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去年一部《和莎莫的500天》让很多人记住了当时28岁的约瑟夫·高登-莱维特。查看资料,才发现原来他是童星出身,可算是身经百战。这位年轻的美国演员算不上英俊潇洒(其实打扮一下还是挺帅气的),但气质独特。他的眼睛很小——深色的眼珠隐藏在两个大眼窝里,眼角下垂,总让人联想到忧伤,以为他快要哭出来了。所以他演绎的各类角色,即使是拳击手,也总会散发出些许柔弱。
现在,很多人视他为第二个希斯·莱杰。看看两人的照片,你就知道他们有多像。巧的是,他们曾经在《对面恶女看过来》(10 Things I Hate About You,1999年)中合作;同为名导克里斯托弗·诺兰的爱将。随着科幻大片《盗梦空间》的大热,相信高登-莱维特的星途会越走越顺畅。
注:本文标题“The Man Who Fell to Earth”取自经典科幻片《天降财神》(1976年,“摇滚变色龙”大卫·鲍伊主演)的片名。
Child acting stars often face uncertain futures. For some, the pressures of fame and celebrity lead to burn
out[耗尽] and substance abuse[过度使用上瘾物质,尤指酒类及麻醉药品]. Others simply fade away.
And then there are success stories such as Joseph
Gordon-Levitt, who broke through playing an alien
disguised[假装] as a boy on the sitcom[情景剧] 3rd Rock from the Sun.
Instead of disappearing into obscurity[不引人注目],
Gordon-Levitt has emerged as a daring[大胆的] actor
capable of playing anything from a rent boy[男童妓] to an Iraq veteran[退伍军人]. In his best-known film, (500) Days of Summer, he plays a heartbroken greeting-card writer
trying to figure out what went wrong between him and the woman (Zooey Deschanel) he thought was “the one.”
Gordon-Levitt was raised by politically progressive[进步的]
parents, so it’s not hard to imagine that their values might have informed the way that their son approaches[处理] his work. “I was certainly taught that as diverse[不同的] as humanity
is, everyone’s a person and everyone deserves to be
respected as a person,” he says. “And that is, certainly, how I approach a character. Because if you don’t love and
respect your character, you’re going to end up making something thin.”
Another major influence has been the period during which he quit acting to attend Columbia
University in New York, which he says changed his attitude to his chosen profession. “When I was younger, the only reason I did it was
because I liked it. It was pretty much selfish. There’s still that selfishness, but there’s something else as well. When I was a kid, I really just cared about myself and the people close to me, and I didn’t really have much respect or sympathy[同情心] for the world at large. But I grew to care about the world around me in a way that I never had before.”
He was at university on 9/11, and doing French studies at a moment when France was so vilified[污蔑] that French fries became freedom fries注1. He is proud that, with Obama in power, he can now go to Europe and “not have to feel embarrassed.”
“Obama’s the president and that’s fantastic,” he says, “but it would be ridiculous to think that all of a sudden the country is a brand new place.” On the other hand, he believes that in a small way, (500) Days of Summer is evidence of the shift that’s taken place in the United States. “I don’t think people would have been so hungry for the kind of sincerity[真挚] it has to offer five years ago,” he says. “Then, American culture was much more about excess[过度,无节制] and I think we’ve gotten a little sick of that. We’ve come to realize, ‘Wow, we’re almost in a Great Depression now because of that.’ I think our culture is looking for something a little more sincere, a little more humble[谦逊的], and I think that (500) Days of Summer reflects that.”
On the other hand, he can be seen in the
sfx注2-driven G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra, a film he says he did because he got to wear a “crazy mask” and
elaborate[精心制作的] make-up, and alter his voice. He also worked on Christopher
Nolan’s sci-fi epic[史诗], Inception. These could not be more different to the
independent films that he has done since his return to acting. They do not, however, signal a change of direction, he insists.
“What I like is acting,” he says. “So to me it’s not about whether the movie is big or small. It’s about whether there is an interesting, creative challenge here.”
