#alec interview

Actor Alec Secăreanu (32 years old) spoke in an interview for "Adevărul" about how he was chosen to star in the multi-award-winning British film "Blessed Land / God's Own Country", how he prepared for this role, which is the message film, but also about what the acting profession involves. News on the same topic Alec Secăreanu plays the role of a Romanian gay day laborer in ... The British film "Blessed Land / God's Own Country", starring Alec Secăreanu, entered Romanian cinemas on November 17. The feature film presents the love story between the British farmer Johnny Saxby (played by Josh O'Connor) and the Romanian worker Gheorghe Ionescu (played by Alec Secăreanu). "God's Own Country", directed by Francis Lee, is one of the most discussed and awarded films of 2017, being compared in the international press with the famous "Brokeback Mountain" - winner of three Oscars, starring Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhhall.

The film was released at the Sundance Film Festival (Utah / USA) at the beginning of the year, and then participated in an impressive number of festivals, winning numerous awards: Männer Jury Award at the Berlinale, Award for Best International Film Direction - drama at Sundance Film Festival, Best British Film at Edinburgh International Festival, Special Jury Prize at TIFF Cluj, Best Film at Frameline San Francisco International LGBTQ Film Festival, Best Toronto Debut Award Inside Lesbian and Gay Film and Video Festival.

The casting for "God's Own Country" lasted six months in Romania, and the director Francis Lee saw over 40 Romanian actors for this role choosing Alec Secăreanu.

Alec Secăreanu graduated from UNATC in 2007. In Romania he starred in a series of short films ("Candy Crush", "Silks", "My Name Is ...", etc.), TV series ("Daria, my love", "One step ahead", "Bet with life") and feature films: "Love Bus: Five love stories from Bucharest", "Adalbert's dream".

"The Truth": How did you come to play in this British film?

Alec Secăreanu: I took the test, I sent a self-tape. Me and about 40 other actors. Francis Lee was looking for a Romanian for this character. He came to Bucharest, he wanted to meet some of these actors, and I was one of them. Then he sent me the script, I read it for the first time, I really liked it and I really wanted to be part of this project and this story. I met him, we worked together for almost an hour, after which I flew to London, me and three other Romanian actors, to do a chemistry test with Josh O’Connor, the other main actor. The test went very well and I took the test.

What did the director tell you? Why did he choose you?

He told me that I resonated the most with the character, that I was what he needed for the character Gheorghe. He liked that I understood some substrates of Gheorghe.

Tell us about Gheorghe Ionescu.

Gheorghe is a Romanian born and raised somewhere in the country, in the Timisoara area. He arrives in England to work, like many other Romanians. After a while, we find in the film Gheorghe who is hired on Johnny's farm for the beginning of spring, the season in which the lambs are born. He is a guy with his head on his shoulders, seated, for whom the quality of life of the animals he takes care of matters a lot, a sensitive guy who invests in people, but also very cerebral.

How did you prepare for this role?

We started working on the characters almost three months before filming. After taking the test, I did a skype with Francis who started asking me all kinds of questions about the character, about his biography, his parents, other relationships, school, how he got to England. I built his whole biography, from the moment he was born until the first time you see him appear on screen, I settled this whole life with Francis. After that, I arrived in Yorkshire and there were two weeks of character training, in which I worked every day on the farm, from morning, from first hour, to evening. In the two weeks we worked, we basically understood what life on the farm means, it gave us the quality of the characters, because we had to work a lot outside, and in Yorkshire spring is not like in Romania. There the weather is bipolar, as I told him, meaning you have four seasons in one day: it starts with snow, then hail, then storm, then the sun rises for five minutes and then it starts again. Working a lot outside, of course, that environment affected us too, because all the moisture and all the cold somehow got into our bones and changed our way of walking, our posture. All these things helped us to build the characters. I worked on two different farms. Me at Francis's father's farm, Josh at the farm where the movie was shot. Francis tried to keep us as far away from each other as possible, because he wanted the first meeting on the screen to be as authentic as possible, to be full of tension, clumsiness. It wasn't until a while since we started filming that Josh and I moved into the same house, and our friendship began to develop at the same time as the relationship on screen. We filmed chronologically and that helped us a lot.

How did you prepare for the role of a homosexual?

