Displaying a humility not seen in his most famous character, villain Colonel Miles Quatrich from “Avatar,” Actor Stephen Lang spoke about his acting career in movies and on Broadway at Northeastern University on Monday.
About 50 students, faculty and Bostonians attended the hour-long conversation between Lang and Terrence Masson, Northeastern’s Director of Creative Industries. Lang touched on a variety of subjects, centering on his experience in theater and in Hollywood.
He began his theater career in the 1970s and acted in plays such as Aaron Sorkin’s “A Few Good Men” and Arthur Miller’s “Finishing the Picture.” Lang has also performed a world-wide tour of “Beyond Glory,” his solo play about the Medal of Honor in 2007.
Lang has most recently starried in movies such as “Avatar” and “The Men Who Stare at Goats.”
Lang recently finished production of Marcus Nispel’s “Conan the Barbarian” scheduled to release later this year.
He spoke about his first break into film as the character Harold ‘Happy’ Loman in the film adaptation of Arthur Miller’s “Death of a Salesman.”
Starring alongside Dustin Hoffman and John Malkovich, Lang said he was simply in awe. During casting Lang was prepared to read the part of Biff, one of the main character’s sons.
“Dustin asked me what part I was here to read, and I told him Biff,” Lang said. “He told me there was already an offer for Biff, so I immediately told I’m here to read Happy.”
Lang said he vomited after hearing the news that he was cast as Happy, the other son in “Death of a Salesman.”
“So that’s what it feels like to be successful,” Lang said.
The difference between acting on the stage in plays versus acting behind the camera in films is not that great, Lang said.
“A lot of the times, the difference between working on different movies is actually greater than between movies and plays,” he said.
He attributed this difference to diverse directing styles.
Directors James Cameron and Michael Mann, both of whom have been at the helm of movies in which Lang has appeared, are on opposite ends of the directing spectrum, Lang said.
“My policy with Michael Mann is ‘yes sir’ ‘no sir,’” he said. “He likes to do it his way. On the other hand, James Cameron is much more fluid and collaborative. Sorry Michael.”
In the last few minutes of the conversation, Masson asked Lang to answer some questions, with one-word answers, off the top of his head.
“What is your favorite sound?” Masson said.
“I love the sound of my little Dachshund, Ginger, yawning,” Lang said as he imitated his dog’s yawn.
“This couldn’t have been better,” Masson said after the conversation. “It was a total pleasure, and a lot of fun. Wish we could do it some more.”
Lang will be appearing at Northeastern for two more discussions as part of the Actors and Practitioners in Residence Program, including a screening of “Avatar” with a question and answer panel on Monday and a discussion about the process behind his solo play “Beyond Glory” on Tuesday.
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