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Ryan Gage is starring as Lee Fenton in American Justice at the Arts Theatre from 10th January until 9th February 2013. Ryan was last seen in the West End in Ghost Stories and in the RSC's Hamlet. He has recently finished filming The Hobbit films 2 and 3 directed by Peter Jackson, which are due out in 2013. Ryan chats to West End Frame about American Justice, starring in the Hobbit films and when he first decided he wanted to be an actor...
Are you looking forward to playing Lee Fenton in American Justice?
Yes, I'm very excited about playing Lee. He's a fascinating character. Fragile and dangerous in equal measure.
What is the play about?
American Justice is set in the southern states of America and is about a young man convicted of murdering the daughter of a US congressman. The congressman, a Democrat and a liberal, has spent his whole political life campaigning against the death penalty and so has the sentence commuted to life imprisonment while taking on the responsibility of personally educating the prisoner. The play begins on their first lesson and explores the complexities of this damaged and volatile relationship and the impact it has on their lives and fortunes over 8 years. Its a challenging play full of guts and heart and it asks very difficult questions about forgiveness and the redemptive power of education.
Why should people come and see American Justice – what makes it stand out?
You should see American Justice for many reasons, not least because Richard Vergette has written a fantastic play and every single person working on the production is involved because they love the piece and all worked very hard to create a production that does justice to the script. Now we would like to share it with you and find out what you think.
You recently finished filming the 2nd and 3rd Hobbit films – what was it like?
Working on The Hobbit films was an incredible and sometimes quite a surreal experience for me. At the beginning I would find myself talking to big stars like Orlando Bloom or Ian Mckellen and felt a bit like that guy from Quantum Leap - like I'd beamed into someone else's life. The other odd thing is how quickly you forget about all that stuff and take people as you find them. The experience of being involved in a film on that scale was also pretty mind blowing. My main memory of the film is that the cast and crew were great fun and so brilliant to be around. Peter Jackson has a great sense of humour as does Martin Freeman. Then you chuck people like Stephen Fry and Billy Connolly into the mix and you'd have to have something wrong with you not to enjoy yourself. It was hard work but a lot of fun!
How does starring in Hollywood films compare to starring in the West End? Which do you prefer?
I hadn't done a great deal of screen before the movie so I'm very keen to do more of it in the next few years. However as soon as I read American Justice, I knew I wanted to do it and all my plans about concentrating on screen went out of the window. When you work across both mediums you realise how the challenges encountered in one can compliment your understanding of the other.
When did you first decide that you wanted to be an actor?
Well I thought I wanted to be an actor at quite a young age, but I think what I thought was acting was actually wanting to be a sort of clown, just being different silly characters. It wasn't until I got to about 17 and 18 that I realised there could be more to it, and that straight acting might be a different sort of fun so I went to drama school. Having said that, I still love playing silly characters and acting the fool. My character in The Hobbit is certainly a clownish type, quite a dark clown who doesn't like being laughed at but a clown none the less and Peter really encouraged me in that direction. My character in American Justice is certainly no clown but he does have a great sense of humour and he employs it with great subtlety and wit at times.
What advice would you give to any aspiring actors?
Be tenacious. Learn how to learn and then keep learning. Have lots of fun, but work hard.
Finally, what would you like to say to everyone who has supported you throughout your career?
For god's sake don't stop now!
American Justice runs at the Arts Theatre from 10th January until 9th February 2013. Visit www.americanjusticetheplay.com for more information and to book tickets.
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