The Closer is one of my favourite television shows – it is because of the immensely entertaining and convincing performance of Kyra Sedgwick as Deputy Chief Brenda Leigh Johnson, a CIA trained interrogator who specialising in ‘closing’ a case by getting a confession. In the show, Brenda Leigh Johnson obtains her confession from her suspect by a range of means which include feigning ignorance, playing dumb, and worming the confession out of the suspect through trickery and misdirection. In her private life, Brenda has plenty of men in her life, and invariably manages to get them to do what she wants, or give in to her, often by playing the damsel in distress. In other words, she packs heat, but she knows when to turn on the tears when she has to.

The very essence of the character of Brenda Leigh Johnson is very Yi Wood.  Yi Wood is the master chameleon, able to twist and turn to suit the needs of the situation, never committing one way or another until it is certain of victory. Similarly, Brenda Leigh does not firm her mind as to who the suspect is until she has the case solved, and she turns her attention on the person she believes to be the perp. And she is able to play many roles when she is ‘closing’ a case, from the table banging bad cop, to the fluffy, clueless good cop.

Brenda Leigh is very good at managing the men in her life (both her lieutenants at the precinct, her boss and hr boyfriend) through a mixture of her Southern charm and of course, batting her eyelids and playing the weak woman in need of a knight in shining armour. In BaZi terminology, this is Yi Wood combining with Geng Metal.  The Yi Wood gets its way by playing the weaker party but is in fact, manipulating the situation to what it wants.  At the same time, she can be fiery, no-nonsense and utterly confident in her manner, which one would see as Yi Wood using Hurting Officer. She is not beyond screaming and dramatics to get what she wants – again, Yi Wood using Hurting Officer. Yi Wood using the Hurting Officer star is one of the few instances where the use of the Hurting Officer star is actually beneficial to the Day Master.

Here is Kyra Sedgwick’s BaZi chart (time is not correct)

Kyra Sedgwick’s BaZi (time not accurate)

Kyra Sedgwick’s chart shows a strong Direct Officer component – hence, her ability to portray a no-nonsense police officer, with a strong sense of right and wrong, without any difficulty. Heck, it’s almost second nature. This Yi Wood sits on a Hurting Officer star – thus, a opinionated nature, a highly expressive manner and a desire to prove herself (as well as always believe she is right) are all inherent in this Yi Wood. This Yi Wood is also pictorally represented as the flower on top of the hill. The Yi Wood is beautiful, decorative, but perfectly apt and able at making use of other people in order to get what she wants. That includes playing any tactic she needs, or taking on any persona she has to, in order to get what she wants. The character of Brenda Leigh is a Southern belle, who can be quite coy and play the damsel in distress card if she needs to. She is also very good at getting people to do what she needs to get done, either by charm or by forceful order.

In some ways, Kyra Sedgwick isn’t really having to work that hard at playing Brenda Leigh, as she is simply exploring a facet of her own inherent personality! Her BaZi, could very well be the BaZi of her character, Brenda Leigh Johnson. Now this might explain why actors have so much fun playing certain parts. They’re really just playing a  facet of themselves.

The question that intrigues me is this: do casting directors cast according to the personality of the actor/actress? How much of casting draws on the energy and vibe the person emits – which would be inherent in their BaZi but not necessarily evident on a first meeting of the person? Acting requires a person to draw deep into their emotional reserves – in BaZi speak, this would essentially mean, going into your Branches, and digging up what’s in there for the world to see!

With Kyra Sedgwick’s amazing portrayal of Brenda Leigh, it prompts the question of how much of her character eventually evolved based on Sedgwick’s personality? It’s not uncommon for writers to look for traits within an actor or certain quirks within an actor and to try to explore how those can be part of the character. Sedgwick for example loves candy and so does her character.

