Campbell
Tanya Batson, Staff Reporter
HE'S BEEN a lunatic, a dangerous criminal, a police officer and now he is a pastor.
He is Paul Campbell.
The Sunday Gleaner caught up with Campbell recently and he acquiesced to giving the paper a one talk. What was interesting was that the real-life version of Paul Campbell appears to be no less enigmatic than the larger-than-life one which appears on the screen.
The dark intense eyes are just as riveting and the full lips over the cleft chin as commanding, especially when he becomes impassioned. Shorter than his films make him out to be, he is by no means a small man.
Many would, blamelessly, label Paul Campbell as one of the most enigmatic actors Jamaica is currently proud to claim as her own. For the last several years he has been a darling of the screen, which earned him a Doctor Bird Career Achievement Award and two Best Actor Awards from the Jamerican Film Festival.
Having already been on the production side of the film world, producing Country of the One-eyed God, Entry Denied and Final Verdict, Campbell wants to be one of those who tell Jamaica's stories. Campbell believes passionately in the importance of the Jamaican tale being told from the perspective of many Jamaicans. He believes that this is a mantle which more Jamaicans need to take up.
"I want to tell more stories and I want more Jamaicans to start telling their own stories," he stated. He told The Sunday Gleaner that he currently has a script he is working on producing. Though he would not go into detail about the project, he revealed that he already has investors and a technical crew lined up.
Far from being naive, however, he realises and readily admits that financing will dictate who makes the movies and the content of the movies that are made. "Bottom line is... it's money," he said. This statement comes from the man who starred in the two movies, which pulled in the largest gross takes of any Jamaican picture to date.
Additionally, though Campbell remarked that he would like to see Jamaican movies which did not involve gun-toting, he noted that currently that seems to be what sells.
Interestingly, though his last three movies - Dancehall Queen, Third World Cop and Shottas (bootleg copies of which have swamped the island in recent weeks) - have made him something akin to a grassroots hero, his film will be shot mainly in the United States.
Campbell explained that this decision was because shooting a film locally meets with two much interference. "There is too much resistance here," he explained. He stated that in order for a crew to go into particular areas, the 'don' has to okay it and sometimes filming has to be stopped if the crew doesn't let off som'n. "Each day shooting is being interrupted thousands of dollars go down the drain," he said.
Not yet donning his producer's hat, Campbell has made a return to the Jamaican stage. On February 14, the man who uttered the infamous "walk and live..." line in Dancehall Queen will become a man of the cloth. His return to the stage seems his playing a pastor in David Heron's new production, Redemption. Interestingly, Campbell's last appearance on the Jamaican stage was in Heron's 1996 production, Intermission.
Campbell admits that a part of the charm of playing Robert in Heron's new production is the different challenge it will bring. He noted that all his latest roles have been very abrasive. The troubled pastor whom he will embody allows him to explore more emotions, he said. He also stated that Redemption will also once again give him a chance to play for the Jamaican live audience and act among his peers. In Redemption he plays alongside David Heron, Karen Harriott, and Fahrenheit.
Despite his forays into film, Campbell reveals that he is one of those actors who prefer live theatre. He pointed out that theatre is his first love in large part because of the "raw, naked performance that the stage lends". Long before his first appearance on the screen, Campbell was making his name in theatre in productions such as Mansong, The Mikado and Flame Heart. Campbell describes the experience of being just a few feet from a live audience and convincing them as a magical one.
Nonetheless, money again raises its head and dictates that he must focus on films. He notes that he simply cannot make a good living from local theatre. Like many before him, several years ago Campbell took the decision to migrate to cooler but more fertile climes. Now living in New York, he explains that his decisions are fuelled by his need to leave a "legacy" for his three sons, Julian St. Christopher, Julian Sebastian, Elyjah St. Aubyn.
Campbell describes his role as Aloysius, the title character of Anthony Winkler's The Lunatic, to be his best to date. A lover of acting since his days of "running 'round a fowl coup", Campbell is endeared to the character because of the level of research he invested in it.
A method actor, trained at the School of Drama in Jamaica and the Royal Academy of the Dramatic Arts in London, Campbell believes in the added nuances which can be gained from living a role, rather than simply pretending/acting. As such, upon receiving the role of Aloysius, his first major film role, he quit his job and lived as a homeless man for six weeks.
"The Lunatic took me on the edge," he pointed out. "Now that I look at that film I go, 'damn, did I do that'?" He revealed that for months after the shoot ended, he was unable to wear shoes.
Even so, Campbell is quite enamoured with the role of the villain. He revealed that he has no worries about becoming stereotyped by these roles. "I love playing the villain," he said, with a smile. "There are so many layers to the villain." His roles in
Tanya Batson
Staff Reporter
HE HAS been a lunatic, a dangerous criminal, a police officer and now he is a pastor.
He is Paul Campbell.
