“I can't imagine
doing anything other than acting.” That’s what Swedish actress Sofie
Gallerspang said about her life. She’s a young woman but she has tons of
experience and has acted in more films than most American actresses twice her
age. She loves acting, as we can tell, by what she said. She also says that
“For me acting, whether it is theater or film, is a
way of showing the complexity of life, in both
the happiness and sadness. That is what I want to show throughout
my work.” We can see that this is true also by the films she has done.
Some of them are wonderful slices of life and some are character studies and
some are just short bursts of entertainment that share the human experience in
some way.
Sofie’s film list is
too lengthy for this piece but some of her work can be seen in these
productions: For the good cause,
Meatwall, Monica Z, Call Girl, Blondie, Existens, The Painting, Stop Police!,
How Long Can You Go?, Afraid of The Dark, It’s Not You, It’s Me!, Innocent Mara
and Crimes of the Heart, to name but
a few.
Another interesting thing Sofie said
was, “As
an actress I am very present and I listen carefully to what my scene
partner is telling me in the scene.” That is the key to how she acts
and how she gets into all the different characters she has played. Being
present is a technique that enables the actor to respond appropriately to the
other actors in the scene. Sofie also feels that being calm
or relaxed while acting is imperative and that it is interlocked with the art
of being present. Calmness helps the actor to see what isl around her and gives
her that extra time to react in the right way. It’s very close to the great
saying by an American Western (real) character when he said, “Take your time,
in a hurry.” And that’s what being present while remaining relaxed and calm is
all about to some of us. An actor can be in the middle of a tornado, so to
speak, and calmness expands time for her which allows for more choices of how
to express herself, emotionally.
Sofie can play any
role she is given and she can become that character and respond appropriately
to her fellow actors because she has taken the time to study and perfect many
of the existing acting techniques that are available to all of us.
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