I doubt Hollywood is casting by the BaZi, but there’s an uncanny connection to the BaZi in my view, when it comes to certain roles. A good actress of course is versatile and can play many parts (especially the Yi Wood actresses – they are particularly chameleonic) but if the part rings through to the BaZi of the actress, presumably that’s what leads to a truly incredible performance. Because after all, they are drawing on what they already have within them, even if that character isn’t a precise manifestation of their personality.

Natalie Dormer & Jonathan Rhys-Meyers – The Tudors

Another stunning performance which has my attention of late is Natalie Dormer’s performance in ‘The Tudors’. In ‘The Tudors’, Dormer plays the ill-fated Anne Boleyn, who after succeeding in getting the King of England to break from Rome, somehow squanders everything she has worked for, and ends up being beheaded by the king, for being a traitor and committing incest. For the better part of the first season, Dormer played the role of the consummate ambitious scheming woman to the hilt. She manipulated the king, toyed with his hormones, generally had him at her beck and call and in fits of distraction over her refusal to become his mistress. She then subtly, slowly, manipulated him into significantly, breaking from Rome and establishing himself as the head of the Church of England, divorcing his first wife, Katherine of Aragon, and then making her Queen of England.

It’s a vintage Yi performance. Particularly, a Yi with Seven Killings. And definitely one with  hidden Seven Killings. And what do you know – when we look at Natalie Dormer’s chart:

Natalie Dormer BaZi (Time not Accurate)

Yi Chou is Natalie Dormer’s Day Master and this is essentially a Yi Wood, sitting on hidden Seven Killings. Hmm, very Anne Boleyn. Check out the picture – that is the classic Yi Wood look. (as one advances in one’s practice of BaZi, you get reasonably adept at guessing the person’s Day Master, although sometimes one just gets it all wrong. I would never have guessed Michael Phelps was a Geng Day Master!)

Now, history has it that Anne and her sister competed for the affections of Henry the 8th. Depending on which book you read (the Other Boleyn Girl), or which version of the film you saw (The Tudors vs The Other Boleyn Girl), Anne’s sister Mary was either just a bit of skirt on the side or a serious competitor and rival for the King’s affections with Anne.

Interestingly, Natalie Dormer’s chart shows her to be born in Rob Wealth month. This means she’s a highly competitive person by nature, and of course, there are many competitors around her, be it for money or for the affections of a man. However, in BaZi, Yi Wood almost always triumphs over Jia Wood, as the later has no idea it is being used by the former. In many respects, this is really how we could describe Anne Boleyn’s life – many women at court were seeking the King’s affections (and his purse) but she triumphed over her competitors through masterly manipulation, and making use of them to get to the top.

A person born in Rob Wealth usually also tends to be highly egotistical and supremely self-confident – again, traits that Anne Boleyn (in her screen portrayal at least) exhibited. But Rob Wealth also makes the person lack confidence or become in secure – following her marriage to Henry, she was often infuriated by his many dalliances outside of their marriage and in The Tudors, she is portrayed as extremely insecure of his affections and frightened of the threat from Princess Mary and the former Queen.

The Machiavellian like scheming, and the willingness to do what it took to get her man is a very Seven killings attribute – this is Yi Wood using Seven Killings. The manipulating and scheming are not apparent and obvious, but are inherent in the person is how one can best describe Yi Wood using hidden Seven Killings. And of course, Yi Wood dying by beheading is quite logical as Yi Wood fears Xin Metal or the knife the most.

Of course, I’m not saying Natalie Dormer is going to be beheaded or she’s a nasty seven killings type person.  Rather, I’m suggesting that the casting of Dormer as Anne Boleyn is really quite uncannily accurate. Aspects of her character and indeed, her chart itself, significantly in my mind would reflect the kind of BaZi that her character, Anne Boleyn, might have. (note, we have no idea what Anne Boleyn’s BaZi might be since Elizabethans did not have birth certificates and there are very few calculators that can compute a BaZi that far back although mathematically it is not impossible).

I guess you could say – Hollywood is maybe casting by the BaZi without really knowing it!