In my last 3 independent movie roles, I've had to run like the dickens at some point during the shooting of them. I mean, really sprint! The last time was in a comedy called Fire Island. ( https://www.facebook.com/Fire-Island-541008672698431/timeline/ If you want to see further about this film! ) I had to run off a broad walk down a flight of steps onto a sandy beach then down into the water. Doesn't sound like much, but try doing that for over 10 takes! I was sweating bullets by the end of the shot. I hung in there though, because I didn't want to look foolish in front of the two actors ( both, half my age, mind you, ) that I was doing the shot with. I was seriously winded, though, and pretty wiped out next day as well.
After that, I promised myself, that would never happen again and decided to devote, at least, two days per week to jogging. I've been a bit uneven with that promise. Sometimes I could do two days. Other weeks, it's just been one. Lately, though, I've been more consistent and have stepped it up to 3 days a week for jogging.
For awhile, it was mostly just a distance of about a mile, to about a mile and half most days, but now I've developed my running distance to 3 or 5 miles at a time.
My point about this is that I've come to realize that acting is one of those professions that regularly calls on you to exceed your physical limitations. At any given moment, you might very well be asked to run up a hill, or slide down a fire escape, or pretend to get hit from behind and have to fall down a flight of stairs. All of these I've been ask to do at one time or another.
One story that has always stay with me about just this sort of thing, was related in an interview with British actor, Michael York of the Austin Powers movies and Logan's Run fame. He was telling about the time while he was filming the Four Musketeers movie, he and his fellow actors, Oliver Reed, Frank Finlay, Richard Chamberlain and Roy Kinnear had to run up a steep hill during a battle sequence. It was supposed to take, at most, about 10 minutes to shoot. Unfortunately, because of problems that always occur on any outdoor movie set, it took much longer. Constantly, they had to stop and re-start the shoot due to either misfiring of the cannons featured in the sequence, or clouds that would past by and block the sunlight needed for the shot or just technical malfunctions of the cameras. It finally took over five hours to get this one shot! York reckoned that he and his fellow Musketeers had sprinted about 10 miles, maybe more, in that time frame. Sprinted! At the time, York was still in his 20's and in decent physical condition to be able to handle the stress of all that running, but Oliver Reed was pushing 50 and had a well - known drinking problem. Also, Roy Kinnear, while being a brilliant comic actor, was always a man who suffered with obesity. York expressed how they were all drenched in sweat and feared that both Reed and Kinnear might be endanger of having a heart attack, both at the same time!
Thankfully, Kinnear and Reed pulled through to be able to finish that day's sequence, but York learned an important lesson about how demanding the career of an actor can be on one's physical self. He always made a point to stay in the best shape as he possible could, just in case, he might have to do something that strenuous again.
The irony of this, for me, at least; is while I knew this story and was effected by it - it took having to go through the exact same thing that York and Reed and Kinnear did that day - for me to make any real effort to get back into shape. It stuck me that day on the set of Fire Island, that I was not coming through this rigor of constant running like Michael York did, but instead, I was huffing and puffing like Oliver Reed and Roy Kinnear combined!
Lesson learned.
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