It’s not The Office, and to compare Steve Carell’s latest project, Space Force, against it would be doing a huge disservice to both.
If you have been around Boost My Star for any amount of time, you know that I am a mega fan of The Office, and as such I was on pins and needles, awaiting the premier of Space Force.
The reviews have been…mostly mixed but that’s not what I want to focus on.
Whether you love the show, hate it, or if this is the first you are even hearing about it is irrelevant in the grand scheme.
However, there is genius is Steve Carell’s performance and there are some very important factors that you have to pay attention to, if you want to create complex characters that come alive.
See, Steve Carell’s performance seems shallow on the surface and that’s kind of the point.
Underneath the simplistic façade, his character is highly layered but the very nature of the type of person he is playing, demands that he is seen as cool, calm and collected regardless of what’s going on around him.
That kind of contradiction is present in many well written characters. If you want to play dynamic characters throughout your career, play close attention…
When you start to build a character, most actors go through some basic exercises they picked up in acting class and don’t go much further than “what motivates them.”
This is why most fall flat and leave audiences wanting more.
The reason that Steve Carell’s performance in Space Force is masterful is that the nuances of his character make sense.
Even though the show is a comedy, Steve Carell’s character choices as General Mark Naird are very fitting for someone in his position, which makes for a terrific balance between a comedic character that also passes a military leader.
It would be way too easy for the character to pulled to one extreme or the other, but Steve Carell delivers a standout performance that keeps it all in balance.
For example, when he climbs out of bed in the morning, he makes his side of bed in a traditional military fashion, even though his wife is still laying on the other side.
Why?
After decades, some habits are hard to break. The manner in which one climbs out of bed is something that most actors wouldn’t pay attention to, and there is nothing in the scene that would suggest you would.
The fact that this behavior wasn’t out of place for his character, shows that the balance between realism and comedy is just right.
When playing a complicated character such as this, you should also look for signs of something going to far or not far enough.
For example, had he made the entire bed instead of just the side he was occupying, the character would have gone to slapstick. It would have been too far because of how Naird treats the people around him.
It’s a big part of his character choices.
Naird, while at home, also turns to enter the room as military personnel would, rather than walking as a civilian.
These are some of the subtle nuances that make a character believable. These are the nuances that make characters explode off the screen and stick with the viewer.
It’s not unlike a career dancer, who after years of training, stands with her feet at point. Naird has spent a lifetime in the military and the way he carries himself makes that very believable.
In another scene, Naird is running across the base because he is 1 minute late for a meeting. Punctuality is very important in the military of course, so this is unacceptable to Naird.
While running across the base is uncharacteristic of someone in Naird’s position, Steve Carell played the scene very well and did not break believability of his character.
Here’s how…
While running his posture is maintained very well, to avoid being seen as someone in a panic. Also, he takes the time to salute other soldiers along the way.
The reasoning for this becomes evident later on, as we get a glimpse into how Naird feels about losing someone under his command and the sense of duty he feels to his service members, who are trained to stop and salute a superior officer regardless of the situation.
Things like this are very easy to miss but they are extremely important when layering your character.
Suppose he were to dash across the base in a panic and ignore everyone in his path, rather than saluting them. Naird would have had to carry that emotion through to the following scene: the meeting.
Automatically switching from a panicked run, to calm and collected is too harsh and jerks the audience out of the scene. By maintaining a level of composure, Naird flows into the next scene without missing a beat.
There is another scene that is quite touching and adds quite a bit to Naird’s character.
After being at work and awake for 2 days straight, Naird arrives home extremely tired and finds his daughter passed out, asleep over the trigonometry homework he was supposed to help her with the night before.
Instead of letting her fail the assignment, Naird insists that they work on it. His daughter tells him that it’s ok and that he should go to bed.
Naird’s responds by stating that Chinese or Indian fathers (competitors in the space race) wouldn’t be too tired to help with a little homework.
He also adds, that by getting good at math, she might invent something that could save the world.
That’s what drives Steve Carell’s character in the end: a sense of duty. Leading Space Force is not the job he wanted, but it’s the job he was appointed to and Steve Carell walks that line perfectly.
He shows the sense of duty to humanity and to his country, and he balances that with his character’s other ambitions along with the duty to his family.
He often juggling them all simultaneously and even though he fails fantastically at times, he never drops the ball.
One big thing is missing from the series. Someone in the real world that would occupy Naird’s position would be surrounded by an entourage. Nothing is left to chance because everything is so important.
The series lightly touches on this through the use of a communications director who is highly focused on Naird’s (Steve Carell’s) social media statements.
This makes sense, because a single misstep could mean that the entire Space Force, along with Naird’s career, is put on the chopping block.
As an actor, you experience the same kind of implications so let me ask you a question…
Are you treating your career with the same kind of focused effort when it comes to your public presence?
In the industry, just like with anything else, perception is reality. So, ask yourself if the way industry decision makers perceive you matches your goals.
Going back to the series and how art imitates life, Naird doesn’t quite grasp this and there is an exchange between him and his communications director that ends with him being fired.
He is played by the incredibly talented Ben Schwartz, who has a phenomenal use of vocal volume and tonality. We’ll go over that another time.
I bring up that scene because it actually contains an important point for you, as you build an acting career.
During the exchange, the two are discussing Naird’s social media statement for the day. The communications guy has conjured up what he believes to be the perfect statement, which has something to do with Star Wars and a Wendy’s hamburger.
Naird, played by Steve Carell, asks him “what does a hamburger have to do with the mission?”
One of the questions I get from actors over and over is about what to do on social media. Some of them treat social the same way they always did.
They post pictures of themselves at brunch, lounging by the pool, etc. While that may get your friends to like and engage with your posts, it has nothing to do with “your mission” of building an acting career.
That is something we’ll be going over in much more detail over the coming weeks. For now, let me help you get the ball rolling on social media.
Whether you want to build a career that is along the lines of what Steve Carell has accomplished, or if you would be satisfied by simply working consistently and making a decent living doing what you love, social media is going to play a factor in that.
It requires a well thought out strategy, to really make a positive impact on your career. It goes hand in hand with your industry reputation, so before we go down that path in the coming weeks, start with this.
There has been a ton of uncertainty in the industry with everything that has been going on lately, but things are coming together.
Don’t get caught off guard or unprepared for what’s to come.
Remember, I’m always only a comment or an email away. Let me know how I can help you get to the next level in your career. After all, my goal is to…
See you at the top,
Scott