Conventional wisdom teaches us that mastering all manner of performance styles and offering the widest possible range of characters are how to be read as versatile. And while that’s certainly true, the fact remains that the most consistent direction you’re likely to hear, regardless of the genre or medium, is “just be yourself.”
Well, after years of training and “losing ourselves” in our roles, as we’ve been encouraged to do from all of our very best training, that’s a terrific contradiction. You’ve been conditioned to “become someone else.” Exactly who the heck do they expect you to be?
Let’s face it: This is a horrible prospect for an actor. Didn’t we become actors because, in large part, we wanted to become someone else? This is a dramatic departure from everything we’ve been taught.
Yet, simply “being yourself” is precisely what we’re asked to do at nearly every audition and on every session or shoot. Make peace with this notion by developing an honest, natural persona that is a true extension of yourself, that you can comfortably play through. This realistic performance persona will allow you to meet the casting demands,
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