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Quick Facts
Biography
Jean-Louis Rodrigue (born May 23, 1951) is an American movement director and acting coach in film and theater. He is internationally recognized as a senior teacher of the Alexander Technique and a pioneer in applying the Technique to character movement in film and theatre. Rodrigue’s most notable successes in film and theatre includes coaching Leonardo DiCaprio for his performance in "J. Edgar" (2011), Josh Brolin as George W. Bush in "W" (2008), Mary McDonnell for her Oscar nominated role as a paraplegic actress in "Passion Fish" (1992), and Pamela Gien’s award winning performance in her Off-Broadway and international tour of the play The Syringa Tree (2000).
Early Life & Education
Jean-Louis Rodrigue was born on 23 May 1951 in Casablanca, Morocco. He began his actor training in 1967 with Herbert Berghof at the HB Studio in New York. In 1970, William Ball awarded Jean-Louis a full scholarship to study in the Advanced Training Program at the American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco. During his training and performing at ACT, Rodrigue discovered the Alexander Technique. He spent three more years training as an Alexander teacher with Frank Ottiwell and Giora Pinkas at the American Center for the Alexander Technique, San Francisco.
Professional career
Rodrigue’s unique physical style of acting coaching and character movement choreography can be seen in many feature films. He coached Leonardo DiCaprio for his acclaimed performance in “J. Edgar” and was consultant to Ang Lee and screenwriter David Magee in the development of the tiger movement for “Life of Pi.” Rodrigue coached Scott Speedman in the award winning “Barney's Version,” “Citizen Gangster,” and the ABC series “Last Resort.” Other films include “W” with Josh Brolin, “Human Nature” with Patricia Arquette, “Passion Fish" with Mary MacDonnell, “The Affair of the Necklace” with Hilary Swank and cast, “The Cat's Meow” with Kirsten Dunst, “The Time Machine” with cast, “Seabiscuit” with Elizabeth Banks, and “Bee Season” with Juliette Binoche. He has worked with many actors and performers including Sir Ian McKellen, Paul Dano, Luke Kirby, Martha Argerich, Herb Alpert, Helena Bonham Carter, Keanu Reeves, Tate Donovan, Julia Sweeney, Jonathan Pryce, Simon Baker, Joely Richardson, Sally Kellerman, Courtney Thorne-Smith, and JoBeth Williams.
In theater, Rodrigue was awarded a Fellowship grant from the Montalvo Arts Center to develop and direct a play adaptation of Bernhard Schlink’s best selling novel “The Reader.” He has most recently worked with Chris Pine in “The Lieutenant of Inishmore” at the Mark Taper Forum and with Rita Maffei and Larry Moss in an Italian production of Pamela Gien’s "The Syringa Tree” at the Teatro Stabile di Innovazione in Udine and at Il Piccolo Teatro di Milano, Italy. For her performance, Maffei won the Gold Medal from the President of the Italian Republic. Rodrigue has also worked with Gulu Monteiro on “The Bacchae” at the Getty Villa, the circus artists of Cirque du Soleil’s “KA” at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas and he has collaborated with director Joanna Settle and Heather Raffo in her acclaimed play “Nine Parts of Desire” at the Geffen Playhouse. He has collaborated with Larry Moss for many years in film and theatre, and most notably on Daisy White’s “Sugar”, Pamela Gien’s Obie award winning play “The Syringa Tree” at Playhouse 91 in New York, and Bo Eason’s “Runt of the Litter” at the 37 Arts Theater, N.Y. He has coached actors working at the Royal Shakespeare Company, Mark Taper Forum, the Geffen Playhouse, the Pasadena Playhouse, and on Broadway, as well as the artists of the Cirque du Soleil in "La Nouvelle Experience” in order to improve their performance and prevent injuries. He is currently a member of the faculties at the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television, UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music, and the Howard Fine Acting Studio. Rodrigue has taught and collaborated with Larry Moss for many years.
Since 2008, Jean-Louis Rodrigue has conducted several high-profile workshops within the program of the Berlinale Talent Campus. He was directly involved in the development of a new hands-on training programs for emerging actors, the Talent Actors Stage, for which 15-20 international actors are selected annually. His workshops "Embodying the Character" and "Camera Close-up Acting" have become classics at the Berlinale Talent Campus every year.