童星的未来往往难以预测。一些童星会被成名的压力击垮或者变成瘾君子;另外一些则消失得无影无踪。
还有一些成功的例子,例如约瑟夫·
高登-莱维特。他在情景喜剧《外星人报到》里饰演假扮成男孩的外星人,从此
成名。
高登-莱维特并没有被人们遗忘,而是逐渐成长为一名能够胜任从男童妓到伊战老兵等角色的大胆演员。在他最知名的电影《和莎莫的500天》中,高登-莱维特
饰演一名伤心欲绝的贺卡写手,希望弄明白自己和“真命天女”(佐伊·丹斯切尔饰)之间到底出了什么
问题。
将高登-莱维特抚养长大的双亲有民主的政治观,所以不难想象他们的价值观会影响儿子处理角色的方式。“他们无疑教会我懂得人性各异,每个人都是独立的个体,每个人都应该享有作为一个人所应得的尊重,”他说。“而那自然是我演绎角色的方法。因为如果你不喜欢或者不尊重你的角色,最终只会塑造出单薄的人物。”
另一个重要影响来自他放弃演戏、到纽约的哥伦比亚大学学习的那段经历。他说那段经历改变了自己对所选职业的态度。“小时候,我因为喜欢演戏而演戏,非常自私。现在那种私心仍然存在,但也有了其他原因。当我还是小孩的时候,我确实只关心自己和亲近的人,对周围的世界不太尊重,也没有同情心。但是长大后,我开始以一种以前不曾有过的方式关心起周围的世界。”
“9·11事件”发生的时候,
他正在大学进行法语研究。那时候,法国经常被中伤,以至于炸薯条(French fries)也被称为“自由薯条”(freedom fries)。让他感到自豪的是,随着奥巴马上台执政,他现在到欧洲也“不必感到尴尬了”。
“奥巴马当上了总统,太棒了,”他说,“但如果你以为整个国家会突然间面目一新的话,就太可笑了。”另一方面,他相信《和莎莫的500天》稍稍证明了美国正在发生转变。“我认为五年前,人们不会对这部电影所表达的那种真挚如此渴求,”他说。“以往的美国文化更关注过度消费,我想我们已经有点厌倦了。我们意识到:‘喔,正因为那样,我们现在几乎面临大萧条。’我们的文化正在寻找一些更真诚谦逊的东西,我想《和莎莫的500天》反映了这一点。”
另外,你在主打特技效果的《特种部队:眼镜蛇的崛起》中也能见到他的身影。他说参演这部电影是因为可以戴上一个“疯狂的面具”和化一个精细的妆容,还要改变自己的声音。他也参演了克里斯托弗·诺兰的科幻巨片——《盗梦空间》。这些角色与他重返大屏幕后参与的独立电影大相径庭。然而,他坚称这并不意味着他会转型。
“我喜欢的是演戏,”他说。“所以对我来说,电影规模的大小并不重要,关键在于是否具有充满创意的挑战。”
注1:2003年美国出兵伊拉克,法国对此表示强烈反对。法国的态度引起部分美国人的不悦,甚至发起抵制法国货和拒绝商业来往等行动。一些地方把“French fries”改成“freedom fries”,故意除去“French”
一字,以表达对法国对伊政策的不满。
注2:“sfx”指特技效果(special effects )。
现在,很多人视他为第二个希斯·莱杰。看看两人的照片,你就知道他们有多像。巧的是,他们曾经在《对面恶女看过来》(10 Things I Hate About You,1999年)中合作;同为名导克里斯托弗·诺兰的爱将。随着科幻大片《盗梦空间》的大热,相信高登-莱维特的星途会越走越顺畅。
注:本文标题“The Man Who Fell to Earth”取自经典科幻片《天降财神》(1976年,“摇滚变色龙”大卫·鲍伊主演)的片名。
Child acting stars often face uncertain futures. For some, the pressures of fame and celebrity lead to burn
out[耗尽] and substance abuse[过度使用上瘾物质,尤指酒类及麻醉药品]. Others simply fade away.
And then there are success stories such as Joseph
Gordon-Levitt, who broke through playing an alien
disguised[假装] as a boy on the sitcom[情景剧] 3rd Rock from the Sun.
Instead of disappearing into obscurity[不引人注目],
Gordon-Levitt has emerged as a daring[大胆的] actor
capable of playing anything from a rent boy[男童妓] to an Iraq veteran[退伍军人]. In his best-known film, (500) Days of Summer, he plays a heartbroken greeting-card writer
trying to figure out what went wrong between him and the woman (Zooey Deschanel) he thought was “the one.”
Gordon-Levitt was raised by politically progressive[进步的]
parents, so it’s not hard to imagine that their values might have informed the way that their son approaches[处理] his work. “I was certainly taught that as diverse[不同的] as humanity
is, everyone’s a person and everyone deserves to be
respected as a person,” he says. “And that is, certainly, how I approach a character. Because if you don’t love and
respect your character, you’re going to end up making something thin.”
Another major influence has been the period during which he quit acting to attend Columbia
University in New York, which he says changed his attitude to his chosen profession. “When I was younger, the only reason I did it was
because I liked it. It was pretty much selfish. There’s still that selfishness, but there’s something else as well. When I was a kid, I really just cared about myself and the people close to me, and I didn’t really have much respect or sympathy[同情心] for the world at large. But I grew to care about the world around me in a way that I never had before.”