I don't think sexual orientation is the defining characteristic of my character. I tried to approach the three-dimensional character and see exactly what is behind the character. His sexual orientation exists, and he accepts it, he is comfortable with it.

So does the character know about his sexual orientation or does he discover it?

No, it's not a movie about coming out. It is a film in which both characters are comfortable with their sexual orientation and it is a film in which, in fact, these characters are emotionally closed and the film captures their struggle to open up emotionally and let themselves be loved and loved back.

How was your first contact with Josh?

We met at the casting, it was very nice. We worked very well since the test, we stayed I think an hour and a half together. At one point it was nice to take a break and go out with him to smoke, and Francis told us that he came out after us and hid to see if we were still talking or if we were sitting on the phone. Josh is a very cool guy, with whom I developed a beautiful friendship. It has nothing to do with the character on the screen, he is a super nice and open guy and we worked very well together.

Why do you think they chose a Romanian actor for this character? Did they want to emphasize that there are a lot of Romanian immigrants?

The character is somewhat inspired by an acquaintance that Francis had. He's known since he wrote the screenplay that he wants an outsider for this character. Before starting film, he worked in a junkyard and there he found a Romanian named Tavi. He was very impressed by his story, namely how much he had to endure all kinds of xenophobic attitudes on the part of employees, bosses, just to carry out his goal - to support his family, to be able to he also brings her to Britain. In time, he managed to bring his wife, buy an apartment and make a good living.

Given that homosexuality is still a taboo subject in Romania, have you thought about the reactions you will receive from here?

No, I was never interested in that. He's not the first gay character I play either. I have a pro-tolerant attitude and I don't care what people think about it. I know I grew up in a homophobic society, but I was lucky to have open-minded parents who taught me that there is absolutely no problem with a person's sexual orientation. They just saw the movie a few days ago and they loved it.

What did you learn from this role?

That you have to be authentic and true, with yourself as a person, first of all, and especially as an actor, if you practice this profession. I've been lucky enough to work with people who are very passionate about what they do and I've learned a lot from them about what it means to make a film, not to betray the process, to focus on the story you want to tell and be as authentic and organic as possible in this direction. It helped me a lot as an actor, but of course also as a person, because I won very good friends from this movie, which you don't meet very often.

Have you noticed a difference between the way the teams from outside work compared to the way the ones from Romania work?

Yes, there is a difference, but there is an imposed difference. Those people have regulated a lot of things, they are organized in unions that protect their rights. And of course you feel these things on the set because absolutely all the conditions are created for you to be able to deliver what is required of you. I felt this from the first day I got there. I'm talking about the days I spent on the farm, the things I needed on set. "God's Own Country" is compared in the international press to "Brokeback Mountain".

Did you expect such a positive reaction?

We are honored by this comparison, you know. "Brokeback Mountain" is a great movie, only there are two totally different movies, with different issues. If in "Brokeback Mountain" you have two characters who are not comfortable with their sexuality, they discover it, they are both married to women and they have problems about how they think the world will look at their relationship, here is never the question about it. . Both characters are comfortable with who they are, it's a story about letting yourself be loved and loved back, about vulnerability in the end.

What was the hardest thing about this role?

Working on the farm, altogether. I realized how hard it is to be a farmer. People who have a farm have absolutely no free time, no weekends, no days off, no vacations. And they are not only farmers, they are also masons, mechanics and all this physical work that I did there seemed to me the hardest part of all the training and the whole movie.

Did the fact that "God's Own Country" was appreciated by critics bring you bigger projects? Did you feel a change?

I have felt a change in the way my phone rings more often and I receive more emails. Yes, a lot has happened since this movie came out. It is a very important point in my career, this film helped me a lot in terms of visibility and to develop as an actor.

Why should Romanians go to see the film?

I think you should go see it because it's a film about hope, it's a very beautiful love story between two people who apparently come from two different worlds, but actually have so much in common. I hope it gives them hope in true love, that's what the movie is about.

Have you received any feedback so far, from here or from abroad, from the LGBT community?

Yes, I've been to a lot of LGBT festivals. I’ve been to Inside Out, Toronto, Outfest in L.A., NewFest in New York and so on. The community received the film very well and I think it is a very good year for queer films, as has never happened before. From the feedback I received, I think the community needed a movie like "God's own country" because it's a movie about hope, and most of the time, queer movies end in tragedy. We needed a happy ending movie.

