Yes it is different. The main difference is that René is not just an actor that is now a director. His personality and presence is infectious. He comes on the set with an open quality that makes you feel as if anything is permissible. He gives you permission to find things. It is as incredibly creative as he is. Everyone sets the tone and that's the tone that René sets. In both shows I didn't get to work very much with him. I got an over all feeling, an impression, and it was very comfortable and very safe. Some directors come on and they're not ok and it's not going to be ok. He wasn't putting on airs that he was totally in control or anything like that but you got a sense that everything was under a real artists gaze and that he was completely capable of leading us through a show and doing it very well, I hope that next season he does it again and what would be ideal is if it were a show of mine. I would like to work with him on an arc, or a whole script. That would be fun. That would be the word for it, I would say. Working with René, it was fun.

Nana Visitor

Was René more receptive to your feedback than non-acting directors?

He has the gentle patience that only the best directors possess when dealing with nutty actors.

Do you have aspirations of directing an episode?

Yes, eventually.

Did anything René do as a director surprise you?

The fact that René was nervous before he started was surprising in such a seasoned performer. But it was somehow reassuring.

Did anything happen on the set because of René that would not normally occur?

Everyone actually got to see René as himself. I believe some of the crew didn't recognize him at first.

Siddig El Fadil