Caleb Eberhardt (‘An Enemy of the People’) on playing the ‘very controlled, very methodical, very cunning’ Hovstad [Exclusive Video Interview]
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“She’s really good at honoring the original language and the original story while also sewing in the needs of today’s audience,” reflects Caleb Eberhardt on what is so unique about Pulitzer Prize finalist Amy Herzog’s adaptation of Henrik Ibsen’s classic play “An Enemy of the People.” The actor plays the crucial role of Hovstad, the editor of a local newspaper in the Norwegian town where the drama takes place who has to make an important decision when his friend, Dr. Stockmann (Jeremy Strong), has alarming news about the safety of the town’s waters. Watch our exclusive video interview above.
One of the facets of Herzog’s work that Eberhardt appreciates most is her collaboration on the crafting of his character. “I particularly have a big reverence for her because of her willingness to hear my specific perspective in making Hovstad a Black man in the world of the story that we’re telling today,” shares the actor, continuing, “It was very important to me that that was acknowledged and talked about, and she was very willing and open to hearing my perspective of that and adjust accordingly where it mattered, and that to me is one of the things that makes doing this really fun and really gripping.”
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Hovstad’s dynamic with Dr. Stockmann is incredibly complex. When the doctor brings his report of contamination in the town’s water system, which will jeopardize the health of the tourists who come to their rejuvenating spas, the newspaper editor promises to publish the report. But as the play unfolds, Stockmann loses almost all of his supporters, including Hovstad. Eberhardt says of Hovstad that “it’s easy on paper to see him and pigeonhole him into, ‘He’s a traitor, he’s a backstabber, he’s twofaced,’” referring to how his character might be perceived for undermining his friend. But the actor, who just earned a Drama League nomination for his performance, needed to interrogate exactly why his character makes this decision. The answer, he says, is that he “really, really cares about people,” sharing, “I have to protect the people first and foremost and what I understand is economics and what I understand is equity,” because once the report is published, it will send the town’s finances into catastrophe.
One of the most remarkable scenes in this production, staged by director Sam Gold in the round at the Circle in the Square Theatre, is the town hall meeting where Dr. Stockmann presents his findings to the people. As the dialogue unfolds and Stockmann feels increasingly ignored and vilified, he condescends to Hovstad with an analogy about the different between poodles and stray dogs as a way to convey what he perceives as his inherent superiority. “When I think about the audition, I remember I played it very backfooted and cool,” recalls Eberhardt about how he initially thought to react to the horrific, euphemistic language the doctor uses. During rehearsals, though, the director asked him to “see what happens if Hovstad loses some of that composure in this moment.” His reaction is incredibly powerful because we are used to seeing Hovstad “very controlled, very methodical, very cunning… but then you see the veneer crack because it gets personal.”
Eberhardt says his approach to this pivotal moment changes performance to performance. He shares, “With each night, depending on how I, Caleb, am feeling, depending on what the audience is giving, depending on what I’m getting from my fellow actors, sometimes I approach the scene with my own interests in mind, my own feelings in mind, sometimes I approach it with Petra (Victoria Pedretti) in mind… sometimes I clock Jeremy early and see if I can gauge how he’s feeling and sometimes that’ll change my trajectory.”
The audience is indeed a major component of this production. During the town hall sequence, the house lights are on and audience members are integrated into the show as attendees of the meeting. Eberhardt admits that “the audience is almost preconditioned to be on the doctor’s side,” especially because of how much they “love Jeremy.” He also notes that modern audiences have the benefit of “being knowledgeable about what is being spoken about, about climate change, about contaminated waters, about what dirty water can do to a human.” While it used to bother him that audiences rarely waiver in their support of the doctor after his injurious comments, the actor says he now hopes that he makes them see the “fraying” of their relationship. “I want people to understand the full picture of the story… I think the relationship between Hovstad and Stockmann is so rich and so beautiful,” observes the actor.
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