Make us believe completely in the reality of the character they are this person, living at this time, in this situation. Project sincerity, truthfulness, and naturalness in such a way that we are never aware that they are acting a part. Maintain the illusion of reality in the character with complete consistency from beginning to end physically & emotionally.
Physical - Have the ability to express the character convincingly through voice, body movements, gestures, & facial expressions. Qualities must seem true to the characters portrayed and the situations in which the character encounters. Emotional: Possess the intelligence, imagination, sensitivity, and insight into human nature necessary to fully understand the characters. On screen, they must be able to portray the character s inner thoughts, motivations, and emotions.
Becoming the Character 1. Outside to Inside: Develop the physical characteristics first and then allow the emotional aspects to occur complete control of the body and extensive training of the voice. British actors hold to this approach. They believe that if a character looks and sounds right, then he/she will be right. British audiences prefer acting that shows technique and training.
Becoming the Character 2. Inside to Outside: Create the character emotionally objectives, motivations, relationships. Physical characteristics grow out of emotional discoveries (a highly intelligent character leading with his/her head). The Actor s Studio of the 1930s and 1940s heavily influenced the direction of acting technique in America. Their focus on Method Acting when creating a character lent itself well to film because it is easy to capture facial and vocal nuances cinematically and it added a depth of believability to performances.
Method Acting Based off the work of Constantin Stanislavski, who is considered the Father of modern acting. Stanislavski s acting system emphasized the actor experiencing real emotions and representing the real behavior of people. Emotional Recall-An actor recalls emotions felt in a similar situation to accurately portray how the character is feeling.
Types of Actors Impersonators Actors who have talent to leave their real personality behind and assume the personality of a character with whom they may have few characteristics in common.
Types of Actors Interpreters and Commentators: Actors play characters closely resembling themselves in personality and physical appearance. They may slightly alter themselves to fit the role, they do not attempt to radically change their individual personality traits, physical characteristics, or voice qualities..
Types of Actors Personality Actors: Actors whose primary talent is to be themselves and nothing more. These actors, regardless of popularity, are unable to assume any variety in the roles they play because they cannot project sincerity and naturalness when they attempt to move outside their own basic personality.
Casting Acting skills aside, the casting of actors in roles that are physically right for them is an extremely important consideration: The actor must be convincing as the character - physical characteristics, facial features, voice qualities, and personality must be suited to the character. Matt Damon as Jason Bourne, cool. Will Farrell as Jason Bourne, not so much. The cast must look good together although the look of the individual actor need be unique, all of the unique characters need to make sense when they are together. In the Ocean s trilogy, all of the characters have a level of confidence in their ability that makes the combination believable.