William H. Macy
William H. Macy
William Hall Macy, Jr.is an American actor, screenwriter, teacher and theater director. His film career has been built mostly on his appearances in small, independent films, though he also appeared in summer action films. Macy has described himself as "sort of a Middle American, WASPy, Lutheran kind of guy... Everyman"...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionMovie Actor
Date of Birth13 March 1950
CityMiami, FL
CountryUnited States of America
I do want to do TV, but I'm looking to be a creator, writer, and producer, and perhaps I could be a recurring character. Do 10 shows a year, something like that.
Directing is a huge amount of work with very little payoff, and a quarter of the money, and nine times more time spent.
All that back-story stuff doesn't help. What you get paid for is to stand toe-to-toe with the other actor and get him to do your will.
I'm getting bigger roles, and I'm on location more, and I have a wife and family. I'd rather work less, and I've started to implement that. It was either that or my wife would break my heart.
The roughest part is showing up. Once you throw yourself into the scene, it's just great fun to let it all go and not be self-conscious, and stop questioning whether you're sufficient.
You have to do whatever you can to limit the things that could make you feel insecure.
You should know the lines, be prepared, get sleep, and have the script analyzed so you're ready to rock and roll.
Nothing else counts except what you want.
How you feel will take care of itself.
I'm drawn to a lot of first-time directors. One of the great common denominators in these small independent films is that there's a person, or two people, who have an absolutely monomaniacal passion to get these films made. That's what makes them happen. Sometimes, it takes years and years to finally get it done, but by never backing down, by never giving up, they get these films to the screen by hook or by crook.
When a director makes a mistake, people suffer. People suffer horribly sometimes.
Making a mistake means overshooting a scene, shooting too many takes, for instance. Long after you've got it, you just keep shooting.
Ultimately, a more experienced director realizes that you've got to stop sometime and just move on. They're braver about that.
Another mistake a director can make is not to be prepared, so you get there on the day to shoot the scene, and they don't know how it should be blocked, and they're not clear on how they want to do a scene.