The Acting Blog

The people who matter in the industry rate actors as either wannabe’s, unknown actors, known actors, stars, super stars, or mega stars.

Dreamers aren’t classified as wannabe’s: wannabe’s are acting students, aspiring actors hoping to eventually move into regular paid work.

Unknown actors are either struggling or making just enough money to move forward. They are faces you recognise but can’t put a name to.

Known actors have a good profile and recognition factor.

Stars, are well… stars.

Super Stars are internationally renowned actors.

And mega stars are a galaxy unto themselves.

So what is your current position on the slippery totem pole of success?

If you are one of the few mega stars then you are determined to hang on to your hard earned status and are highly selective when considering new projects – which at this ultimate level of success and recognition are numerous.

If you are a super star then you are pretty much occupying the same head space as a mega star.

If you are a star, then your aim is to become a super star; and then hopefully through the right exposure eventually gain mega star status.

If you are a known actor then you are making a living doing what you love and are either happy to continue at this level or have aspirations of moving toward stardom.

Unknown actors obviously want to become known actors and are usually working hard to achieve a higher profile.

Wannabe’s are at the bottom of the totem pole and the best advice for all wannabe’s is to continue studying the craft of acting, preferably screen acting technique and performance, for we’re not talking theatre here, but big and small screen success.

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One of the actor’s greatest fears is forgetting their lines. But learning lines is an easy thing to do, as it’s a simple procedure to study the lines and cram them in until you have no trouble remembering just what your character says. However, merely learning the lines is not enough, for if that is all you do, you will respond only to cues when the right words are delivered to you; and consequently your dialogue will lack meaning, impact and depth. If, during a scene, you retreat inside your head searching for the right words you will automatically disengage from the other actor. There’s no point thinking, “Oh no, was that an if, an and, or a but?” Who cares? Because it really doesn’t matter, as once you’ve learned the lines and you are really listening to the other actor – listening with all of your senses – then whatever you say will be close enough to the written lines anyway and you will be responding truthfully and thus engaging with the other actor.

Remember, the words are not important – it is what makes the words happen that has meaning.

To successfully learn and play convincing dialogue, the screen actors must connect with the stimulus that causes a verbal response. If the actor is aware of the real significance of the stimulus, and responds to the implied consequences, then the proper verbal response will be inevitable. There will be little danger of forgetting the lines if you have learned through all of your senses the connective pattern between the stimuli and the responses they generate.

To be a good actor, you must condition yourself to respond to stimuli instead of cues. You will be more receptive to what the other actor is doing as well as saying; you will be more responsive to the inflections and intonations of the other person’s lines, and you will be more aware of subtle physicalisations that will reveal what he or she really means by those words.

Instead of simply learning the lines, you should instead learn the role: The lines are connected to the role, and that includes the whole person; the stimuli they respond to, the significance of the stimuli and, of course, the lines themselves. If you merely concentrate on remembering your lines, then you will shut yourself off from the stimuli and your performance will be flat and unconvincing because you are only thinking about the words, and not the impact they have on you. If you are open to all of the stimuli that you receive at any given moment, then you will absorb the stimuli and it will affect you and you will respond accordingly. Your verbal responses will then come easily to you. There will be little worry about forgetting your lines if you have learned the role and you listen and respond truthfully to the stimuli around you. You will then be able to fully engage with the other actor and the things that you do and say will have real meaning. They will be truthful responses, not just empty, meaningless words.

It is what a person means when they talk to us that is important, not the actual words they speak. For example, if someone looks deep into your eyes and says, “I love you” certain feelings are generated. Your feelings about those words will not be the same if the person doesn’t make eye contact with you when saying them or if they are gazing off into the distance when speaking to you: The words are exactly the same but the meaning has now changed because of the way the person delivered the words to you. When a person speaks to us the inflection and intonation of the words also informs us as to what that person really means. It is the meaning behind the words that is of prime importance, not the words themselves.

Remember to learn the role, not just the lines: Then by listening and reacting truthfully to the  stimuli you will have little trouble remembering what to say – and most importantly, why you are saying it!

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The most critical element of any film or television production is casting the most suitable actors for the available roles. A good script, a good director and creative casting invariably produces a winning result.

An actor will always be cast according to type. The best available actor with a personality, physicality and attitude most resembling the scripted character will be cast for the role. For example, a conservative Christian type will never be considered for the role of a nasty Melbourne gangster, but if the role being cast calls for a person with strong religious beliefs then the actor will be in with a chance.

Most actors are confused as to what their actual “type” is. The below two web sites contain a wealth of information regarding character types and it is imperative that you know which “type” best represents you. Check out www.joeedelman.com and www.enneagraminstitute.com for a comprehensive run down of the various character types.

Many actors are too hung up on the negative aspects of their appearance: My nose is too big or too small, my lips are too thin, my ears stick out too much and so on and so on. As opposed to dwelling upon ones insecurities, it is far wiser to understand that these negatives can always be turned into positives.

Sydney casting director Kari Harris, tutor of the Audition Process Screen Test master class at the Screen Actors Workshop is highly regarded for the love and respect she has for actors. Kari is committed to nurturing, training and empowering actors to help them achieve their full potential on-screen.

Here’s an anecdote that Kari sometimes mentions to students during the course: Imagine that you are trying to establish a film career in Hollywood but you have a thick impenetrable foreign accent and are built like a tank. This is the predicament that Arnold Schwarzenegger faced, and for years Hollywood producers wouldn’t give him the time of day. That is until they were searching for a suitable actor to play the lead role in Terminator, a role for which they wanted a well-built actor without an American accent. All of a sudden Arnold’s negatives became positives and the rest is history.

A true story and invaluable advice for any actor. The point being, don’t sell yourself short: your own unique personality makes you special and therefore a very valuable commodity.

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A character in a scene – as in everyday life – will have certain objectives: Things that they need or want. And they are motivated by their desire to attain these things.

What motivates us to visit the dentist? We have a toothache. What motivates us to go to the supermarket? We are hungry and there’s no food in the house. Depending on the character’s wants and needs over the course of a scene their motivation may shift and change. The character may have several motivations in a scene. But does the character always achieve his or her aims? As in real life, the answer is no. But for the audience it is of less consequence, for it is the character’s struggle, the bending of the will to achieve the desired outcome, which is compelling to observe.

It is also important to understand your character’s status in a scene: Are they high status and in complete control of the situation? Or are they low status and out of their depth?

When it comes to developing the character’s personality and their outlook on life, the character’s attitude is of prime importance to the actor. How does the character respond to the things that happen to them in a scene and how does that shape their attitude?

Screen Actors are driven by feelings, not intellectual concepts. When it comes to expressing the character’s true meaning and intent, the actor must use every string of their instrument. Of course the tone of the voice alerts us to their feelings and intent, but it is the actions, the gestures, the facial expressions and body language that contain the real meaning and expose the character’s true feelings and intent.

It is well worth noting that human beings have a range of ten thousand facial expressions, known as micro-expressions. This extensive range of facial expressions is a universal language, a language of expression which circumvents the barriers of international borders and language. This is one reason why silent films were so effective worldwide in their day. They didn’t have the use of sound to tell a story, and even though the characters couldn’t speak on-screen, their physical performance alone was enough to circumvent language and entertain a global audience.

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