Peter Macon, the Emmy-winning talent best known for his role as Lieutenant Commander Bortus in Seth MacFarlane’s acclaimed space adventure series, The Orville, offers a unique glimpse into his life and career in this exclusive interview. From navigating lockdown to mastering the nuances of acting across stage and screen, Macon shares insightful perspectives on his craft, including the challenges of performing under heavy prosthetics and the wisdom he’d impart to his younger self. For fans eager to delve deeper into the world of Peter Macon Movies And Shows, this conversation provides a rich overview of his journey and artistic philosophy.
Lockdown, for many, has been a period of reflection and unexpected discoveries. For Macon, one silver lining during these unprecedented times has been the opportunity to connect with The Orville on a deeper level. He recounts his experience of discovering and thoroughly enjoying the series, a show he himself stars in, from a fresh perspective. This unexpected joy highlights the unique blend of homage and innovation that defines The Orville, a series that resonates with both Star Trek aficionados and new audiences seeking smart, engaging science fiction.
Sitting down with Peter Macon, a celebrated actor currently embodying an intrepid explorer of galaxies far, far away, while confined to his home, is an intriguing paradox. When asked about his lockdown experience, Macon reflects on the shared human experience of navigating the pandemic’s ups and downs. “Like for everyone else, there are good days and there are bad days,” he shares, painting a relatable picture of domestic life with young children. He describes days filled with “keeping them entertained, homeschooling, being outside in our backyard and making food,” highlighting the microcosm of family life against the backdrop of global events. Macon candidly admits to moments of feeling “a little blue” and “stir crazy,” yet underscores his efforts to remain productive. He mentions immersing himself in home projects and his passion for painting, revealing an endeavor to create art that subtly reflects the pandemic era, without being explicitly defined by it.
Photo of Peter Macon. Credit: Diana Ragland.
Macon touches upon the blurring of days and the overwhelming news cycle, particularly the Black Lives Matter protests, expressing his “really, really angry at my countrymen” yet feeling powerless to control the larger societal issues. This sentiment resonates with many who experienced the intense emotions and social unrest of the period. Confined within a “bubble” due to the pandemic, Macon humorously remarks on the disorienting effects of isolation, “I’ve almost forgotten how to socialise. It’s pretty crazy. I don’t think I’ve worn pants for three months [laughter].” This lighthearted observation underscores the surreal nature of lockdown life, even for a seasoned performer.
Mentoring Young Actors and Embracing Theatrical Roots
Despite the constraints of lockdown, Macon has found meaningful ways to stay engaged and connected. One such avenue is coaching young actors via Zoom, a venture born from a collaboration with a longtime friend. This initiative allows Macon to share his extensive theatrical experience, focusing on Shakespearean sonnets, monologues, and scene studies. For Macon, teaching is not just about imparting knowledge; it’s a reciprocal process. “Yes, I really have because I think that the best thing you can do when you are feeling down is try to help other people,” he explains, highlighting the therapeutic aspect of mentorship. This act of giving back is particularly relevant given the mask-heavy nature of his role in The Orville.
Peter Macon in Othello.
Macon elaborates on how his Orville role, where prosthetics limit his physical expressiveness, paradoxically enhances his teaching. “Obviously, with the prosthetics, I have a very limited range of motion and so I have to convey a lot of things just with my eyes and small looks.” This constraint necessitates a nuanced performance, relying heavily on subtle facial cues. By guiding young actors, Macon revisits and refines his own techniques. He draws upon his intensive training at Yale School of Drama, recalling “two years of intense clown and mask work” during his three-year program, graduating in 2003. Ironically, it wasn’t until The Orville in 2017 that he found a role that fully utilized this specialized training. This mentorship opportunity allows him to “pass that information along,” bridging his classical training with his contemporary sci-fi work.
From Stage to Screen: Navigating Different Acting Mediums
Transitioning from theater to film and television requires a significant shift in acting technique, a point Macon emphasizes when discussing his coaching. He notes the usefulness of the two-dimensional video setting in teaching actors to modulate their performance for the screen, contrasting it with the broader gestures required for stage acting. This adjustment was a learning curve in his own career. “It was a huge adjustment. I started acting out of high school, doing theatre from when I was 17,” Macon recounts, highlighting his extensive stage background. He articulates the fundamental difference: “Acting is acting, but there’s a whole different technique and a different approach with film and TV.”
