Leon Acord interviewed by Nigel Kelly
Leon Acord debuted in the play Carved In Stone (written by Jeffrey Hartgraves, directed by John Fisher and Co-Produced by Leon), at The Eureka Theatre, San Francisco in August 2002.
Leon plays Quentin Crisp, along side P.A.Cooley as Truman Capote, Matt Weimer as Oscar Wilde and Jeffrey Hartgraves as Tennessee Williams in an "afterlife lounge".
This is a full length in-depth interview, so I have divided it into Question and Answer sections with links to each one.
Or of course you can just read down through it all in full if you wish.
Q. You once said that people had been telling you for years that you should play Quentin Crisp. Do you think people see similarities between you and Quentin?
Q: When did you first become aware of Quentin Crisp?
Q: Did you ever meet him?
Q: Has your life been influenced by Quentin’s philosophy and ideas?
Q: I read in an article that Jeffrey Hartgraves wrote Carved In Stone so that you could play Quentin. Is that true?
Q. How did you go about preparing to play such a unique and complex character?
Q. Was it difficult getting the play produced?
Q. What was it like playing on stage with such a great group of actors each playing such strong characters?
Q. The show was very well received both critically and by the audience. Do you have a favourite review?
Q. Have you had the chance to see any of the other actors who played Quentin?
Q: What do you think Quentin would make of the show if he were still alive?
Q: Do you and Jeffrey have any future plans for the show?
Q. Do you find there is still a lot of interest in Quentin?
Q: Have you always been/wanted to be an actor?
Q: What was your first acting role?
Q: Which of the roles you have played brought you the most satisfaction, and which would you most like to be remembered for?
Q: Which actors have inspired you or taught you the most about your craft?
Q: Are there any roles you would especially like to play?
Q. You’ve done a great deal of work on both stage and screen. Not many actors are able to be equally effective in these quit different media. Do you have a preference?
Q. Would you ever like to get behind the camera?
Q: Most actors say they could never retire. Could you ever see yourself retiring?
Q. What advice would you give to aspiring actors?
Q: If you could relive your life would you still be an actor?
Q. You once said that people had been telling you for years that you should play Quentin Crisp. Do you think people see similarities between you and Quentin?
But I think people always suggested I play him because, like him, I’ve never tried to “pass” as anything other than myself. I’ve never really thought of myself in terms of gender. I’ve never tried to be “masculine” or “feminine.” Unless I’m playing a role, I’ve always allowed myself just to be exactly myself. I wouldn’t know how to be any other way. I dress exactly as I like, which I’m told is a bit too “elegant” or “glamorous,” whatever that means! And I think people recognize in both of us a certain disregard for convention, while still maintaining respect for tradition.
Only after I started researching him, did I realize how similar our childhoods were. We were both totally mentally disconnected from our families as children, and living in fantasy worlds of our own making, dreaming of the day we could escape.
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Quentin Crisp and John Hurt in a
publicity shot for The Naked Civil Servant.
Q: When did you first become aware of Quentin Crisp?
When I first moved to San Francisco in the late 1980s, I studied acting with a wonderful teacher named Sami Antoinette. She was an amazingly interesting character. I was in my early 20s, straight out of Indiana, too naïve to believe! She told me to find and watch a video called “The Naked Civil Servant,” and prepare the courtroom monologue to perform the following week.
Now, I had no idea who Quentin was at that time. But watching that movie, something clicked. I felt like I was meeting an old friend for the very first time. That’s the only way to describe it. There was just a connection, even though he was being played by John Hurt. His story just totally resonated with me. Sami clearly knew what she was doing!
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Q: Did you ever meet him?
Not formally, but I did sit next to him in an audience at a television taping once, a few years before “Carved in Stone” came about. Man, I wish I had had the nerve to introduce myself then. If only I had known then how approachable he was! I was fascinated by him; I couldn’t stop staring! We made eye contact. He, of course, smiled and nodded. He was so tiny and delicate and poised … and purple! I studied his hands folded on his lap. He reminded me a lot of one of my grandmothers. Very delicate with reserves of strength underneath! And I remember his cologne. One of the first things I did when we did the play was track down that cologne. I wore it every night. Eau Sauvage by Dior. It must have been a gift; I can’t imagine Quentin spending that much money on cologne.
