I’m living the dream of being an actor but it’s very emotionally exhausting. I feel very happy (because I did a great job), but at the same time, I feel very empty after completing a film because I have lived as that character for several days, and even though I’m back to being Edmund, the character that I played, John, is still inside me. And because it’s a tear-jerker film, my mind is still very messed up.
It’s different for comedies. Comedies rarely leave any negative after-effects on the actor after the film wraps up. You’ll miss the character that you lived as during filming, but comedies don’t damage the actor emotionally.
A few months ago I had a lead role where my on-screen wife died and my character was dealing with depression. It’s really really tough and my mind was still messed up 2 weeks after filming wrapped. But there was a huge sense of satisfaction for myself as I realised I’m able to do dark roles like that. The director and producer told me they cried while watching my performance and that’s why they cast me in a lead role in another romance-tragedy film again. lol.
I’m going to do some comedies or lighter roles after this. No more emotionally draining stuff. I don’t want to speculate, but Heath Ledger might have been very emotionally damaged after his performance in The Dark Knight.
The actresses I work with are mostly beautiful, some very beautiful, but when you’re too immersed in your role there’s no time to flirt or do funny stuff. And I’m extremely self-disciplined. Once I receive the script, no touching of video games or watching Netflix. Oh ok, I logged in 5 minutes to clear last week’s weeklies and did the EX Battles for Chun Li’s and Ibuki’s costumes. lol.
I don’t like the new format (especially this infinite scrolling bullshit), but I still prefer it over discord. Discord is only useful to get quick access to info compilations imo.
Get a headshot done by a professional. If you’re broke, get someone to take a picture of you with a white background.
Start with student films.
Build a portfolio (Actor’s Resume). Do ONLY lead roles in student films. Do lead roles in ANY thing you can get your hands on. Short Films (5-30 min in length) are great. Do corporate videos, or TV Commercials. Do not settle for supporting roles. Work your way up to main cast roles in bigger films/feature films. For feaature films you may do supporting roles, but do not settle for anything less than supporting roles.
AVOID EXTRA ROLES. Extras aren’t actors. You just stand around and do nothing. You don’t get to build a character backstory. There’s no lines. There’s nothing. You don’t get to make people cry and touch them watching you as an extra. Avoid bit roles with a few lines too. They do nothing for you. I got called by someone to act as an extra in a Hollywood Film (Agent 47), I was like No. And she said BUT ITS HOLLYWOOD. And I’m liek fuck you.
Never stop learning. Enrol in a good school that teaches acting. General acting classes like scene study are important for every actor, but specific techniques like the Stanislavsky System or Michael Chekhov method, for example are essential for film actors. There’s other techniques. I’m well versed in Stanislavsky and Chekhov method and I use whichever that will help me for the role. I think of them as my V-Trigger 1 and V-Trigger 2. I’ll be studying the Stella Adler method soon so I’ll have a 3rd V-Trigger.
Lastly, you really have to love acting. It’s a real commitment. I have a few friends who want to take acting classes to meet hot girls. I told them to fuck right off. And people think that acting is reading lines. Yes sure, that’s bad acting.
I assume you’re living in USA. I’m in Singapore so I don’t know much about USA.
Backstage is a good place to find acting jobs for you. https://www.backstage.com/
Find Facebook groups in your area for acting jobs. Make friends with fellow actors you work with, especially the experienced ones. Ask them for advice.
Always make the habit of observing people, and observing yourself. Good acting is when you can’t see the acting at all. When you can see the acting, that’s bad acting.
I’ve found a PDF of An Actor Prepares by Stanislavsky. Read everything.
Read “To The Actor” by Chekhov. This is so good.
Watch films with good acting. I recommend La Vie En Rose acted by Marion Cotilard.
This infinite scrolling thing is gonna make looking for certain posts a huge pain in the ass, maybe it just needs time but this feels like just like Discord but less convenient.
yeah that was annoying the hell outta me. it would be nice to have a sticky somewhere on the forums explaining you don’t have to create an all new account and just go to reset password.