Peter Macon on the set of The Orville.
Macon illustrates the distinction with a vivid analogy: “when you’re on stage, your audience is big and broad. You’re using broad strokes, speaking out to a mass of people. With film and television, it’s like you’re whispering in the audience’s ear, translating your thought processes so you don’t have to actually be doing anything, you have to be thinking it.” This internalization and subtlety are key to screen acting. He admits that his initial forays into film and TV were challenging. “when I first started doing film and TV jobs, I was really out of my element. I really didn’t know, but I loved the learning curve.” This embrace of continuous learning is a hallmark of his career.
Interestingly, Macon shares an anecdote about struggling to adapt back to playing a human character after becoming accustomed to the Bortus prosthetics. Between The Orville seasons one and two, he took on a role without prosthetics and felt surprisingly lost. “I was terrible, because I was so used to working in one particular way, and then you’re playing a human being.” This experience forced him to consciously re-engage with fundamental acting techniques. “I had to sit down with myself and go through the script again, do text analysis, all the homework that needed to be done that I was not necessarily having to do for Bortus because I’ve been living in that skin for so long.” This self-awareness and commitment to preparation are crucial to his success, regardless of the role’s demands. “It comes down to just preparation and really being focused to not suck.”
Voice Acting Prowess and the Isolation of Performance
Beyond his on-screen presence, Peter Macon is a celebrated voice actor, recognized with a Primetime Emmy Award for Animated Tales of the World in 2001. He draws parallels between the solitary nature of voice-over work and the isolating effect of wearing the Bortus prosthetics. In the VO booth, he describes feeling like “a one-man band, where the other instruments you would have to play off have been taken away.” This sense of isolated performance resonates with the physical isolation caused by the prosthetics on The Orville set.
Peter Macon as Bortus in The Orville.
Macon confirms the insightful question about the link between voice acting and prosthetic performance. “I think it’s completely relatable. I think that’s really smart of you to ask that, because it is that. Yes, because of the prosthetics I lose about 30% of my hearing, it’s a lot like walking around with your hands over your ears and talking, and I can hear my voice in an almost unnatural way.” This auditory distortion initially created self-consciousness. “It took me a while to get used to that and to figure out how to play with that. It made me extremely self-conscious because I didn’t feel natural just talking and listening to my fellow actors.” To compensate, he developed an unexpected skill: “I’ve got really good at lip-reading [laughter].” This adaptation, while humorous, underscores the challenges and resourcefulness required by his role. He also shares a lighthearted anecdote about being the target of jokes on set due to his hearing impairment, showcasing his good-natured approach to these on-set dynamics.
Reflecting on the extended periods spent in makeup, Macon anticipates the readaptation process when filming resumes. “I haven’t been in the makeup for months and we’re used to being in it for six, seven months at a time, for 12 to 16 hours a day, four days a week. It’s really hard because there’s a rhythm and there’s a flow and a lack of self-consciousness during the process, but technically, I’m going to have to get back on the bicycle and figure all this stuff out all over again, which is fine because I love it.” His positive attitude towards these challenges highlights his dedication to his craft and his affection for the role of Bortus.
The Orville: A Dramedy with Depth and Sociopolitical Resonance
The Orville, created by Seth MacFarlane, is often described as an homage to Star Trek rather than a mere parody. This nuanced approach was evident from the outset, as Macon recalls. “I knew right out of the gate at the audition. We all knew that it wasn’t a spoof and it wasn’t just jokes for 48 minutes, you can’t really do that. A half-hour show you can, but this isn’t that, and a lot of people did think that it was just going to be a spoof.” This misperception surprised audiences who discovered the show’s deeper layers. “I think we took a lot of people by surprise because our perspective audiences had no idea that it was a dramedy. Frankly, I think that it would be rather boring if it was just a spoof since spoofs are, I think very limited in terms of their lifespan.”
Peter Macon with Seth MacFarlane behind the scenes of The Orville.
