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Photographer Francesco Scavullo interviews and
photographs Alan Bates
 Scavullo: Do you think it's important for an
actor to be attractive?
Bates: Yes, I do, really. I think so much of movie history is
concerned with people being good-looking that you tend to be
conditioned to think that they should be. It's an advantage because
it's more adaptable. But I don't think it's necessary.
Did you go to acting school
in England?
Yes, at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts, which is nothing
like the Actors Studio. It's much more traditional and concerned
absolutely with techniques -- some of them good and some of them
not so good -- how to speak, how to move, how to dance -- never
how to think.
At what age did you start
training?
Seventeen. I knew since I was about twelve that I wanted to be
an actor. I latched on to that and just stayed with it, and I
didn't really care about anything else. I mean, I wasn't academic
at all.
Really?
Yes. I always wanted to get into learning, but not before my
late twenties did I ever really like the idea of actually studying.
What caused you to like
acting?
I've tried to analyze it a few times, but I've never been able
to. I had a huge resistance to acting or speaking in public at
grammar school. I would panic and withdraw from it. Then I suddenly
reversed; I just jumped and couldn't wait to do it.
Do you think it's possible
for an actor to be good on stage and also in movies?
I've been lucky because I've managed to do both. I started films
when I was young enough not to be entrenched in the theater.
And in the theater I started in mostly modern naturalistic works,
although I have done classical work. So before I was thirty I
had a pretty good experience at both film and theater, and for
me they contributed to each other. Films teach you to trust your
personality and who you are, because what they photograph is
you. In theater you can always hide from yourself. You're playing
another character in a much more overdone way -- and you also
hide behind your make-up.
Which do you prefer? Movies
or theater?
Theater. But the results are so different. In the theater, once
the curtain goes up, it's yours. Nobody can do anything about
it except you. You're in charge of it and that's thrilling. That's
the reward of it. I enjoy films for a totally different reason
-- the indulgence of acting for one person. And I love the total
reality of acting on location, in particular, because you forget
the crew and the whole setup of the film -- that becomes like
a suitcase, it's just there with you.
What do you think when
you see yourself on the screen?
I don't know what I think of myself. Sometimes I think it's awful
and sometimes I think it's terrific. I think I'm fairly objective.
And I almost always look at the rushes. The only shock I've ever
had was in the beginning, when I first saw myself on screen --
so huge. It was a terrific shock. And then, for some reason that
shock wilted entirely and I could judge it, change it, learn
from it.
Is the director more important
on film or on stage?
He's more important on film, I think. Because he controls what
happens afterwards as well. And it's much more of his personal
vision. Of course, he's important in the theater, but the writer
and then, finally, the actor takes over.
Do you ever have fights
with people when you work?
Not in an overt physical way, but I certainly fight or resist
or occasionally don't speak.
 Where were you born?
In Derbyshire, England. I still have a place there because it's
a very beautiful part of the world.
Do you travel a lot?
I do. Films took me away a lot. To begin with, "Zorba the
Greek" was made in Crete and "The Fixer" in Hungary,
so I really developed a terrific taste for traveling. I love
to travel.
When you travel what does
your wife do?
They all come with me usually. This time they didn't.
Do you have children?
Yes. Twin boys.
How old are they?
Six and a half.
Is it hard being a father
and an actor?
It's hard, but it's terrific. I like it. This is the first time
I've been away, and that's hard. I've been away for short periods
of time, but I've never been a long way away for a long time.
That's something you just have to get used to.
Are your concerned about
your two sons growing up and taking drugs?
I don't think about that yet. It does cross my mind, but they
are already a couple of other people. I don't believe in the
idea that you can actually make children emulate you or conform
to a set of rules. How can you? They're other people. In another
five years they're going to turn around and tell me what they
think. So all you can really do is try and provide an atmosphere
in which they can develop fully and find out who they are and
what they want to do without feeling dictated to -- and yet at
the same time somehow try and provide something that they can
relate to, not necessarily authority but a sort of relationship,
so that they don't feel lost or panicked. But it's natural for
a child to rebel and to turn around and say, "This is me
and I don't care what you think." We've all done that. Whether
your parents are rich or poor or drunk or marvelous, you'll find
some way to establish your own identity and it's bound to include
a form of rebellion, isn't it? So you can't really worry about
those things because they're going to happen. You just have to
watch, watch and watch. Guide. Influence.
Do you live in the country
or in the city?
City, but it's country-oriented. I think the simpler life is
better, especially for children. And the danger of being an actor
and traveling about is that the children automatically lead a
semi-sophisticated life. I think the best thing you can do for
children is to keep them out of it and ordinary as far as you
can.
