Beyond the Screen: A Conversation with No Address Actor, Xander Berkeley

Actors have the power to convey emotions that serve to entertain, educate, and inspire viewers to see their own world through a different lens. Acting inspires empathy, expanding the horizons of human emotions and creating timeless moments that allow us to laugh, cry, and rejoice alongside the character’s journey.

This sentiment is something actor Xander Berkeley (Terminator 2: Judgement Day, Air Force One, Apollo 13, Taken, and The Walking Dead) took to heart when exploring the character of Harris in Robert Craig Film’s newest production, No Address. Directed by Julia Verdin, the film examines how homelessness can happen to anyone through the eyes of individuals with no physical address. Berkeley was immediately drawn to the project after spending time trying to find ways to help the growing homeless population.

His passion for the film’s mission of pledging 50% of the profits to help combat homelessness created the perfect opportunity for Berkeley to shine a spotlight on the unseen. With No Address coming to theatres nationwide starting February 27th, we sat down with the actor and talked to him about the film and the inspiration behind his character.

Why did you want a role in No Address?

“I was inspired to be a part of this film because for so long I have wanted to find a way to help. I lived in Los Angeles for many years, and felt compelled to bring food to people I saw who looked hungry and alone. Just by sitting and spending a little time talking and mostly listening, you could see how much people everywhere just need to be heard and felt and cared about.”

What was one of your favorite moments on set?

“That’s a funny one for this film because it wasn’t a joyful experience as much as it was a painful experience, and it felt rewarding experiencing that pain… sometimes physically because it was raining all the time, and we were like human sponges and I was working as both a painter and an actor, so any free moment I had during the six weeks of shooting I was working trying to produce the portraits that are in the gallery scene at the end…”

“Joyful wasn’t the word that sprang to mind, but in service of something higher and that an intentional effort was being made in order to potentially lessen the suffering of others. Which is an incredible opportunity.”

Did you meet anyone during this time that inspired the portrayal of your character, Harris, or made a large impact on you?

“Yeah, there’s a friend of mine that I don’t know if he wants to be fully revealed, but I met him through social media a few years ago. He is a vet who has serious disabilities from exposure to bad chemicals and PTSD from the horrific things he’s had to see…”

“I met with him before I started filming, and his stories and the stories of friends of his who have become addicts because they were self-medicating from the trauma they had been through, that… um… shook me to my core and I just felt like one of the reasons you become an actor, in addition to wanting to play pretend, is that you are an empath and you want to feel for other people, and you want to walk in other people’s shoes. There are various ways you can do that as an actor, but with something as heart wrenching as his story was to me… it just… went right in and stayed in there the whole time I was working. It humbles you and it inspires you to be honest and true in what you are doing…”

“So trying to channel those behaviors and tell that story was an incredible opportunity as an artist.”

Your character is a war veteran, former drug addict, and artist who serves as protector and provider of the group – how did you relate to this character?

“Well, I’m a father, I have two daughters so I’m still very much in the patriarchal, in service of the family, part of my life. Feeling that as the highest and most important job. Which he and I have in common, and I’ve done artwork ever since I was a kid, with my father always giving us art supplies and I’ve never stopped doing artwork…”

“There was also a connection between having been an addict and a character that had been an addict. One of the things many people I had spoken to said is the idea that nature abhors a vacuum – It’s hard not to do, but if you could do something else with your hands instead of messing around with needles or cigarettes or corks or bottle tops, if you could just draw – and one way or another, I tried to make it what he would be able to afford, in the way of art supplies…”

“I work a lot with charcoal, and you can always pull it out of the fire and draw with it. I tried to do all the paintings with house paint and water soluble, I usually work in oil, but this guy would’ve only been able to afford or have access to cans of house paint that were thrown out. You are always doing something to keep your hands busy… so, as the patriarch, one of the things that I think he felt, or I imagined him feeling is that people need to be seen, and that he would be giving a gift to his little family members by drawing them…”

“And his dream was one day he would have a gallery opening or be able to sell his paintings to somebody so he would have money to support his family… I could relate to that, and I think that was a driving force for Harris and it was a driving force for me through the movie… I felt so grateful to have the opportunity, as an artist and as an actor, to be able to serve a story like that.”

Why should people see No Address, and what is one thing you want them to take away from the film?

“A reason to see the film is learning about the crisis of homelessness in America. You’ll be able to look without feeling like you’re going to be seen or put on the spot. A lot of us avert our gaze, we feel guilty that we have what they don’t have. We feel like if we give them money, they might spend it on booze or drugs… there’s all kinds of stuff that goes on in our heads that keeps us from looking…”

“The movie provides an opportunity to look, watch, imagine, and consider how anyone could potentially fall through the net and wind up homeless through one circumstance or another. It’ll make you feel better about yourself and hopefully inspire you to get involved in your community.”