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Q: Has your life been influenced by Quentin’s philosophy and ideas?
Oh, absolutely! In particular, his line about “Live your life like you’re the only one on the planet.” That’s great advice; I try to live up to that as much as I can. Especially now that I’m in LA, where everybody tries to be like everyone else.
I think of how he lived – and know that, if I lost everything tomorrow, I could live in a one-room walk-up flat, cook on a hot plate, and still be fabulous! I admire his simplicity – while at the same time, I’m completely fascinated by his complexity. I’m a Gemini, I’m attracted to extremes, I guess! Plus he so “got” the whole celebrity thing better than anyone since Andy Warhol, I think. The “smiling and nodding racket,” as he calls it. I call it my “talk-show personae,” but it’s basically the same thing. Being there for the people, being what they want and expect to see, staying open to new people and new experiences. I wonder what he’d think of how celebrity culture has deteriorated the past few years.
Also, I love his advice about being the biggest and best at what you do. If you’re a slob, well then, be the biggest damned slob anyone’s ever seen! And I agree with him that public music has killed the art of conversation. I don’t want the latest hits when I’m dining out, I want to talk with my dinner companion.
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Q: I read in an article that Jeffrey Hartgraves wrote Carved In Stone so that you could play Quentin. Is that true?
Last Sunday in June.
So while I can’t say he wrote it “for” me, I guess I was a catalyst!
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Q. How did you go about preparing to play such a unique and complex character?
Crisp and Capote in Carved in Stone.
I’d never performed with an accent before, so I studied with two dialect coaches. I know I drove the director crazy in rehearsals, because I wouldn’t use the accent until it was perfect. And I smoked back then, so I would have cigarette after cigarette on the way to the theatre, while singing at the top of my voice, to get Quentin’s tone.
We had a terrific costumer, but I spent a lot of time finding the perfect costume. I guess I wanted to recreate that purple vision I had seen myself. Once I had that, I just put all the pieces together. There was an hour of latex make-up, rubber bands around my wrists to age my hands. Padding around my middle. And, of course, that wig! Director John Fisher said it was like a large cloud, he was constantly re-blocking the other actors so they wouldn’t get stuck behind my huge head! He also kept me in chairs a lot, because I’m almost a foot taller than a Quentin should be!
I’d get in the make-up, the clothes, then get into the mindset. Then I’d just walk around the dressing room as Quentin until I felt it all “gel”. It’s kind of hard to explain, this is where acting gets really nebulous. Some nights, I really felt like I was “channeling” more than acting.
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Q. Was it difficult getting the play produced?
Ad for Carved in Stone.
Once we decided to do it, we packaged it as if it were a film. We cast it, found a director, got the theatre, and then got folks to give us the money!
The money was surprisingly easy to raise, considering it was less than a year after 9/11, and San Francisco’s economy had been particularly hard hit. But we had a great production team, and something about that initial concept – those four famous writers together – sparked interest with investors and, later, audiences. We also had a locally well-known cast, and an award-winning director, John Fisher, attached. So raising the money was pretty easy!
I’ve since learned that it is very rarely that easy!
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Q. What was it like playing on stage with such a great group of actors each playing such strong characters?
Cast of Carved in Stone.
Getting my performance ready was the hardest work I’ve done as an actor, but once we opened it didn’t feel like work at all. Each night felt like a party. The show was so perfectly cast. We hired actors we had worked with before, so we had terrific chemistry and timing. As a group, we truly functioned as one living, breathing unit. The audiences loved it so much, I couldn’t wait to get to the theatre each night to soak it up. It must be what rock musicians feel like doing concerts – such a high that I couldn’t sleep for hours afterwards. I don’t think we ever had a “bad” night.
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Q. The show was very well received both critically and by the audience. Do you have a favourite review?
The show worked on so many levels – people could see it as simply a literate sitcom, if that’s all they wanted, or they could see the story of ideas underneath. While I loved that so many critics found the show – and me – hilarious, my favorite reviews were the ones that also got the underlying, more serious layers of the show.
