Filming If….

David Wood OBE, actor, played Johnny in If…., author of Filming If…. (2018)

At first, Lindsay surprised me as a director, because he rarely seemed to ‘direct’ the actors.  Yes, he staged the scene, but very often let it evolve organically, before deciding to go for a take.  But he rarely seemed to offer advice about character or how to say a line.  These were things that I had found most directors concentrated on in the theatre.  All became clear after a few days, when Lindsay approached me looking rather serious.  ‘What’s the matter with you?’ he asked.  ‘Wandering around with a worried look on your face.  What’s the matter?’  I balefully bleated that I was never sure that I was doing what he wanted.  I pointed out that at the end of a scene he would simply shout, ‘On!’ and walk away.   

I suppose I was wanting him to bolster my ego at the end of each scene by saying ‘Well done’ or ‘Thank you, that was good’.  But that wasn’t his way.  Lindsay stared at me, somewhat angrily, and simply but forcefully said, ‘I took six months to cast this film!’  He walked away.  Thinking about it, I realised this was the greatest boost of confidence Lindsay could have given me.  He was really saying, how dare you question my judgement?  I cast you because I wanted you here, so I don’t have to keep on praising your performance.  From then on, I relaxed and began to enjoy the whole process. 

(Images: Photographs of making of If…., ref. LA 1/6/4.)