Macon emphasizes the dramatic weight his character brings to the ensemble. “My character particularly brings a lot of drama to the ensemble. With a mate and a child on a spaceship, there is the micro and the macro, the domesticity of partnership and child-rearing, but then there are war situations or space battles.” This blend of personal and interstellar conflicts enriches the narrative.
He cites a specific episode where Bortus grapples with issues akin to human struggles, such as addiction, highlighting the show’s ability to address relatable themes within a sci-fi context. “While the ship is being sucked into a star, I’m thinking in the back of my mind, ‘I’m not only causing the cause of death of all my shipmates but my own family because of my inability to communicate effectively with my partner’.” This internal conflict, though perhaps unnoticed by casual viewers, is central to Macon’s portrayal and underscores the show’s commitment to exploring complex human emotions. “The fact is, these are all real things that are going on and no one will probably notice or think about it, but that’s my job to be that informed, to have all these things firing.”
Character Ownership and the Depth of Experience
Macon’s deep investment in Bortus is evident in his tendency to speak about the character in the first person. This sense of ownership stems from years of embodying the role and a profound understanding of Bortus’s inner life. “I have enough to bring to the table, to be flexible. No Matter what, I have a base. I’m living in his skin and I know who he is. I don’t have to think about it so that I can take whatever new stimuli is being thrown, new writing, new directors, new sets, new whatever. I already have a base and a starting point.” This established foundation allows him to navigate the unpredictable nature of filming schedules and script changes. “Sometimes they’ll change the schedule around and I’ll have a page of dialogue that I have to do. You’ve just got to be ready.”
Peter Macon bringing depth to the character of Bortus.
He distinguishes between professionalism and artistry, stating, “Someone told me that a professional will rehearse or practice something so they can’t go wrong and an artist will rehearse, practice, and perfect something until it can only go right, no matter what happens, no matter what you do. Happy accidents are discovered this way, but no matter what is thrown at me, I can handle it because of the depth of how much you bury yourself in the imagination of this character.” This deep immersion unlocks subtle nuances in his performance. “That’s where you find the little gems with subtle looks. That’s all rooted in a lot of other things that are going on.”
Macon connects this depth of character work to his earlier struggles in film and TV. “This gets back to your question about learning when I was just starting out with film and TV. I didn’t know how or take the time to really front-load the stimuli box.” He reflects on the value of experience in acting, observing that audiences often appreciate older actors for their accumulated life experiences. “A lot of times I think that’s why we enjoy older actors more than younger actors, because of experience. Young people don’t really have much to say. I’m generalising, because there are some amazing young actors, but generally speaking they’re just young and pretty.” He acknowledges the challenges faced by young actors seeking serious recognition. “It’s a hard thing to be a young actor and be taken seriously because you don’t know anything. There’s a lot more to learn. I have a lot to learn now, but there’s no way I could have known all that I know now then. I’m grateful for that.”
Advice to His Younger Self: Embracing Artistic Drive
When asked what advice he would give to his younger self, Macon offers a powerful and introspective response. “Man, that’s a good question. I would tell myself to push myself harder than you think you need to. How can I make myself better? That’s all I’ve ever wanted to do, even when I was a little kid. I just wanted to be better so I could be the best artist that I could be. I used to want to be the best artist in the world, and I don’t even know what that is, I just want to be the best or be pushed.” This drive for continuous improvement has been a constant throughout his career.
Peter Macon in a thoughtful pose.
Macon also touches upon the challenges of balancing multiple artistic passions. “There’s also the jack of all trades, master of nothing. I have my hand in so many artistic pies that often times I’m frustrated by not being able to fully focus. I’m sitting here, I’m looking at all this music equipment that I’ve been tinkering with, and I distracted myself wanting to be a DJ. Then also I play West African drums, but I haven’t really been playing. I’ve been working on these paintings, and during shooting I’d be mad at myself about not having time to work on the paintings. I’m raising my children. I’m spread out really thin.” Despite these competing interests, he finds a way to integrate them. “Sometimes it all works together and a lot of times I feel like I’m being quartered, spiritually. I would just tell myself to be honest about why it is I’m doing this and to keep my foot on the gas [laughter].” This concluding advice encapsulates his enduring artistic drive and commitment to constant growth.
For those interested in following Peter Macon’s journey, you can find him on Instagram: PeterJerrodMacon.