The Sunday Gleaner caught up with Campbell recently and he acquiesced to giving the paper 'a one talk'. What was interesting was that the real life version of Paul Campbell appears to be no less enigmatic than the larger-than-life one which appears on the screen.
The dark intense eyes are just as riveting and the full lips over the cleft chin as commanding, especially when he becomes impassioned. Shorter than his films make him out to be, he is by no means a small man.
Many would, blamelessly, label Paul Campbell as one of the most enigmatic actors Jamaica is currently proud to claim as her own. For the last several years he has been a darling of the screen, which earned him a Doctor Bird Career Achievement Award and two 'Best Actor' awards from the Jamerican Film Festival.
FILMS AND THE STAGE
Having already been on the production side of the film world, producing Country of the One-Eyed God, Entry Denied and Final Verdict, Campbell wants to be one of those who tell Jamaica's stories. Campbell believes passionately in the importance of the Jamaican tale being told from the perspective of many Jamaicans. He believes that this is a mantle which more Jamaicans need to take up.
"I want to tell more stories and I want more Jamaicans to start telling their own stories," he stated. He told The Sunday Gleaner that he currently has a script he is working on producing. Although he would not go into detail about the project, he revealed that he already has investors and a technical crew lined up.
Far from being naive, however, he realises and readily admits that financing will dictate who makes the movies and the content of the movies that are made. "Bottom line is... it's money," he said. This statement comes from the man who starred in the two movies which have pulled in the largest gross takes of any Jamaican picture to date.
Additionally, though Campbell remarked that he would like to see Jamaican movies which did not involve gun-toting, he noted that currently that seems to be what sells.
Interestingly, though his last three movies Dancehall Queen, Third World Cop and Shottas (bootleg copies of which have swamped the island in recent weeks) have made him something akin to a grassroots hero, his film will be shot mainly in the United States.
Campbell explained that this decision was because shooting a film locally meets with two much interference. "There is too much resistance here," he explained. He stated that in order for a crew to go into particular areas, the 'don' has to okay it and sometimes filming has to be stopped, if the crew "doesn't let off som'n". "Each day shooting is being interrupted, thousands of dollars go down the drain," he said.
CHALLENGES OF 'REDEMPTION'
Not yet donning his producer's hat, Campbell has made a return to the Jamaican stage. On February 14, the man who uttered the infamous "Walk and live..." line in Dancehall Queen will become a man of the cloth. His return to the stage sees him playing a pastor in David Heron's new production, Redemption. Interestingly, Campbell's last appearance on the Jamaican stage was in Heron's 1996 production, Intermission.
Campbell admits that a part of the charm of playing Robert in Heron's new production is the different challenge it will bring. He noted that all his latest roles have been very abrasive. The troubled pastor whom he will embody allows him to explore more emotions, he said. He also stated that Redemption will also once again give him a chance to play for the Jamaican live audience and act among his peers. In Redemption, he plays alongside David Heron, Karen Harriott and Fahrenheit.
Despite his forays into film, Campbell reveals that he is one of those actors who prefers live theatre. He pointed out that theatre is his first love in large part because of the 'raw, naked performance that the stage lends'. Long before his first appearance on the screen, Campbell was making his name in theatre in productions such as Mansong, The Mikado and Flame Heart. Campbell describes the experience of being just a few feet from a live audience and convincing them as a magical one.
Nonetheless, money again raises its head and dictates that he must focus on films. He notes that he simply cannot make a good living from local theatre. Like many before him, several years ago Campbell took the decision to migrate to cooler but more fertile climes. Now living in New York, he explains that his decisions are fuelled by his need to leave a 'legacy' for his three sons, Julian St. Christopher, Julian Sebastian, and Elyjah St. Aubyn.
LUNATIC AND ONWARDS
While it is in theatre that Campbell finds his magic, the role he believes to have been his best came from film. Campbell describes his role as Aloysius, the title character of Anthony Winkler's The Lunatic, to be his best to date. Having been enamoured with acting since his days of 'running round a fowl coop', Campbell is endeared to the character because of the level of research he invested in it.
A method actor, trained at the School of Drama in Jamaica and the Royal Academy of the Dramatic Arts in London, Campbell believes in the added nuances which can be gained from living a role, rather than simply pretending/acting. As such, upon receiving the role of Aloysius, his first major film role, he quit his job and lived as a homeless man for six weeks.
"The Lunatic took me on the edge," he pointed out. "Now that I look at that film I go, 'Damn, did I do that'?" He revealed that for months after the shoot ended, he was unable to wear shoes.
Even so, Campbell is in love with the role of the villain. He revealed that he has no worries about becoming stereotyped by these roles. "I love playing the villain," he said with a smile. "There are so many layers to the villain." His roles in Dancehall Queen and Country of the One-eyed God have certainly put him in a position to make this judgement.
