Sept. 11, 1964 - Probably the most relaxed actor in Hollywood these days is Anthony Perkins. He is not working, has no immediate plans to work, and is delighted by his present status.
“The trouble with most actors,” said Perkins, “is that they work too hard.”
Actors, he explained, seem to think that if they “race from role to role and make as many pictures as possible, they will somehow achieve immortal statue.” Rock Hudson is now starting on his fourth picture within 12 months, he noted.
“I fell victim to this syndrome myself and made 19 movies in the last eight years,” he adds. “But now I’ve got the message.”
The “message,” according to Perkins, is that actors are only remembered for one or two roles over a lifetime. The rest of their performances are totally forgotten.
One big drawback to most roles submitted to him is that they involve a character who is in his late teens or early twenties, Perkins complains.
Perkins is 32 years old but looks 10 years younger and knows it. “I don’t know why I look so young, but I do — and not even the most skilled make-up man can make me look any older,” he said.
Perkins believes his two most memorable roles were in “Psycho” and “Friendly Persuasion.” In the last four years, however, none of his roles have aided his career, he feels. His recent Broadway play, “Harold,” was a failure.
The actor has done three pictures over the last two years, none of which have been fully released. One is “The Adorable Idiot” with Brigitte Bardot, the second is “The Fool Killer,” and the third is an Orson Welles film made in Yugoslavia, “The Trial,” based on Kafka’s novel.
“I did ‘The Trial’ because I always wanted to work with Orson Welles,” Perkins said. “The movie was a delight to make. Like all of Orson’s pictures, we ran out of money about halfway through.”
Asked why had always refused to do any T.V., Perkins yawned, stretched his legs, and smiled. “T.V.?” he said. “Do you realize the pace at which they grind out a T.V. film? I just can’t work that fast.”
Besides, he added, “I like what I’m doing — which is virtually nothing.”
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