Some people know by high school or college that they want to devote their lives to the art of acting. Not Port-au-Prince-born Alex Sanon! The fledging actor was in the graphic designing business, and as the client queue started to dwindle, he began doing research on ways to restore loss income. He came across the website Explore Talent, a talent database, and became a member. He practically forgot about signing up for membership, until he started getting billed on his credit card, following his initial free trial. In May, the forty-something actor auditioned for a role advertised on the site, and nailed it. The role was that of a middle-aged man, Reverend Ernest in director Benedict Dorsey’s film Running on Water. This was followed by three more auditions, and two roles.
The father of four loves acting, and is appreciative of the fact that the art has allowed him to overcome his shyness.
K. St. Fort: You’ve successfully landed a role. How do you prepare for it?
Simple: I am no longer Alex Sanon, I am the character until the shoot is over. I usually look for a similar character, or a character in the similar situation in a movie or TV show that I’ve already seen—and I have seen about a million. I become the character in my daily life for at least 3 to 4 hours each day, every day—until the shoot is over. The big challenge is when I land roles on two different projects filming days apart. I flip-flop between those characters and sometimes forget to become myself before I go to bed. It could be consuming, but I am a Gemini so I got a good angle on switching personalities. Besides, with experience it’s getting easier for me to come in and out of a character. I don’t play characters, I become characters. To me it is kindergarten all over again. The difference this time around is that I am not just learning the colors of life, I am creating new ones with every role. I am having the time of my life.
K. St. Fort: Is there an actor that you model yourself after?
Idris Elba. Oops, that may be too short of an answer! I admire Idris’ skills set, Will Smith’s work ethic and Denzel Washington’s talent. I am versatile but not funny—I am working on it. My goals are to make my own marks in Hollywood and to leave my own footprint on this planet. God is leading and I am willing, thus success can only be one more step away. Hopefully one day, other actors will model themselves after me.
K. St. Fort: I remember reading the summary of this movie, in which this actor was so absorbed by this role that he was playing that he started to think that he was the character. How do you separate Alex Sanon the man from Alex Sanon the actor?
Why do I have to?… I don’t. If you are a doctor or a lawyer or of any other profession, you are what you are 24/7. So I don’t think I have to separate Alex Sanon the man from Alex Sanon the actor. My God, my children, my dreams—that is the order of my life as a man and as an actor, or as Alex Sanon period. I am finally doing what I love and I am having fun doing it. I am done pretending to be someone else to please society. Acting is also a job—a way of making a living. At the end of the day, I am back to being the dad, the son, the brother, the friend, the lover that I am.
K. St. Fort: When you were growing up, did your parents encourage you to pursue a career in the arts?
Well, my parents—mostly my dad—always encouraged us to do what we love. I remember my dad buying my brother and I drawing accessories and comic books every month. And when we were singing, he would sing along, and even offer some vocal lessons. [Whether] in sports, arts or academics, we always had that freedom to choose what we want to do. We got the full support of our parents.
K. St. Fort: What would you say to someone who’s graduating from high school next year, and planning on pursuing a career as an actor post-secondary school?
I don’t think you plan to pursue a career as an actor. Once you discover that you have a passion for acting, that career will find you! I emphasize on passion because if you don’t have that no matter how talented you are, you won’t last. People see the glamour and call you a star, a celebrity, but they can’t begin to imagine the sacrifices along the way. If you can drain your bank account to invest in yourself, go for it! If you can drive six hours back and forth to a ten-minute audition for a role you are not even sure you are going to get—go for it! If you are willing to take a 26-hour commute on the bus from one set to another because you could not afford the plane ticket, go for it! If you can take criticism and you don’t take “no” for an answer, go for it! If you can be self-motivated, when family and friends don’t approve of your choice—go for it!
K. St. Fort: Do you have a dream role?
To play a Super Hero probably, that is what came first in mind. Roles that attract me got to be intense, dramatic or thrilling. I am not the clean-cut soap opera-kind of actor. Let me give you a few examples: The dirty cop, Denzel Washington in Training Day, the concerned father who would do anything to protect his own, Denzel in John Q, Anthony Hopkins playing Dr. Hannibal Lecter in The Silence of the Lambs, Idris Elba’s paranoid character in No Good Deeds, The male version of Claire Danes playing the bi-polar CIA agent Carrie in the TV Show “Homeland”—just to name a few.
K. St. Fort: What’s next for you?
There are so many opportunities to talk about, we would not finish this interview. I have the lead in Tables Turn—a film by director Stacey G. Travis—where I will play a devoted father who’s 17-year-old son got shot and killed by a white man. He is facing the fact that the murderer will get away with it and finds out that his son was not the first. My last project Mercy Street, a PBS war drama series in which I have a speaking role will air in the winter of 2016. I am working on my first screenplay. Thank you Kreyolicious for giving me the opportunity to share a bit of myself with the world. Remember dreamers, success is the fruit of the tree of failures—so keep dreaming.
Photography Credit: Martin Deschenes and Wil Gibain
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