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It is known to us that actors come here and read things. Mostly, the stuff here is about what writers do. However ... there is always at least one "however" ... We, the viewing public, have a few words of advice for actors. Here goes:
- Dont Look At The Camera. ADR will occur, always. Look at the person you are speaking to. Let them do the ADR.
- "Smaller" is better. No need to bounce it off the cheap seats. All that stage-oriented training is just wrong when the audience is just one person, right up in your face.
- Are you part of the Too Big Club? All that stage acting under your belt but still getting turned down for film and video because your acting is 'Too Big'? There are actors who pat themselves on the back for that, and they can get jobs on Nickelodeon and Disney channels. But that isn't because young kids aren't sophisticated enough to see through that stuff, it's because they've lowered their standards on account of lower standard programming flung at them.
- Let's face it. The audience is looking at your butt. Have a good butt. Nothing punches up a line better than a good butt.
- A small part is about making the big part work.
- A big part is about making the small parts work.
- Yeah, yeah, "no big parts, only small actors" ... it is a "part", not the whole.
- Sometimes you get onto the set and realise that you've made a mistake. The script is corny, the sets are cheap and you're the only actor there you've ever heard of. Suck it up, give it your best shot and try and have fun. Order a Large Ham if necessary. The audience will love you for it. See Jeremy Irons in Dungeons & Dragons for tips.
- If you don't want everyone to know how often you screw up, swear as much as possible when you do. This will keep it off blooper reels. Or make you look really naughty, which might be a way to up your street-cred.
- Try not to get 'typecast' into a particular role, but don't take it so far that you're afraid to audition for a given part. Take the typecasted role, count those shiny coins, and consider doing off-Broadway for your artistic needs.
- The camera doesn't actually add ten pounds. People just say that to up your risk of anorexia.
- Don't affect an accent that you can't handle. It's a ticket straight to Narmville.
- Get to know your character. Know how they react to information, how they face danger, what they think of their friends, and so on. If the movie is an adaptation, do as much research on the original as you can. Yes, even if it's a comic book. Hell, especially if it's a comic book. We will notice. Don't be afraid to argue about what your character would or would not say. Improvise if necessary; it's a lost art.
- Try not to be dumber than the hero character you are known for playing. "Would Captain Y do what I am about to do?"
- You don't have to show your fiddly bits to improve the movie.
- Talk show appearances are all about promoting your film. Just go with it.
- Babies aren't a fad.
- Try to look disheveled. If you're playing a scene where your character just ran thirty kilometers and fought a giant spider...muss your hair up.
- On that note: YOU DON'T ALWAYS NEED TO BE SEXY. This is an especially big problem for female actors, but males are susceptible too. Your character is bound to go through some emotional and physical states that make their features look goofy or ugly. Just relax, and act for crying out loud. We'll love you for it! Actors who try to constantly keep up their sex appeal (or "cool" factor) wind up with the charm and screen presence of a good-looking lampshade (not the fun kind).
- Julia Roberts is good about doing this - check out Runaway Bride or Conspiracy Theory for examples.
- Your character crying is not the main point of a sad scene; making your audience cry is. If your character's just been emotionally crushed, speaking the lines called for in a very quiet and simple tone will usually result in enough tears in the theatre without you adding to the flood.
- Acting is being yourself under imaginary circumstances, but that's no excuse for laziness. If you're not a good bullshitter, you certainly can't play a good bullshitter, and if you are a good bullshitter, anyone could still clock you if you haven't done your homework! Honesty makes a better performance than faking sincerity, and being yourself under imaginary circumstances requires that you fully appreciate the circumstances your character has lived through.
- When possible (and if the director is cool with it) make the character your own. This works particularly well if you were badly cast, recognize that fact, and are willing to accept it. If you're a woman cast in a traditionally male role, play with it(particularly in musicals - girls often have a much larger range than guys, meaning you can play with solos a LOT more). If you're a huge, hulking, 6'7" guy cast as "Tiny McShort", your work is practically done for you - ham it up! Just go out there, have fun, and pretend you aren't one screwup away from a cardboard box on the street.
- (This is all from personal experience - I, as a 5'3" girl, was understudied to, then cast as Snoopy in You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown. When I asked the music director how the hell I was supposed to do that (in nicer words, of course), he told me to ham it up. I did. It rocked.)
- If you're shooting the last episode of your series & you're pissed about it or don't like the script or whatever, still act like you give a rat's ass! You are actors. Yes, I'm talking to the main cast of Star Trek Enterprise during their final episode.
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