"Schatz demonstrates his mastery as a director, leading 85 actors to explore an enormous range of scenarios in one-on-one improvisation, capturing the dynamic energy of the actors in full creative flight. In addition, Schatz made powerful and compelling portraits of each actor along with an extensive interview, focusing on the creative process. Schatz gives us a unique window into the world of stage and screen."
Allison Janney: You're the wife of a husband with a wandering eye - and then some - new to the neighborhood, greeting the gorgeous woman next door who has dropped by to welcome you.
"Caught in the Act: Actors Acting" by Howard Schatz, Beverly J. Ornstein and Owen Edwards
Allison Janney: Your mean mother-in-law has just given you a garden gnome for Christmas, intended as an insult, and you're not about to give her any satisfaction: "I LOVE this. Too CUTE!"
"Caught in the Act: Actors Acting" by Howard Schatz, Beverly J. Ornstein and Owen Edwards
Allison Janney: You're a type A mother coaching your little girl's team of tiny soccer players: "Okay guys, let's go out there and kick some ass!"
"Caught in the Act: Actors Acting" by Howard Schatz, Beverly J. Ornstein and Owen Edwards
Ben Kingsley: You're a dedicated, exemplary priest, being told by your bishop that a young boy has accused you of groping him.
"Caught in the Act: Actors Acting" by Howard Schatz, Beverly J. Ornstein and Owen Edwards
Ben Kingsley: You're a skydiver, safely on the ground after your hundredth jump, hearing a rapid flailing of silk and looking up to see your buddy under a collapsed chute… falling, flailing...
"Caught in the Act: Actors Acting" by Howard Schatz, Beverly J. Ornstein and Owen Edwards
Ben Kingsley: You're a ten-year-old kid looking at porn left on your father's computer.
"Caught in the Act: Actors Acting" by Howard Schatz, Beverly J. Ornstein and Owen Edwards
Geoffrey Rush: You're a teenager who picked up the telephone extension, hearing your mother having phone sex.
"Caught in the Act: Actors Acting" by Howard Schatz, Beverly J. Ornstein and Owen Edwards
Geoffrey Rush: You're a legendary orchestra conductor, coming to the end of your final performance, rapturously joining the chorus in Beethoven's "Ode to Joy."
"Caught in the Act: Actors Acting" by Howard Schatz, Beverly J. Ornstein and Owen Edwards
Geoffrey Rush: You're the director of the Miss Teen Texas contest, backstage with the five finalists, reminding them that "you've got it, ladies, so go out there and fucking flaunt it!"
"Caught in the Act: Actors Acting" by Howard Schatz, Beverly J. Ornstein and Owen Edwards
Jane Krakowski: You're a high school mean girl, hearing a rumor that your main rival for prom queen may be pregnant.
"Caught in the Act: Actors Acting" by Howard Schatz, Beverly J. Ornstein and Owen Edwards
Jane Krakowski: You're auditioning for a detergent commercial, showing just how good the fresh smell of clean towels makes you feel.
"Caught in the Act: Actors Acting" by Howard Schatz, Beverly J. Ornstein and Owen Edwards
Jane Krakowski: You've backed your Chevy Suburban over a neighbor's adored toy poodle.
"Caught in the Act: Actors Acting" by Howard Schatz, Beverly J. Ornstein and Owen Edwards
Jane Lynch: Your lover of many years has been in a very serious car accident, but you're not being allowed to see her because you're not "family."
"Caught in the Act: Actors Acting" by Howard Schatz, Beverly J. Ornstein and Owen Edwards
Jane Lynch: You're a very old woman trying to describe to her great-grandchild what life was like in the Warsaw ghetto.
"Caught in the Act: Actors Acting" by Howard Schatz, Beverly J. Ornstein and Owen Edwards
Jane Lynch: You're sixth-grade teacher hearing the laziest boy in class say that, no, the dog didn't eat his homework… it pooped on it.
"Caught in the Act: Actors Acting" by Howard Schatz, Beverly J. Ornstein and Owen Edwards
Joan Allen: You're an heiress whose much younger husband is having an affair with an even younger woman, at the mirror contemplating a face-lift.
"Caught in the Act: Actors Acting" by Howard Schatz, Beverly J. Ornstein and Owen Edwards
Joan Allen: You're in divorce court, hearing your only child say he wants to live full-time with his father.
"Caught in the Act: Actors Acting" by Howard Schatz, Beverly J. Ornstein and Owen Edwards
Joan Allen: You're the ferocious head of a top ad agency berating a senior VP because he hasn't landed the Cialis account: "You're so limp you could be the poster boy for that crap!"
