Motion Picture Magazine (Aug 1915-Jan 1916)

CHATS WITH THE PLAYERS 113 plays must have been impressed with his sterling performances. Then came that lovely little play, ' ' Wildflower, " opposite Marguerite Clark ; and ' ' The Crucible," also, with the same clever artist; and a number of other photoplays in which he played the male leads. It is not a bit too much to say that his work with the Famous Players stamped him an actor of the highest rank and brought him recognition from every part of the world, and his mail testifies to the interest that the public at large evinces in him. By all rights, Harold should be swollen-headed; but, instead, he is as normal as a young man could be with the amount of praise that is showered on him. Above all, he considers his physical condition at all times and is a careful liver and an advocate of temperance and exercise. I first met him at the small studios occupied by the Nestor Company, at Hollywood, when that company first came from the East, and where he appeared under the direction of Thomas Ricketts and Al. E. Christie. He came with a good record from the legitimate stage ; and when the first picture in which he worked was projected on the screen, it was clear that here was a comer — if he kept his head. He did, and he has "came." He gave me his confidence at that time, and told me that he was going to study his work and that he intended to be in the front rank as soon as he could, and when he got there he intended to stay there. There was no conceit about his talk, but there were self-confidence and determination, and when he left the Nestor for the New York Motion Picture Corporation, at Santa Monica, he steadily went forward, and his work improved quickly until he joined the Selig Company at Edendale, where he took leads for a long time and finally accepted the offer of the Famous Players to appear opposite Miss Pickford. Harold Lockwood is now taking down one of the biggest salaries paid in the business, and possesses privileges enjoyed by few actors. He has earned his right to all this because he has never forgotten for a moment that he is a servant of the public. 1 ' I have always felt, ' ' he said, ' ' that I must live up to any reputation I have, and that the public have the right to expect me to put the best there is in me into my acting, and, honestly, I have this in view all the time and know that I cannot afford to become careless. I read every scenario carefully and go over all the points in it and study them out and endeavor to act the part as tho I were really living it ; in other words, to make it as natural as possible, to dress it in the right way and to give the character I am playing to the public more than to give them myself." I asked him about his favorite pursuits and pastimes. "Apart from my work, which is allabsorbing to me, I think I like automobiling more than anything else. I used to prefer riding, and driving trotting horses, but the little old auto has supplanted the horses in my affections now. I like swimming, and still love a hike on occasion ; but — the auto has put everything else in the shade." Lockwood likes the "West, altho he was born in New York State, and many of his earlier successes were made in Western pictures. Nowadays he appears chiefly in society stories; but he is an all-around actor and appears to advantage in evening dress and in Western togs alike — it matters not a whit to him, just as long as he likes the part and can put his whole being into it. I do not know of any actor who has gone to the head of his profession as quickly as Harold Lockwood, and, altho he is blessed with good-looks and a splendid stage presence, his success is as much dependent on his enthusiasm and intelligence, which qualities he has brought forward by dint of honest endeavor and hard work and by grim determination and self-confidence. He is being featured in a series of original plays, and his admirers will be delighted to know he will be seen constantly on the screen. I would like to possess his ability and his future. Richard Willis.