[Watch the video interview on Youtube here]
Film Courage: Is it correct that J. Edgar Hoover could tell so much about someone from simply a handshake?
Jean-Louis Rodrigue: Absolutely, every time that he went to shake people’s hands he was investigating whether they were telling the truth. If they were not telling the truth he may notice the temperature in the body was changing and maybe that there might be some sweat coming out. He was incredibly sensitive. When we worked on J. Edgar Hoover with Leonardo [DiCaprio] he wanted all of that to be there. I mean he is a perfectionist. He did research on his life (extreme research) but then he wanted to bring it into the physical level and that’s where I came in. I came in to help and get that preciseness. For example the way that Leo walks is very somewhat relaxed and he’s kind of an athlete so he has an athletic gate but he wanted a J. Edgar Hoover that every step he was rooted exactly, he was really grounded.
Leonardo DiCaprio, Naomi Watts, and Armie Hammer in J. Edgar (2011)
We worked on his walking, on his sitting, we worked on how he opened doors, we worked on how he shook people’s hands. He went to such level that he would wear the costume and the makeup and then he would have someone sort of do some tests and then check it with me whether it was all convincing and then also he did it started from him being in his 20’s going all the way into 60’s so we mapped out the aging process.
Film Courage: As time went on did J. Edgar Hoover fold into himself [his posture]?
Jean-Louis: Yeah, his health was not good and so we wanted to get all the elements of health and he was getting some shots that…(Watch the video interview on Youtube here).
BUY THE BOOK – BACK TO THE BODY: Infusing Physical Life into Characters in Theatre and Film
About:
Jean-Louis Rodrigue is an internationally recognized acting coach, movement director, and specialist in the application of the Alexander Technique to film, theater and television. In film, he coached actors and collaborated with directors in Passion Fish, Vice, J. Edgar, Life of Pi, W., I, Tonya, and many more. In theater, he collaborated with director Larry Moss and former NFL player Bo Eason in his play Runt of the Litter and playwright Pamela Gien in her Obie– and Drama Desk– award-winning one-person play, The Syringa Tree, both in New York and internationally. Jean-Louis has worked on- and off-Broadway and at major performing arts institutions such as Berlin International Film Festival, Cirque du Soleil, Los Angeles Philharmonic Institute, Getty Villa, Geffen Playhouse, Royal National Theatre, Piccolo Teatro di Milano, Verbier Festival, Royal Shakespeare Company. For the past 34 years, Jean-Louis has taught at the UCLA School of Theater, Film, and Television and the UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music. Jean-Louis lives in Los Angeles with his husband, Kristof Konrad.
STUDY WITH JEAN-LOUIS RODRIGUE
MORE VIDEOS WITH JEAN-LOUIS RODRIGUE
CONNECT WITH JEAN-LOUIS RODRIGUE
Advertisement – contains affiliate links
(As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases)
More affiliates:
Camera we use for interviews – https://buff.ly/3rWqrra
Sound we use for interviews – https://amzn.to/2tbFlM9
Other books on Amazon that Film Courage recommends – https://buff.ly/3o0oE5o
