marino asks:
Hi, Mark. We had some of the same teachers in the UK. So a quick question: could you give a rough estimate how much time you spend on a role outside of rehearsal? I know the improvisational work that you do, but if the director does not work that way, how many hours outside do you spend for every hour in the room – if you had to estimate it?
Guardian contributor I can't give a time of hours. I can think of certain roles where I visited a number of different people who I thought might have something helpful for the role, and then sometimes I haven't done that. There was a character in Faversham in 1982, a man called Mad Jim, who lived in a tent on the edge of town, and believed he was working for Interpol. I met him when I was researching for a play called Arden of Faversham at the RSC. He didn't help me with that play, but he became an important foundation for The BFG.
I will spend a good amount of time going through the text before rehearsals begin, which I compare to gardening work, turning the soil, laying in compost, planting seeds, but trying not to attach myself to certain outcomes. So that this preparation makes me as ready to play as possible when rehearsals begin. And then in my experience, I find the best acting happens in play. I don't find it helpful to plan out something and then try and fulfil that plan.
thebuddha asks:
Hello, Mark – I’d like to ask about acting. Do you find it easy or difficult? Robert Mitchum said it was easy – “I just pretend to be someone else and get paid.” Others make it sound technical and academic. Some seem very conscious and deliberate, particularly in theatre; others seem very natural. Do you find it instinctive or practised? Having never acted at all, I find it intriguing. I wonder if we don’t all act as ourselves in regular life but forget we’re doing it?
Guardian contributor Ralph Richardson said it took 20 years to begin to learn how to act. When I was younger I found acting very difficult, primarily because of my own critical voices and my feeling, probably right, that I needed to get better. Curiously, one of the important steps of getting better was changing my relationship with my critical voices, and realising the importance of joy and a sense of humour, and as you question states it, ease. So I think one of the things one is trying to learn is a true sense of presence, easy presence, being in the moment. These cliches... I think that you are right that we all act unconsciously in our lives, we alter our behavior in different situations as we need. There are technical aspects to acting - I don't know that there is any need for academic work. One has to be careful about carrying too complicated a mind onto the stage. That's not to say there isn't a role for great learning in the theatre, but the objective principles of academia are a different craft, in my experience.
Guardian contributor And finally, yes of course, acting is both instinctive and practised. It's a childish skill, which adults use to tell stories.
'I am aware of the presence of past characters in my psyche'
carpastar asks:
How far do you consciously choose roles in order to explore (or strengthen) a particular part of yourself? And in which ways do you still feel the effects or presence of past characters within yourself, months or years after a performance has ended?
Guardian contributor Yes, sometimes I will be drawn to a role in order to explore a different aspect of my conception of myself. Like Rooster Byron, Cleopatra, Olivia, this present role in Nice Fish.
And yes, I am aware of past characters, particularly characters that I played for a number of years or hundreds of performances. I am aware of their presence in my psyche, the way one is aware of physical exercise - even though you may have stopped doing yoga or push-ups, the muscles still have a memory.
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rcolyer asks:
Many of us in the theatre-making community felt that Emma Rice’s departure from the Globe was a huge backward step. The following day I read a tweet from a theatre company called Action Hero, in support of Rice’s radical approach, saying: “A historically authentic Globe would be for diverse audiences to be gathered to see new work by contemporary theatre-makers.”
As a former artistic director yourself, having pioneered the first 10 years at the Globe, what is your view on the future evolution and continued relevance of that venue?
Guardian contributor The Globe project in my understanding of it is a specific exploration of the architectural tools that Shakespeare worked with. The Globe amphitheatre and the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse. I agree with the tweet from Action Hero, and during my time and Dominic's time, as well as Emma's time, new work by contemporary theatre makers has been a main part of the programming. Emma is not doing anything different or challenging on that front. We were all thrilled by her appointment. My understanding of the issue, or at least one of the issues, of this unfortunate situation, is the placement of extensive lighting equipment over the stage, and speakers for amplification of the actors. This equipment was not possible to remove between shows, therefore it made it impossible to do work which explored the Globe's extensive research into the original playing conditions of that piece of architecture. Someone had to compromise - either the Globe or Emma. It's a tragedy they weren't able to find a middle ground.
But yes, new work by contemporary theatre-makers has always been welcome and I imagine will always be welcome at Shakespeare's Globe. The whole project, for God's sake, is a new work by a contemporary theatre-maker: Sam Wanamaker. It is in my mind the most radical new step for Shakespeare since his passing.
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OleksandrOK asks:
Many famous actors did not attend acting school. Why did you decide to study at Rada?
Guardian contributor I was living in the suburbs of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, but I had returned to England for many summer holidays since I was a child, and had fallen in love with the theatre in London. Attending acting school seemed the only way to begin. And I was very surprised to be accepted from so far away. I learned how to fail. And get up on your feet again, and have another go. Also, learning how to work with other people. Plus obviously, many skills to do with acting. But really, mostly, learning how to deal with different directors and actors, etc.
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Mark is with us now
Post your questions for Mark Rylance
Respected as one of the finest stage actors of his generation, Mark Rylance began his career with a string of celebrated Shakespearean roles, including Henry V and Olivia in Twelfth Night. He spent a decade as artistic director of the Globe theatre and his performance as strutting anarchist Rooster in Jez Butterworth’s Jerusalem won him Olivier and Tony awards for best actor.
Now, at 56, he has started lighting up the screen. Rylance has become a muse to Steven Spielberg, who has cast him in The BFG, Bridge of Spies (for which he won a best supporting actor Oscar) and forthcoming sci-fi blockbuster Ready Player One. On TV meanwhile, his sly, stoic Thomas Cromwell in Wolf Hall won him a Bafta.
Next up is a London run of Nice Fish, a poetic play about a pair of ice fisherman out on a frozen Minnesota lake, co-written by Rylance and directed by his wife Claire van Kampen. As it begins, Rylance joins us at 11.30am GMT on Wednesday 16 November to answer your questions in a live webchat – post them in the comments below, and he’ll take on as many as possible.
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Thank you for these wonderful questions, there were many more than I had time to get to, because of rehearsals today. Perhaps we can do this again in the future. I hope my answers were helpful.