Robert M. Young on Working with Actors

Robert Malcolm Young, who has been hailed as “one of America’s foremost independent filmmakers,” is widely regarded as “an actors’ director.”

Bob Young now is in his early eighties. But, as he demonstrated at the first Lone Star International Film Festival in November 2007, he still working and enthusiastic about using new technologies to tell stories.

His numerous film and television credits span several decades. They range from a 1956 documentary, Secrets of the Reef, and several "National Geographic Specials" in the 1970s, to feature films that include Alambrista! (1977), One Trick Pony (1980), Saving Grace (1985), China: The Panda Adventure (2001) and Human Error (2004). He also directed several episodes of the TV series “Battlestar Galactica” between 2004 and 2007.

How does he approach working with actors and screenwriters?

“You have to be willing to let your own perceptions be challenged. I don’t think of a script as a bible,” he says. “It’s not just about the script but about the humanness of the characters. My responsibility is to the authenticity of the material."

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