The San Francisco Chronicle said I was “point perfect,” bless them. But my favorite review was in the Examiner. It said I found “humor and compassion in every word and glance” – which, I think, describes Quentin himself pretty well.
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Q. Have you had the chance to see any of the other actors who played Quentin?
I’ve seen “The Naked Civil Servant” many, many times, and love Mr. Hurt’s performance. But I feel a bit proprietary now – I haven’t seen anyone play him since I did, and I don’t think I want to! I don’t even want to see photos of actors playing him. It bugs me, it’s a weird thing! Jeffrey tells me that Richard Louis James is very good in “Tea ‘N’ Crisp,” but I do not want to know about it!
But I am anxious to see the new BBC sequel with John Hurt, set during Quentin’s New York days. I can live with that, because he was there first, you know? Before all the rest of us jumped on board.
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Q: What do you think Quentin would make of the show if he were still alive?
I wondered about that a lot. Nobody likes seeing themselves “impersonated.” And I know Quentin had harsh words for Oscar Wilde, so I don’t know if he’d appreciate that they “make nice” in the afterlife. And, since the show was a farce, I had to “speed up” Quentin a little. But I do remember, while researching, I came across Quentin’s description of the “party at the end of the world” that you experience when you die – is it at the end of Resident Alien? It really felt like he was talking about the circumstances of our play, all the glittering people you get to meet – even though he didn’t personally believe in life after death. So, I hope, if you asked him if he liked it, he would smile and nod, and say “Oh, yeeeees!”
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Q: Do you and Jeffrey have any future plans for the show?
Crisp and Wilde in Carved in Stone.
You know how Hal Holbrook has spent his life doing his Mark Twain show? How Carol Channing has done “Hello, Dolly!” how many times? That’s what I’d like – for “Carved in Stone” to eventually become my “Hello, Dolly!” The great thing is, I can’t grow too old for the part!
My good friend Matthew Martin keeps telling me to write a solo show so I can play Quentin again, but I don’t know – “Carved in Stone” was such a perfect experience. Anything less would seem like . . . “less.”
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Q. Do you find there is still a lot of interest in Quentin?
Maybe not as much as when he was alive, but it’s still there. It’s interesting. Every time I think the world is moving on and nobody will remember him, somebody – usually somebody completely unexpected, like a young, straight person – will mention him, and I am reassured that his legacy will continue. I think he’ll always be a “cult” celebrity.
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Q: Have you always been/wanted to be an actor?
That’s the first thing I can remember wanting to be, from a very early age. I grew up watching those terrific Norman Lear sitcoms like “All in the Family,” “Maude” – and watching “The Carol Burnett Show.” I knew pretty early on that that’s what I wanted to do. To make people laugh, but also to make people think, and see truths.
I was one of those annoying kids making movies with his mom’s home movie camera. Back in the days before HandyCams, thank you very much! I also did a lot of high school plays and community theatre. My first real job was a nightclub act in Indianapolis at age 19. It was a drag bar, and a friend dragged me along, pun intended, to be his “male lead” in a duet. The show director apparently liked me, and asked me to put together an act, which I did, and it ran for six months.
I went to college for a while, then I moved to San Francisco, and studied acting, and produced and acted in some short films.
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Q: What was your first acting role?
First acting role in "Out".
Happy Anniversary.
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Q: Which of the roles you have played brought you the most satisfaction, and which would you most like to be remembered for?
Quentin Crisp in Carved in Stone.
As Quentin Rankle in Foucault WHO?.
Then there’s “Quentin Rankle,” a character I played in a film called Foucault WHO? which, ironically enough, also required age make-up. I shot it while we were prepping “Carved in Stone.” That’s my film highlight, my most consistently realized character on celluloid.
Quentin Rankle was 50s, a boozy, sexy, confident, world-weary, hardened barfly – again, a real stretch. When I auditioned for that role, I never dreamed I’d actually land it!
Both parts were so challenging, in that the characters were so far away from my own self. I think those are the parts I like the best, where you simply cannot coast through on charm and your usual bag of tricks. You feel like you’re really acting!
So I’d like to be remembered for being an actor who played a wide variety of parts, rather than one particular role. I would be so frustrated if I were only allowed to do comedy, or only allowed to do theatre. I’m lucky I haven’t been pigeon-holed – the Gemini in me loves being able to constantly mix it up!