He was at university on 9/11, and doing French studies at a moment when France was so vilified[污蔑] that French fries became freedom fries注1. He is proud that, with Obama in power, he can now go to Europe and “not have to feel embarrassed.”
“Obama’s the president and that’s fantastic,” he says, “but it would be ridiculous to think that all of a sudden the country is a brand new place.” On the other hand, he believes that in a small way, (500) Days of Summer is evidence of the shift that’s taken place in the United States. “I don’t think people would have been so hungry for the kind of sincerity[真挚] it has to offer five years ago,” he says. “Then, American culture was much more about excess[过度,无节制] and I think we’ve gotten a little sick of that. We’ve come to realize, ‘Wow, we’re almost in a Great Depression now because of that.’ I think our culture is looking for something a little more sincere, a little more humble[谦逊的], and I think that (500) Days of Summer reflects that.”
On the other hand, he can be seen in the
sfx注2-driven G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra, a film he says he did because he got to wear a “crazy mask” and
elaborate[精心制作的] make-up, and alter his voice. He also worked on Christopher
Nolan’s sci-fi epic[史诗], Inception. These could not be more different to the
independent films that he has done since his return to acting. They do not, however, signal a change of direction, he insists.
“What I like is acting,” he says. “So to me it’s not about whether the movie is big or small. It’s about whether there is an interesting, creative challenge here.”
童星的未来往往难以预测。一些童星会被成名的压力击垮或者变成瘾君子;另外一些则消失得无影无踪。
还有一些成功的例子,例如约瑟夫·
高登-莱维特。他在情景喜剧《外星人报到》里饰演假扮成男孩的外星人,从此
成名。
高登-莱维特并没有被人们遗忘,而是逐渐成长为一名能够胜任从男童妓到伊战老兵等角色的大胆演员。在他最知名的电影《和莎莫的500天》中,高登-莱维特
饰演一名伤心欲绝的贺卡写手,希望弄明白自己和“真命天女”(佐伊·丹斯切尔饰)之间到底出了什么
问题。
将高登-莱维特抚养长大的双亲有民主的政治观,所以不难想象他们的价值观会影响儿子处理角色的方式。“他们无疑教会我懂得人性各异,每个人都是独立的个体,每个人都应该享有作为一个人所应得的尊重,”他说。“而那自然是我演绎角色的方法。因为如果你不喜欢或者不尊重你的角色,最终只会塑造出单薄的人物。”
另一个重要影响来自他放弃演戏、到纽约的哥伦比亚大学学习的那段经历。他说那段经历改变了自己对所选职业的态度。“小时候,我因为喜欢演戏而演戏,非常自私。现在那种私心仍然存在,但也有了其他原因。当我还是小孩的时候,我确实只关心自己和亲近的人,对周围的世界不太尊重,也没有同情心。但是长大后,我开始以一种以前不曾有过的方式关心起周围的世界。”
“9·11事件”发生的时候,
他正在大学进行法语研究。那时候,法国经常被中伤,以至于炸薯条(French fries)也被称为“自由薯条”(freedom fries)。让他感到自豪的是,随着奥巴马上台执政,他现在到欧洲也“不必感到尴尬了”。
“奥巴马当上了总统,太棒了,”他说,“但如果你以为整个国家会突然间面目一新的话,就太可笑了。”另一方面,他相信《和莎莫的500天》稍稍证明了美国正在发生转变。“我认为五年前,人们不会对这部电影所表达的那种真挚如此渴求,”他说。“以往的美国文化更关注过度消费,我想我们已经有点厌倦了。我们意识到:‘喔,正因为那样,我们现在几乎面临大萧条。’我们的文化正在寻找一些更真诚谦逊的东西,我想《和莎莫的500天》反映了这一点。”
另外,你在主打特技效果的《特种部队:眼镜蛇的崛起》中也能见到他的身影。他说参演这部电影是因为可以戴上一个“疯狂的面具”和化一个精细的妆容,还要改变自己的声音。他也参演了克里斯托弗·诺兰的科幻巨片——《盗梦空间》。这些角色与他重返大屏幕后参与的独立电影大相径庭。然而,他坚称这并不意味着他会转型。
“我喜欢的是演戏,”他说。“所以对我来说,电影规模的大小并不重要,关键在于是否具有充满创意的挑战。”
注1:2003年美国出兵伊拉克,法国对此表示强烈反对。法国的态度引起部分美国人的不悦,甚至发起抵制法国货和拒绝商业来往等行动。一些地方把“French fries”改成“freedom fries”,故意除去“French”
一字,以表达对法国对伊政策的不满。
注2:“sfx”指特技效果(special effects )。