By Christopher Smith
Ever watch a film and think to yourself: "Where did they find these
people? How did they get these town folks to act?" Then, as the
credits roll, you see the cast weren't, in fact, just plucked off
the street but are a roster of professional actors.
These admirable performances are the work of performers who so
captured their characters they made us believe they were really the
residents of that small town or blue-collar workers on the late
shift.
And they made it look easy. Isn't that what every actor is striving
for?
There are shelves of texts on acting stretching back 90 years or
so, many of which make acting sound very difficult to do. Page
after page, the authors wend through the process of creating a
believable character with complexity only an actor desperate to
perfect his or her craft would delve into. Leaf through even the
best-known titles, and you'll find treatises detailing how to delve
into one's psyche to wrench out a character or the technique of
reliving personal trauma to bring forth the emotion of your
character.
But the question remains: How do you bring that complexity to the
real world of film and television production? With tight production
schedules, actors don't have the luxury of time to "discover" a
character. And what does one do with all that technique when the
director asks at the audition or callback, "Can you make him silly
instead of sinister?"
Let's get back to where we began. Acting is making the audience
believe you are someone else. That's the simplicity of it. How do
you do it quickly and believably?
Here's the first step: Simply look at the world as the character.
Think about it. When you grabbed your double latte this morning you
may have been worried about the fact that you had 20 minutes to get
to your audition, or stressing about what you were going to get
your mother for her birthday, or wondering if that barista noticed
you. And your viewpoint influenced your reaction to the packed
parking lot, how long the line was, and everything else about the
experience. The point is that even getting a cup of coffee is
colored and shaped by your thoughts.
Now, how would another character react to the same situation? To
find out, you only look at the world from a character's point of
view. Do that and his or her world will come alive to you.
Sound simple? It is. That's not to say it doesn't take a lot of
practice to create rich, full, and believable characters, but it
isn't complicated. Master it and you'll be one of those actors we
all admire for making it look so easy.
Christopher Smith is an actor, improviser, writer, and
co-founder of The Acting Center-an acting and improv school whose
curriculum produces confident actors who can create rich characters
in any emotion, in any situation, instantly. For more
information, visit www.theactingcenterla.com.