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Q: Which actors have inspired you or taught you the most about your craft?
Stockard Channing has been the biggest inspiration and role model throughout my career. I admire actors who stick to it, through the ups and the downs, and stay focused on the work, without getting distracted by the bullshit. I also admire actors who can move from stage to screen, from comedy to drama, and back. I love Alan Cumming. Cate Blanchett. Ian McKellan is another inspiration. Jenny O’Hara is another.
I’ve studied with a couple of character actors, Cliff Osmond and Nicolas Coster – both actors you’d recognize if you saw them. Like Stockard, they’ve worked forever, and have focused on being “good” rather than on being “famous.”
But I’m also inspired by so many of the actors I’ve met in Los Angeles, who just keep smashing like bugs against windshields, but keep right on trying.
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Q: Are there any roles you would especially like to play?
I have to play “George” in “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” before I die. So far, I’m told I’m too young, but that won’t last for long! The “MC” in “Cabaret” is another one I want to do! And I would love to do an evil James-Bond-type villain. Soap opera work would be fascinating, though I’m not exactly the soap-opera type! And, like I said, I want to play Quentin again, and again, and then again. Once every ten years would be nice!
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Q. You’ve done a great deal of work on both stage and screen. Not many actors are able to be equally effective in these quit different media. Do you have a preference?
I don’t think of myself as either a film actor or stage actor. I’m an actor, and I think good actors can and should do both. I love both. I love the family feeling you get from doing a play with a good cast. But I also love the filmmaking experience, bonding with a crew, starting early and working late, being out there in the trenches and making it as “real” as you can. Going home sore and exhausted and completely spent each night.
Having said that, theatre is a true actor’s medium. There’s nothing better than a juicy role in a well-written play. Film acting can completely break your heart, if you let it. You can control your moments on stage. But you can’t control a film performance – you’re at the mercy of a director or editor who can totally destroy you. That’s happened with me a few times, and it wasn’t fun.
But I will always want to do both. Theatre is a healthy salad: its good for you and delicious if well prepared. Film is a juicy steak: you might regret it later, but you savor it while you’re eating it!
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Q. Would you ever like to get behind the camera?
I do think actors have to take control when they can, and create their own work as much as possible.
I’ve produced a couple of plays, including “Carved in Stone,” and a couple of short films. I enjoy producing, and I’m good at it. But acting will always be my first, strongest love. I’ve been told I’d be a good actor’s director – I love good actors – and would like to try it someday. But I’m superstitious. I fear if I start directing, the roles will dry up. So I keep putting it off.
I recently produced and hosted a benefit, and that was great fun! It felt wonderful to use my “powers” for good, instead of just the usual “me me me” motives of acting. I’d like to do more of that, for good causes. I’d like to use my talent make a difference.
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Q: Most actors say they could never retire. Could you ever see yourself retiring?
Oh god, no! I’m usually climbing the walls after a week of not acting! I don’t know what I would do with myself. Maybe after doing a long-running series – it would be nice to have enough money to pick and choose, and travel, and write, and just relax. But no, that’s probably not going to happen for me. I’ll probably be acting until I can’t move.
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Q. What advice would you give to aspiring actors?
I’d say, do it only if you have to. If you can be equally happy in a different line of work, do that instead! Be patient, take your time, and learn your craft. Be as serious as you’d be if you were an opera singer, or a concert pianist. Don’t coast. Be prepared and professional. Do your homework, know your lines, and be on time.
Don’t be in a hurry to become too successful, because you’ll spend the rest of your life trying to live up to that. Nothing is sadder than an actor who’s peaked, and keeps trying to go higher.
And I love Kathy Bates’ advice: “Be so good, they have to hire you.” I tell myself that before many auditions!
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Q: If you could relive your life would you still be an actor?
Definitely, but I think I would have gone about it differently. I would be gotten serious sooner. I would go directly to Yale or another college with a kick-ass theatre program. While I studied for years in my 20s, I didn’t really get out and audition. I made my own little movies so I wouldn’t have to audition. So, if I could go again, I wouldn’t waste so much time before deciding, yes, I am an actor!
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