"Caught in the Act: Actors Acting" by Howard Schatz, Beverly J. Ornstein and Owen Edwards
John Leguizamo: You are a four-year-old boy at a new, "realistic" dinosaur theme park, getting a lick on the head from a 50-foot-long mechanical brontosaurus.
"Caught in the Act: Actors Acting" by Howard Schatz, Beverly J. Ornstein and Owen Edwards
John Leguizamo
"Caught in the Act: Actors Acting" by Howard Schatz, Beverly J. Ornstein and Owen Edwards
Michael McKean: You're the cellist in a very serious amateur string quartet, giving your first recital and being interrupted by a screeching infant.
"Caught in the Act: Actors Acting" by Howard Schatz, Beverly J. Ornstein and Owen Edwards
Michael McKean: You're a mild-mannered guy at a pickup basketball game where few fouls are ever called, but you're finally confronting the guy who's been banging you all afternoon.
"Caught in the Act: Actors Acting" by Howard Schatz, Beverly J. Ornstein and Owen Edwards
Michael McKean: You're a high school freshman accidentally walking into an empty classroom, seeing a cheerleader giving a jock a handjob.
"Caught in the Act: Actors Acting" by Howard Schatz, Beverly J. Ornstein and Owen Edwards
Nathan Lane: You're the dedicated teacher of an out-of-control fourth grade class, exploding after 20 minutes of complete chaos.
"Caught in the Act: Actors Acting" by Howard Schatz, Beverly J. Ornstein and Owen Edwards
Nathan Lane: In the heat of an argument, you've just called your cancer-stricken wife a "fucking whiner."
"Caught in the Act: Actors Acting" by Howard Schatz, Beverly J. Ornstein and Owen Edwards
Nathan Lane: A pal at the golf club has just told you that the divorce attorney your wife has hired is known as Ivana the Piranha.
"Caught in the Act: Actors Acting" by Howard Schatz, Beverly J. Ornstein and Owen Edwards
Sam Waterston: You're a small time crook facing a third strike conviction, being offered a deal to incriminate a mobster known for gruesome vendettas.
"Caught in the Act: Actors Acting" by Howard Schatz, Beverly J. Ornstein and Owen Edwards
Sam Waterston: You're a medical intern who just learned that you prescribed an excessive dose of a medication that has killed your patient.
"Caught in the Act: Actors Acting" by Howard Schatz, Beverly J. Ornstein and Owen Edwards
Sam Waterston: You're a doting grandfather pretending to be very, very sad because your four-year-old granddaughter won't give you a hug.
"Caught in the Act: Actors Acting" by Howard Schatz, Beverly J. Ornstein and Owen Edwards
Tyne Daly: You've misplaced a diamond ring - not for the first time - and you're confronting yet another innocent maid.
"Caught in the Act: Actors Acting" by Howard Schatz, Beverly J. Ornstein and Owen Edwards
Tyne Daly: You're a stand-up comedienne, completely abandoning any kind of clever response to a heckler.
"Caught in the Act: Actors Acting" by Howard Schatz, Beverly J. Ornstein and Owen Edwards
Tyne Daly: You're a widow at the funeral for a close friend's husband, welcoming her to the club.
"Caught in the Act: Actors Acting" by Howard Schatz, Beverly J. Ornstein and Owen Edwards
The actors featured include Pierce Brosnan, Jeff Daniels, Sissy Spacek, Michael C. Hall, Bobby Canavale, Mariska Hargitay, Hugh Laurie, John Malkovich, Jane Krakowski, Michael Douglas, Colin Firth, Jane Lynch, Laurence Fishburne, Geoffrey Rush, Amy Poehler, Brendan Fraser, John Goodman, Melissa Leo, Sir Ben Kingsley, Greg Kinnear, Robin Wright, Tracy Morgan, Peter Dinklage, Elisabeth Moss, Ricky Gervais, Michael Imperioli, Joan Allen, Jeff Goldblum, Nathan Lane, Brooke Shields, Sam Waterston and other illustrious greats.
Howard Schatz is an internationally known, critically-acclaimed, award-winning photographer. His work has been published in 19 books, and his images are regularly featured in illustrious publications such as The New York Times Magazine, Vanity Fair, Time, Sports Illustrated, espn Magazine, Vogue, GQ and The New Yorker. 100% of the royalties from this book will be donated in equal shares to Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS and the SAG Foundation.
