Jack Lemmon was one of the finest actors of his generation, one who got better and better with age. Here, he stands next to his old colleague, Walter Matthau, in the 1968 film, Odd Couple, directed by Gene Saks.
Today it’s common for animators to do a lot of video reference, in particular, the recording of their own, often ham, performances. Video capture is great, but if that is gonna to be a large part of your repertoire as a professional, then you better take some acting classes. But it takes years to learn to be a good actor (assuming you even have the aptitude for it in the first place), and many more months to “create” each individual character. Animators seldom get the kind of ramp up time to understand the history and nuances that define their characters, since they often have to ‘play’ so many different ones in any given production. Another, additional, and perhaps more accessible option, is to study the acting of real live actors, both on stage and in film. It’s a marvelously efficient and effective way of studying the trade, especially when it comes to formulating a “visual” performance — one in which we, as animation artists, build and construct as an optical and emotional illusion.
Jack Lemmon is one of those actors well worth studying. In almost any role he plays, he just grabs the screen with his marvelous physical mannerisms, humble charisma and deep vulnerability. He was always believable whether in comedic or dramatic roles. I don’t ever recall him giving a poor performance.
Jack Lemmon seen here in The China Syndrome, directed by James Bridges and co-starring Jane Fonda and Michael Douglas. This sharp thriller, about a safety cover-up at a nuclear power plant, is filled with rich and engaging performances, including that by Lemmon who would go on to the win the 1979 Cannes Best Actor award for his performance.
“I won’t quit until I get run over by a truck, a producer or a critic.” – Jack Lemmon
The hard-working and long-time actor was also the first of his guild to win both the Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor at the Academy Awards, long before the likes of other great actors (such as Robert DeNiro, Gene Hackman, Meryl Streep and Kate Winslet) would do the same. He re-played Henry Fonda’s role in the TV remake of 12 Angry Men to absolute perfection and even lent his voice in a small cameo on The Simpsons.
Jack Lemmon plays Frank Armand from Fox’s hit TV series, The Simpsons, in the episode, The Twisted World of Marge Simpson.
Acclaimed for his many different roles throughout his long career, Lemmon is often cited for his majestic turn for comedy in films like Some Like It Hot, and much later Grumpy Old Men, where he starred again next to Walter Matthau, his co-star from the Odd Couple.
Jack Lemmon and Tony Curtis pretend to be women in order make a run from the mob in Billy Wilder’s Some Like it Hot, co-starring Marilyn Monroe.
My own favorite moments of his come from the film, The Apartment, where he shared the screen opposite a very young and lovely Shirley MacLaine. Here, he plays C.C. Baxter, a character so wonderfully naive, but at the same time so completely likable and relatable. In many ways he reminds me of the modern day Tom Hanks — another actor whom you can’t help but root for. Both of these artists are so likable that you forget they are also masters of their craft.
Jack Lemmon plays the affable C.C. Baxter, from Billy Wilder’s 1960 classic, The Apartment. Watch how Lemmon beautifully constructs the naivety of his character through action and non-action, as he works to impress Shirley MacLaine, who’s in an opposite state of mind.
Great actors use their voices, faces and physical expressions in ways that give pure authenticity to the roles they’re playing. Lemmon, was a master at using all his gifts. There’s beautiful rhythm in how he moves his characters both physically and emotionally — gliding effortlessly from one action and emotion to the next, like music from Miles Davis. Every bodily gesture and every nuance in his face helps to build the scenes and characters he plays. The formulation and timing of his art, couldn’t be better.
Jack Lemmon (seen here with Kevin Spacey) plays Shelly Levene in James Foley’s adaptation of David Mamet’s Pulitzer Prize winning play, Glengarry Glen Ross. Despite the cold cut nature of the characters and the industry on display, Lemmon’s performance pulls you in with deep empathy in perfect portrayal of a man motivated by desperation.
So, if you’ve got a nice free evening, or a lazy afternoon that beckons you to lay prone on the couch, pull up an old Jack Lemmon movie (he made over sixty of them). Witness a master at the craft of acting, and have a good time doing it.
“If you really do want to be an actor who can satisfy himself and his audience, you need to be vulnerable. You must reach the emotional and intellectual level of ability where you can go out stark naked, emotionally, in front of an audience.” — Jack Lemmon