How long have you been
married?
Seven years.
Were you ever married
before?
No. Not officially, anyway.
What kind of women do
you like?
I don't know. I just like people.
Do they have to be beautiful?
No.
Any type of body in particular?
No.
Fat?
Fat is lovely.
You don't like skinny?
No.
Do you have a problem
with your weight at all?
Being an actor, I'm always conscious of it. The best thing for
the camera is to be slightly underweight, which I can never quite
manage to be.
Do you take care of your
health?
Oh yes. I have a naturopath. I have an orthodox doctor as well,
but I believe in the natural concept of living. One can't stick
to it, unfortunately, all the way through. I move around so much
and lead a city life, a pressured life. But I think if you have
a knowledge of a natural regime, you can usually find some way
of keeping a part of it in your curriculum. And I believe in
it medically because my naturopath has actually found a way to
cure one or two things that I've had from time to time -- just
through eating habits. I think an awful lot of things can be
controlled by what you eat.
How do you feel about
getting older?
I don't really feel any different from when I was seventeen.
And as long as that doesn't get completely self-deceiving, I
think it's good.
Do you have a fear of
dying at all?
Sometimes. I mean, I really don't want to die until I've lived
a very long time. And then, sometimes I think, If it happens,
it happens. But I like life.
Why don't you like flying?
I really don't know. I flew a lot for a long time and then I
suddenly realized that I was not enjoying it and that I was,
in fact, in a state of tension, so I stopped flying for ten years.
I flew over here for the first time in ten years. And it wasn't
too bad, but I don't like it. I've done anything -- anything
-- to avoid it. I've been on extraordinary trains and boats and
cars, and stayed overnight in extraordinary places when I couldn't
get connections. By God, I enjoyed that. It's a terrific experience.
What do you think of progress
and technology, tearing down old buildings to put up big new
ones?
I think it's horrible. It seems to be wild and uncontrolled.
We really have to stop and reconsider the way we live and what
we need and what are luxuries. We've lost a very basic, simple
concept of living. People say, "What about progress? Isn't
that retrogressive?" But when we reach the edge of a precipice,
what is progressive about going over it?
Do you find it difficult
to live in England because of the taxes and the economy?
It depends on how much you earn and what you want. If you want
to make money and keep your money, it is very difficult. If you
want to make a million, then don't live there. But if you just
want to make money to live by, then you can live there.
Is money a concern?
Not really. I've been guided in fairly conventional ways by lawyers
and accountants to do this and to do that, and to save this and
to put that into this account, and to form this and to form that.
But I don't work for money. Money doesn't make me take a job.
Are you very picky about
what you do?
Yes, I am. I can do a film for fun, but I prefer to do a play
or a film or a television program because I like it, because
I want to do it. I don't like doing it just because it's good
money.
Who are some of your favorite
actors?
Gerard Philipe, Mastroianni, Mason, as movie actors. They seem
to have a fantastic ability to act in front of cameras. Jean-Louis
Trintignant.
They're all Europeans.
Spencer Tracy was a great American movie actor. I think there's
a difference. I think the Europeans are much freer. I think American
actors--not always, by any means, but often--are obeying an image
rather than really freeing up. Some of the new people, however,
Pacino, De Niro, Hoffman, do have that freedom. They really care
much less about what the image seems to be. I just wish they
all did a lot more theater, too.
You do television?
I haven't done any for years. There's just something in that
medium which is less satisfying -- you do it and then the next
day it's gone. I did two plays on TV by Simon Gray [Two Sundays
and Plaintiffs and Defendants, 1975, BBC -ed.] and
one by Harold Pinter [The Collection 1976, Granada -ed.]
in the last eighteen months and I really enjoyed them. And I'm
going to do a Thomas Hardy adaptation now. [Mayor of Casterbridge
1977, BBC. -ed.]
How many films have you
done?
About fifteen.
Do you have any favorites?
Women in Love.
The wrestling scene in
Women in Love was amazing.
It is an amazing scene. It's a great expression of physical closeness
that is not necessarily sexual. Sometimes there is a need to
actually fuse with someone that you feel for, but it doesn't
have to be a sexual thing. Sensual, yes. Physical, yes. There's
a difference.
Was that a difficult scene
to do?
It was technically difficult. That's why it was choreographed.
And of course it's very charged emotionally. And it was also
the first time two men have ever taken their clothes off on screen.
So we had quite a lot to deal with. But it's from such a great
book and it's such a terrific conception of friendship that I
thought it was exciting to do. |||
© Francesco Scavullo, 1977
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