Getting into Character

I’m an actor. That means I have to be many different people beside myself. And it’s no metaphor. Somehow, I have to transform myself into a different person. Sometimes, I have to turn myself into someone completely unlike me. There are many ways of achieving this goal. You’ve probably heard about the Method, and all that stuff. For me, however, the best tool is using bondage for getting into character.

It’s quite simple, actually. I hire a rigger to come to my dressing room and tie me. As she ties me, I convince myself that it is me, the real me, whom she’s actually tying. Once the rigger ends her job, I take around ten minutes to detach myself from the me who is tied. I know it sounds complicated, but that’s how it works. 

Finally, when I’m ready, I ask the rigger to untie me. As they do, I keep reminding myself that my real me is still in the dressing room. When the top has finished, I step out of the scene into character. That is, while my real me remains tied, I become my character and it is he who goes out to the stage. When my performance is over, I go back to my dressing room and ask the rigger to tie me again. That way, when I’m tied, I can leave the character aside, recover the real me, and come back to my normal life.

This is a technique that has brought me many benefits. I feel comfortable and happy while I’m working. And people must enjoy my work, too, because I have earned a dozen awards, good reviews, and a fair amount of money. And my secret is using Shibari for getting into character.

They say actors are crazy people, and I couldn’t agree more. But we have a lot of fun.

This is my Shibari story.