Last night I found myself watching the movie Never Back Down . (Let's be honest here, my guy made me watch it.) And you guessed it, NBD is no Academy Award nominee. The best way I can describe this film is The OC meets Fight Club. So yes, it isn’t the greatest film ever, but I still think we can learn a thing or two from it. Wonderful actor Djimon Hounsou (know best for his performances in Amistad, In America, and Blood Diamond) makes an unlikely appearance (or rather an inte
resting career choice) as Jean Roqua the gym owner and fight coach to bad boy Jake Tyler played by actor Sean Faris. Roqua owns the 365 Gym, a gym that is open every day of the year, and soon we find out he also lives there. Hmmmm… Why does this man never leave his gym? Why does he live in his gym? Does he love his job coaching mixed martial arts that much? No, obviously. Clearly Jean Roqua is living with a secret, a past life, something. And that’s what I want to talk about - secrets. Giving your character a secret (even if it isn’t written in the script) is a great way to create depth and back story. It also makes the audience want to learn more about your character. W
hat are you hiding? Why are you hiding it? Think about it in real life; when you have a secret, people are more attracted to you, they want to find out more about you and what your are concealing. People can’t let a secret go, they feel compelled to discover the truth. This is how Hounsou’s character makes us feel throughout the film - compelled to find out why he is the way he is. We want to know more. But unfortunately all Hounsou's realism and beautiful acting is ruined in the end because of a sappy and contrived speech where he spills everything. Sometimes the secret just isn’t that great. But up until that point he has us captivated. Now check out the poll to the right and let us know what you think of NBD!For more information about Elisa Eliot and Elisa Eliot's Acting Studio please visit www.elisaeliot.com.
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