“How do you become a star?”
That is a question that was asked of me not too long ago by one of my students. I thought it was a good question, since it’s something that an actor should want. However, in order to answer, I would ask first, How do you become a great actor? How do you set your goals so high that no obstacle will get in the way of you achieving them?
We all have a desire for excellence and to not settle for mediocrity. We want to understand what makes for greatness. Like in any profession, you want to dedicate yourself to study. Study great performance and understand what makes them unforgettable. An actor that creates a character that gets under your skin and makes you feel something for them is no small feat. When that performance stays with you long after you’ve seen it and it made you feel for the human condition, that is a gift.
Look at how great actors like Meryl Streep, Daniel Day Lewis, Cate Blanchett, Michael Fassbender, and so many others hold the screen—what their physicality is like as they move their bodies in different characters; what their choices are in every moment. Study every scintilla of what their hands do and their eye movement, how they hold their heads,
Leave a Reply