The Bite Magazine - Spring/Summer 2021 - Issue 29

biteactorsprofile your body and the scene is meant to be relaxing, then it’s not good. If the scene needs adrenaline, I have no issue making you feel stressed. Sometimes you want your actors to feel uncomfortable and stressed,” he laughed. On the set of The Bourne Ultimatum, Joey learned an in- valuable lesson. During the third day of filming the fight scene, the actor felt physically exhausted and challenged. The previous days consisted of filming long hours where he had his throat smashed in with a book, hit for real with an elbow across the face (accidentally, of course), and bruised in the ribs so much that if someone had grabbed him by the lapels, it would be painful. After four takes of filming the reversed angle of the fight, legendary martial artist and fight choreographer Jeff Imada noticed Joey was not at the same energy level he had been the day before, and the scene would not match what they had shot previously. After a few more unsuccessful takes, Jeff came back on the set and, grabbing Joey, he started “ragdolling him around and punching him in the chest while holding his jacket” to the point the actor had to wrestle with him to stay on his feet. Eventually, the stunt coordinator walked off, leaving Joey confused and outraged. After the director called “Action”, the actor had to do his scene again, where he burst through the door after throwing Jason Bourne into the bathroom. “After the take, Jeff came back to apologise,” he recalled. “He said, ‘It’s not your fault you were exhausted, but you just were not at the energy you were yesterday. You couldn’t get there on your own. We had to physically get you into the emotional state to match that energy.’” Joey admitted it was the most profound acting he had ex- perienced. “He (Jeff Imada) came and engaged in a ran- dom, undiscussed act of violence against me which got all my instinctive, protective mechanisms fired up, and it made me angry and outraged. The way he left the set, I had to direct the energy I felt for him into the room I was meant to go into.” Now he uses this experience as an actor and a director. “You can’t just think the physiological changes in being. When your hormones are released, it physically changes you - your face, breathing rate, and micro chang- es are happening. So sometimes you have to get there physically, and you learn to pick up the tools.” Finally, I asked Joey what’s the most significant, grandest vision of his life. Without hesitation, he answered, “peace, stability and meaningful human interaction.” He added he gets as much enjoyment having face-to-face interactions as being on set making a film. “Directing and acting is just a way to have a meaningful human interaction with a lot of people through the medium of film. Like Street Fighter: Assassin’s Fist, which hopefully resonated with you, there are some deep themes in the movie. That’s a way for me to communicate my philosophies and thoughts to you through the medium of Street Fighter." I guess, after years of hard work, determination and perse- verance, you realise that life is but a movie, and you can become whoever you want to as long as you are willing to pay the dues. Of course, it helps when you are genet- ically blessed, but one thing is for sure, you cannot run away from your destiny when it presents itself. You have to embrace and accept it. As Joey said, “Life will sometimes punch you in the face and will sometimes give you a pot of gold. It’s neither good nor bad; you have to learn from it and be humble.” If I learned anything from our conversation, it would be to become courageous enough to step out of my comfort zone and embrace the authentic journey and calling within. With high anticipation, we are waiting to see more inspiring and moving work from Joey Ansah.