An Interview With Adam Godley

Show and Stay® had the opportunity to talk to Adam Godley, the phenomenally talented actor who plays Raymond Babbit, an autistic savant with an incredible aptitude for numbers. When speaking to Godley it is difficult to accept that the well-spoken, eloquent man before you is the same man who portrays the heavily mentally disabled Raymond on stage. He is keen to discuss his work but remains remarkably humble despite the flood of rave reviews, many of which name him as the stand-out star of the show.

"That's the job, that's the job of an actor, to be able to do that. To be able to inhabit it fully when you're on stage but also you have to be able to turn it off as quickly and as easily as possible, else you'll go slightly crazy."

When asked how he feels about Rain Man's reception Godley replied simply: "It's always gratifying if people like your work and always nice when people don't say nasty things about it. The most important thing is the audience and the audience's reaction on the night. For the whole show, that's been very favourable from the word go." Godley's humility is startling, considering he has worked alongside some of Hollywood's biggest stars in blockbuster films, appeared in a truly impressive array of plays and has been nominated for an Olivier Award, arguably the most coveted of British theatre awards. Godley's heartfelt passion for his audience is his defining feature, for him his work is not really about the approval of critics and the media, but instead about entertaining those there on the night.

"Josh is coping brilliantly, he is a really fabulous actor".

As those who have seen Rain Man will be aware, Godley's role is a highly demanding one, both physically and mentally. 'Raymond' thinks and reacts totally differently to you or I, yet Godley seems more than able to take on his alien mindset with ease. Autism is defined as impaired social and communicative capabilities, the first signs generally manifest in very early childhood. Unfortunately, many people's understanding of the condition is heavily influenced by the media which often focusses on the more extreme forms of autism. There is in fact a wide spectrum of autistic disorders, some considerably milder than others. Some people with a mild form of autism may be capable of living independently but may show distinctly unusual social approaches or dramatically narrowed fields of interest. Others, like Rain Man's Raymond are incapable of living without support. The production goes to great efforts to educate the audience about autism, the show's program talks a lot about the condition, featuring a 2 page spread from 'The National Autistic Society'.

"For me it's more about the role, there are certain roles that I love and some of those have been on film and some of those have been in the theatre."

To prepare for his role Godley tells us that he spent some time with autistic adults, talked with a psychotherapist who deals with autistic adults and absorbed as much information from books and documentaries as possible. At no point did Godley make any claim to fully understand the complex nuances of autism, he merely represents on stage what he refers to as "my understanding of the condition". Godley speaks passionately about how he wanted to portray autism in an accurate and sympathetic way. He obviously strives for realism in his work, saying how he aimed to make the performance as "least sentimental as possible" and how he intended to "take the audience on an emotional journey". Godley's respect for his subject matter and his powerful, almost moving desire to entertain and inform his audience is remarkable.

There is an unmistakable note of pride in Godley's voice as he tells us about how those with autistic children or siblings have reacted positively to his portrayal of Raymond. He is quite right to be proud of his performance, it was perhaps one of the most engaging that we at Show and Stay have ever seen. Every movement, every glance or muttered word seems to have been carefully considered; the time Godley spent with autistic adults has lent his performance both realism and a massive amount of credibility.

As the conversation turns towards how Godley gets into character, he describes how he fills his head with as much information regarding the condition as possible before he goes on stage. This is surely where his performance gets its breathtaking realism. Godley explains that when he's on stage the character "completely envelops him" and how even during intervals he keeps Raymond "burning on a low light". Intrigued, we went on to question him further on how difficult it is to switch in and out of character at the end of a performance.Given the strength of the character and just how far removed he is from Godley, we assumed that the transition between actor and character would be difficult. Once again Godley surprises us; "That's the job, that's the job of an actor, to be able to do that. To be able to inhabit it fully when you're on stage but also you have to be able to turn it off as quickly and as easily as possible, else you'll go slightly crazy."

"the audiences are having such a fantastic time and are being so generous at the end"

When we discussed the production's change of director Godley told us how it had very little impact on the rehearsals. According to Godley, the changeover from David Grindley to Terry Johnson went "very smoothly" and the change "wasn't really an issue". In the polite, measured tone that we had come to expect from Godley, he informed us how the cast "just went on working and moved on" describing the change as "a bit of a non-issue for us".

Due to Godley's extensive work in Hollywood and his appearances in some very large productions we were interested to find out more about how he fits into the small cast of Rain Man. He described the team behind the popular production as "a tight group" and went on to say how much he enjoys working with the cast and team. As usual, the audience was at the forefront of Godley's mind, he spoke passionately about how he enjoys telling "such a terrific story" and how he and the rest of the team are very proud that "the audiences are having such a fantastic time and are being so generous at the end". Godley went on to say how the audience having a fantastic time was his main priority and how he wants to "make them laugh, make them cry and we want to take them on a brilliant journey"

Hollywood heart-throb, Josh Hartnett, is appearing alongside Godley in Rain Man, although Hartnett is an experienced screen actor he has less experience on the stage than his highly experienced co-star. Godley seems genuinely impressed with the speed at which Hartnett has taken to acting for a live audience; "Josh is coping brilliantly, he is a really fabulous actor". Godley seems acutely aware of just how much scrutiny Rain Man and its cast are under. He expresses genuine admiration for Harnett coming to London and taking on the challenge of a West End debut under "the full glare of publicity".

"make them laugh, make them cry and we want to take them on a brilliant journey"

Keen not to dwell on the big Hollywood name associated with the production, we quickly move onto the topic of Godley's eclectic CV. Having worked on the recent Tim Burton re-imagining of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and the new X-files film as well as a vast range of television and theatrical productions, Godley is quite the seasoned actor. We asked Godley which medium and genre he preferred, unsure what to expect from an actor whose main motivation seems to be pleasing his audience. That in mind, we were half-expecting Godley to show an affinity for children's film and theatre, once again he threw us somewhat of a curveball; "For me it's more about the role, there are certain roles that I love and some of those have been on film and some of those have been in the theatre. If it's a role that just captures my imagination that allows me to do what I feel is my best work that's where I feel most happy."

We touched on the vast amount of high-profile celebrities Godley has worked with, Johnny Depp, Gillian Anderson and David Duchovny to name a few. Godley told us that there are still "tons" of actors he was keen to work with but he was more interested in "doing interesting work" than with any particular names to work with. He listed Meryl Streep and Dustin Hoffman amongst his inspirations and he told us how he respects any actor who takes their work seriously, something Godley himself most certainly does. Touchingly, Godley went on to tell us how he is also inspired by people outside of the acting community. He spoke about the people who work with and care for the autistic people he met during preparations for his current role. He expressed a heartfelt admiration for the passion, sensitivity and empathy showed by those who work in and around the care industry.

Finally, we asked Godley what he felt his future held. He seemed unsure, saying he just wanted to go on playing interesting roles and entertaining audiences. Although Godley himself seems unsure of where his path will lead we at Show and Stay are certain that great things are on the horizon for this unsung hero of theatre. We look forward to seeing him again, be it on stage or screen...or even in person.