Students in Brooklyn College’s theater
department were given some practical advice from a pro on Monday
night when Emmy and Golden Globe award-winning actor Jimmy Smits
arrived for a master class.
Hosted by theater department chairman Samuel Leiter, one of Smits’
former professors, the event was held in the college’s New Workshop
Theater.
A 1980 Brooklyn College grad, Smits, 48, entered the theater
a bit cool and aloof with sunglasses on. But as the overcoat
and shades came off, he became animated, eagerly casting about
for a connection with his young audience.
"I have a lot of great memories in this room, of taking
a lot of emotional leaps here," said Smits.
"And it hasn’t changed very much – the ceiling is still
the same," he said with a smile, pointing up at the black,
peeling
paint.
Before critiquing three student acting scenes, the tall hunk
of an actor sat on the stage next to Leiter for an hour, candidly
offering advice about everything from acting technique to where
to find work.
Smits is now starring in Nilo Cruz’s 2003 Pulitzer Prize-winning
play "Anna in the Tropics," which opened last month
at the Royale Theater on Broadway. The classically trained Smits
is well-known for his long-running roles in two television series,
as Victor Sifuentes in "L.A. Law" and as Bobby Simone
in "NYPD Blue," and he is respected for his theater
work, including a starring role in last year’s Public Theater
production of "Twelfth Night" in Prospect Park.
Smits revealed that his interest in acting was born in that very
same room, when, as a 16-year-old student in East New York’s
Thomas Jefferson High School, a teacher brought him to see his
first play. Smits said he enrolled in Brooklyn College as an
education major but soon switched to theater, acting in productions
staged in that building including a Japanese kabuki play "Terakoya,"
O’Neill’s "Desire Under the Elms" and Shakespeare’s
"The Tempest."
Smits credits Brooklyn College Prof. Bernard Barrow for encouraging
him to pursue a graduate degree in acting.
"He told me, ’You’ve shown here an interest in the classics,
do you want to nurture that?’" Smits went on to earn his
master’s degree from Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y.
Smits said he again turned to Barrow, who died in 1993, when
he thought he had botched a New York audition for "L.A.
Law."
"It was horrendous," said Smits. "I was walking
around 30 Rockefeller Plaza saying, ’God, I really f— that
up.’ Then I talked to Bernie about it, and he told me to think
about going to L.A. [and audition again] So I broke into the
kids’ piggy bank, went to L.A. and got to meet the casting people,
and meet [the show’s creator] Steven [Bochco]. If you feel something
strongly, keep going at it. So that was my first series job."
Smits told the students that doing extensive research helps him
immerse himself in a role.
In "Anna in the Tropics," Smits plays the sexy role
of Juan Julian, a lector who’s job it is to educate and entertain
– although he manages to inflame the passions of – the workers
in a Cuban-American cigar factory in Florida by reading Tolstoy’s
"Anna Karenina."
"I immerse myself in research. Listening to music of the
time period, you learn a lot. Not only reading books but books
of the period – even fiction," said Smits. "This play
is set in Tampa in the 1920s, and I didn’t know jack about it.
I started reading books about that time, the cigar industry it
just got me into this world. I got my ass on a plane to Tampa
and talked to people.
"This character reads novels to cigar workers before there
was radio – it’s a fascinating thing. I talked to people who
were descendants of people who did this for a living. You see
films and documentary films that give you an idea of how people
looked. I watched a documentary film that gave me an idea of
how to wear my moustache. Research is fascinating to me."
Students asked Smits about how he keeps his acting instrument
– his body – "in tune."
"It’s always good to keep taking acting classes. The professors
may disagree with me, but you could take an acrobatics class,"
advised Smits. A professor shouted her approval.
"It is important in the literal sense, too, not just figuratively,"
said Smits. "Take classes for accents or yoga. I’m doing
yoga, now, because after two-show days, it really helps.
"This is your instrument so the more tools you have, the
more versatile you can be."
In the years since winning his 1990 Emmy for "L.A. Law,"
Smits has become an icon in the Latin community. On Monday morning
he was invited by Mayor Michael Bloomberg to join his New York
City Latin Media and Entertainment Commission. Later, at Brooklyn
College, a student asked how the actor was able to break barriers
and avoid being typecast in stereotypical, degrading roles.
Smits offered a pragmatic answer.
"There are very few people in this business that have complete
control in terms of what they do, so it’s a relative thing. But
you always have the power to say, ’No’ – always – right? But
you also have to put it in terms of the scope of what comes your
way. When I’m offered roles that are offensive or stereotypical
– I look at my bank account," Smits said with a smile. "You
can justify it, right? In one of my first films, [the character]
was a drug dealer. Did I say to myself, ’It’s a comedy. I’ll
put a spin on it, I’ll give him a heart of gold.’ I tried to
do all of those things, but in essence, it was not a great role.
"But I have since been afforded opportunities like ’L.A.
Law,’ when I did a role where [Victor Sifuentes] was of Hispanic
descent, but it wasn’t the most important thing about him. First
and foremost, this guy was a good lawyer. Then we could get into
the other stuff.
"But you have to have people around you that support that."
The diverse group of acting students at Brooklyn College on Monday
night absorbed the advice of their famous alum, and just maybe
their career paths will be a bit smoother because Smits has already
paved the way.
Nilo Cruz’s "Anna in the Tropics"
plays at the Royale Theatre, 242 W. 45th St. in Manhattan, Tuesday
through Saturday at 8 pm, with matinees on Wednesday and Saturday
at 2 pm and Sunday at 3 pm. Tickets range from $46.25 to $81.25
and can be purchased online at Telecharge.com, by calling (212)
239-6200 or at the theater box office. Student tickets are available
for $21.25 with a valid student I.D. at the box office.
