Actor Boy Awards nominees surprised, humbled

THE JOB of an actor is a manifestation of mental courage, physical strength and emotional dexterity. So, for Jamaican Glen Campbell and Dennis Titus, to be nominated for an Actor Boy Award is much more than a feeling of joy.

“It’s a humbling feeling, knowing that your peers and people in the industry consider your work to be of a standard, and be nominated,” said Campbell. He was nominated in the category Best Actor in a Lead Role, for the 2019 theatre season.

Campbell has been nominated nearly every year for the past 15 years.

For this year’s nomination, Campbell was cast in the role of Greg, a married politician, in Patrick Brown’s play Straight Jacket. He portrayed a calming figure, while protecting the sensitive male ego, ultimately challenging the gender order. He had to internalise more, as he tempered the anticipated behaviour of his character; sacrificing his more natural bombastic acting style.

Veteran actor Oliver Samuels was nominated in the same category for his role in 56 East Avenue. When The Gleaner asked Campbell about being nominated alongside Samuels, his reply was:

“Me and Oliver go way back. But Oliver is boss when it comes to comedy. I learned a lot from him, so congratulations to him and all the other nominees in the category.”

Brian Johnson ( Behind the Pulpit), Desmond Dennis ( Re’Ashored) and Earl Brown ( Once a Man Twice a Wife) complete the list of nominees for Best Actor in a Lead Role.

Straight Jacket was also nominated for Best Lighting Design, something which Campbell is not surprised about, as generally, Patrick Brown is very particular with details, such as the turning on and off of lights. It was no different this time around, the seasoned actor said.

Titus was nominated in the category Best Actor in a Supporting Role for 56 East Avenue. Unlike Campbell, he is not a regular nominee for an Actor Boy Award. “So, I was quite surprised,” he said

Titus was nominated for playing the self-righteous Rastaman, Jah D. The play is set in the ‘70s, when the Rastafari movement was in its infancy. “So, a lot of people thought he [Jah D] was going overboard by being so self-righteous. It was fun. I enjoyed playing the role, as the Rastas were so different from now.”

One of the biggest challenges Titus said he encountered in playing the part was the language and the style in which the script was written. “You could not change a comma or a full stop, because it was written with a particular period in mind and that was the main challenge, to maintain the integrity of the time frame of the story.”

Titus was nominated along with Odain Murray ( Re’Ashored), Miguel Campbell ( Behind the Pulpit), Courtney Wilson ( Straight Jacket), Brandon McFarlane ( Re’Ashored), and Philip Clarke ( Feminine Justice).

The announcements were made last Saturday in a live broadcast on the Actor Boy Awards Facebook page.