Filmography
Year | Film | Actor/Consulting Work | Role | Director |
---|---|---|---|---|
2014 | The Normal Heart | Matt Bomer/HBO | Character and Movement Coaching/Alexander Technique | Ryan Murphy |
2012 | Life of Pi | Fox 2000 Pictures | Consultant on Tiger Movement | Ang Lee |
2011 | Citizen Gangster | Scott Speedman/Myriad Pictures | Character and Movement Coaching/Alexander Technique | Nathan Morlando |
2011 | J. Edgar | Leonardo DiCaprio/Warner Brothers | Character and Movement Coaching/Alexander Technique | Clint Eastwood |
2010 | Barney's Version | Scott Speedman/Sony Pictures | Character and Movement Coaching/Alexander Technique | Richard J. Lewis |
2008 | W | Josh Brolin/Ixtlan Corp. | Character and Movement Coaching/Alexander Technique | Oliver Stone |
2005 | Bee Season | Juliette Binoche/Fox-Searchlight | Character and Movement Coaching/Alexander Technique | Scott McGee, David Siegal |
2003 | Seabiscuit | Elizabeth Banks/Universal | Character and Movement Coaching/Alexander Technique | Gary Ross |
2002 | The Syringa Tree | Pamela Gien/Trio Network | Character and Movement Coaching/Alexander Technique | Larry Moss |
2002 | The Time Machine | Samantha Mumba & Cast/DreamWorks | Creature Movement Choreography | Simon Wells |
2001 | The Affair of the Necklace | HIlary Swank & Cast/Warner Brothers | Period Movement/Coaching | Charles Shyer |
2001 | Human Nature | Patricia Arquette/Fine Line | Character and Animal Movement Coaching/Alexander Technique | Michel Gondry |
2001 | The Cat's Meow | Kirsten Dunst/Lions Gate Films | Character and Movement Coaching/Alexander Technique | Peter Bogdanovich |
1996 | Partners | Tate Donovan/Fox Television | Character and Movement Coaching/Alexander Technique | Multiple |
1996 | HBO Comedy Half-Hour | Wendy Liebman/HBO | Character and Movement Coaching | Troy Miller |
1994 | It's Pat | Julia Sweeney/Touchstone | Character and Movement Coaching/Alexander Technique | Adam Bernstein |
1993 | Little Buddha | Keanu Reeves/Miramax | Character and Movement Coaching/Alexander Technique | Bernardo Bertolucci |
1993 | Freaked | Keanu Reeves/20th Century Fox | Character and Movement Coaching/Alexander Technique | Alex Winter |
1992 | Passion Fish | Mary McDonell/Columbia | Character and Movement Coaching/Alexander Technique | John Sayles |
Theater
Production | Actor | Role | Theater | Director |
---|---|---|---|---|
How To Disappear Completely and Never Be Found | Brad Culver | Character and Movement Coaching/Alexander Technique | Boston Court | Nancy Keystone |
The Lieutenant of Inishmore | Chris Pine | Character and Movement Coaching/Alexander Technique | Mark Taper Forum | Wilson Milam |
The Syringa Tree | Rita Maffei | Character and Movement Coaching/Alexander Technique | Piccolo Teatro, Milano | Larry Moss |
The Reader | Cast | Director | Montalvo Arts Center | Self |
King Lear/The Seagull | Sir Ian McKellan | Character and Movement Coaching/Alexander Technique | RSC - UCLA Live | Trevor Nunn |
Runt of the Litter | Bo Eason | Character and Movement Coaching/Alexander Technique | 37 Arts Theater, NYC | Larry Moss |
The Bacchae | Cast | Character and Movement Coaching/Alexander Technique | Getty Villa | Gulu Montiero |
KA | Cast | Character and Movement Coaching/Alexander Technique | Cirque du Soleil | Robert Le Page |
Nine Parts of Desire | Heather Raffo | Character and Movement Coaching/Alexander Technique | Geffen Playhouse | Joanna Settle |
Sugar | Daisy White | Character and Movement Coaching/Alexander Technique | Edgemar Center | Larry Moss |
Gretty Good Time | Ann Stocking | Character and Movement Coaching/Alexander Technique | Falcon Theater | John Regalbuto |
Runt of the Litter | Bo Eason | Character and Movement Coaching/Alexander Technique | MCC Theater, NY | Larry Moss |
The Syringa Tree | Pamela Gien | Character and Movement Development/Alexander Technique | Playhouse 91, NY | Larry Moss |
The Syringa Tree | Pamela Gien, Cast | Character and Movement Development/Alexander Technique | National Tour | Larry Moss |
The Cryptogram & the Old Neighborhood | Christine Dunford | Character and Movement Coaching/Alexander Technique | Geffen Playhouse | Michael Bloom |
Skylight | Sally Murphy | Character and Movement Coaching/Alexander Technique | Steppenwolf Theater | Mike Nussbaum |
The Triumph of Isabella | Cast | Character and Movement Coaching/Alexander Technique | Geffen Playhouse | John Achorn |
The Prodigious Snob | Cast | Character and Movement Coaching/Alexander Technique | UCLA Little Theatre | Ellen Geer |
Scenes from an Execution | Natalija Nogulich | Character and Movement Coaching/Alexander Technique | Mark Taper Forum | Robert Allan Ackerman |
La Nouvelle Experience (collaborated with Debra Brown) | Cast | Character and Movement Coaching/Alexander Technique | Cirque du Soleil | Franco Dragone |
Accomplice | Natalija Nogulich | Character and Movement Coaching/Alexander Technique | Broadway | Rupert Holmes |