Many people call Acting ‘The Great Escape’
Many actors have chosen Acting as a profession as a way to escape the normal day to day job opportunities a majority of people have.
James Franco says in his book Actors Anonymous: “Anyone that is driven to play dress-up for a living is trying to hide something either from himself or from others.” Understand that the average employment rate for actors is 10%. That means for a room of a hundred actors 90 of those actors are out of work. Thus, it is an actor’s job to be honest and knowledgeable about Acting. Actors cannot become believe and pretend to live in fantasies. Instead, actors should serve as a realistic mirror. A true actor must know his or her flaws, and their key strengths. Furthermore, a great actor must constantly explore the human experience.
How can an actor portray a character honestly, if someone is not honest with themselves?
- 1. Understand your strengths and weaknesses.
- 2. Explore the human experience – try new things, put yourself in different situations, use these scenarios as tools in your actor’s toolbox.
The purpose of acting is not to play dress-up but to tell a story and to entertain an audience with that story.
A true actor will tap into their acting toolbox and tell a story that will not only entertain but allow for the audience to “escape” with you and your character!