What do you think about the Family Coalition?

I think they should deal with really important things for the family, such as dropping out of school, single-parent families, children who are abandoned by their parents to go and work abroad, by no means with this referendum which is totally useless and expensive. and which, in fact, instigates hatred and intolerance.

In the summer of this year, you also appeared in an American film, "The Saint", in which Roger Moore also plays. Is your goal to become a famous actor in Hollywood?

My goal, as an actor, is to create characters that are as authentic as possible and to tell stories. That's what I prepared for, that's what I do and that's what I know how to do. I try to take them moment by moment, because I might skip some steps if I start thinking about where I want to go. I want to work more in film, I also want to do theater, but I take them moment by moment and see where it takes me. A lot has happened to me this year. I now have an agent in London, I have one in L.A., I get screenplays, I read, I'm offered things. I want to take it slow and build my career

How do you see what's happening in Hollywood right now, in the context of a series of allegations of sexual harassment? Have you ever faced something like this?

I have heard of situations of sexual harassment in our country from some directors from my fellow actresses and I have witnessed moments of verbal and physical harassment at many rehearsals. I don't know if it's a practice, a habit, but these things happen and I don't think it's OK to be like that. I think things can happen in a civilized context. People have lately become more vocal as the world begins to aspire to a kind of normalcy. I encourage people to say when something goes wrong in an institution, in a team, because it is not OK and an attitude must be taken.

Have you ever considered a role you would like to play?

Yes, I really want to play Platonov in Chekhov's "Untitled Play." I had the opportunity in college to work a little on this character and he stayed there somewhere.

What is the most precious thing you learned in college?

Be true and honest with yourself and do not betray, because if you lie you will see immediately. As an actor, you do not learn to lie, but to tell the truth. And the more honest you are with yourself, the more you manage to overcome that barrier and people start to really believe you.

What pushed you to the theater?

I think I made up my mind in high school. I did a high school with a Mathematics-Computer Science profile like my parents and my older brother. And at one point, in the 10th grade, I discovered that there was a theater circle and I started going to it, after a while I realized that I could get out of class to go to the theater. and I kind of fell in love with this thing. I've been a performer since I was little. And in 12th grade, I said, "OK, that's exactly what I want to do." There followed a rather strange period with my parents, who did not agree to be an actor, we quarreled for a long time to a point where they saw that I was really determined and from that moment on they supported me. to the end and still support me and are very proud of what I do. I somehow understood that I was still a teenager and many teenagers are in a hurry and I understand why they had to be somehow sure that this is what I want and that I'm not kidding, it's not just a phase I'm going through. There is inconsistency in this job, there is always a risk of not having projects. You have periods when you are very crowded and periods when you do absolutely nothing. But in that period when you don't do anything and you wait for your phone to ring, you still have to try to be prepared, to be warm, to read, to repeat, to develop, to keep worrying.

Have you ever had a stalemate in the profession?

I could call them dead ends when I had to find another job to pay my bills and I started bringing used cars from Germany or working as a bartender or waiter and you realize that you are bitter, that you know you want to work, you know you're an actor and that's what you want to do. And at one point, every time I realized that my job was taking up too much of my time and I no longer focused on my job, I quit my job and went back to acting and tried to care more. I also worked in casting for almost five years and I learned a lot from this experience, as a process and what happens behind the cameras. As an actor you enter the casting room and you have emotions, sometimes you miss rehearsals because of emotions, because you have 5 minutes to give everything. But being on the other side of the room, I learned a lot from my fellow actors taking the rehearsals and I was thinking about what they did to get the rehearsal and I started to develop a behavior about how to present myself at the casting, and that helped me.

Is there a role that you really wanted and didn't take the casting?

The first thing an actor has to get used to is rejecting and trying not to take it personally, because you often go to rehearsals and maybe you are not suitable for that role or maybe the director has something else in mind. I learned to treat all the tests with professionalism, to go and give everything I can at that moment and then if it turns out - well, if not - well again. OK, I have a stake in every casting I go to, but I try not to be disappointed if I don't take the test, because otherwise I would fall into depression.

What's the hardest thing for an actor?