Daily Inspiration: Meet Rupert Fennessy

In my junior year, I took a semester off from my degree program to shoot “The Falconer” in Oman, not only my first feature film but also my first time in front of the camera. The experience reaffirmed the integral role I hope acting occupies in my future. I have since continued to work in various short films and theatre productions in New York, most recently in the short “Promise”, soon to be showing at festivals, “Feathers”, and “Bard Overboard” at the SoHo Playhouse.

For the most part, it has been unexpectedly smooth. Knock on wood. I’ve been incredibly lucky with how things have worked out so far. Having said that, one of the more tricky moments was the decision to commit to acting and put other interests on hold. In my experience, it’s very difficult to pursue acting on the side. It takes all of your energy, all of your focus to really get anywhere. So, as with anything, it can be somewhat challenging to take that step and invest everything in one pursuit. It honestly leaves you feeling rather vulnerable at the beginning, almost like you’re floating a bit. But of course, with every passing project, your footing becomes more secure and the ground begins to feel more firm.

For a long time, I specialized in theatre, working alongside the National Youth Theatre in the UK. Theatre work is truly wonderful. It has a lot of eccentricities, and there’s something incredibly dynamic and energizing about performing in front of an audience. Its very nature means that it has more performative qualities, whereas what I’ve found recently since working on the film, is that screen performances can afford to be more natural, and as a result more artistic. Acting is all about behavior, in many ways it’s the art form of human behavior. And when it’s good it can illuminate behavior. I find that really cool. You can discover things about people.

I’m very proud of everything I’ve been in so far. Each one has faced its own challenges and tackled them brilliantly. The play we performed at the SoHo Playhouse in late 2021, for example. We began rehearsing that over two years beforehand. It was originally set to be performed at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 2020 but got postponed twice due to the pandemic.

Miraculously every single member of the original cast was able to stick it out through all the uncertainty. We were very grateful for that. “The Falconer” has been a real source of joy. That also had its run-ins with COVID but has since picked up great momentum on the festival circuit, both in the US and Europe, winning 13 awards so far, including Best Actor for myself and co-lead Rami. Seeing it do so well is highly rewarding and makes me very proud of every member of the cast and crew.

Acting is based heavily on individuality so I try not to have only one mentor, as it would be too tempting to just try to emulate them. Instead, I find myself plucking traits and strengths from as many actors as possible and sort of blending them into my own performances. It’s also important to not underestimate how much you can learn just by observing. Observe friends, family, and people you come across in everyday life and see how they behave, and that may inform you in some of your work.