Is the Actor Happy?

Three decades after bursting onto the scene with legendary L.A. punk band X, John Doe is as busy as he’s ever been. He’s spending the summer touring behind his latest solo album, A Year in the Wilderness, a collection of punk-influenced roots rock about what he calls “the minefields of relationships.” If that’s not enough, Doe will also be appearing in three independent films this year. He spoke with Paste about the similarities and differences between acting and making music.

Repetition Is Required: “With acting, one of the greatest challenges is getting to the core emotion of a scene in a believable way after you’ve already done it five or 10 times. Similarly, once you’ve sung a song in the studio, you have to completely erase that performance. Frequently, you finish at ‘10.’ [Then] you have to sing it again and you want to start at ‘10.’ But if you do, there isn’t anywhere to go.”

Each Has Its Own Intensity: “Acting has given me the confidence to deliver a song in a quieter way and believe it will still translate. The challenge of acting is to get the intensity of the screaming and jumping around I might do with X into sitting there and delivering a few lines.”

Actors Have Less Control: “The frustrating part of acting comes when you think you gave a good performance and they choose a different take or edit it in a way that doesn’t feel like it does it justice. But it’s a relief not to be the guy that makes all the decisions and is responsible for whether the project rises or falls. You’re still making an investment, but you’re not investing two to three years of your life.”

It’s All About That One Hour: “Touring and filming are 23 hours of f—ing around and not doing much, then an hour of really working. But the whole time, you have to stay focused. You have to make sure you’re prepared when it’s your turn.”

Less Thinking = Better Results: “The biggest similarity is once you have to act or play, you just have to act or play. If you’re thinking, you’re not playing, and if you’re thinking, you’re not acting.”