The number one trap a lot of actors can fall into as they age comes down to a loss of vulnerability, spontaneity, flexibility, and an absence of a childlike willingness to play pretend with full abandon and freedom. This is because as we all get older, we tend to fall into habits and do things by rote rather than by discovery and accident, a way to seek security and certainty.
As actors, we tend to do what we’ve done before that has gotten results, a certain reaction, or desired response. Unfortunately, this can lead us to do things in a planned, anticipatory way, making results the priority instead of the full, fresh, innocence, and vulnerability of doing things in a first-time, virginal way.
There are many wonderful actors who have managed to stay young in their work as they age. The key in maintaining this aging youth is in learning and mastering a technical approach and a mindset that can reliably create a way to live accidents versus presenting planned anticipated presentational scenes or characters.
READ: 5 Ways to Break into Acting Later in Life
Actors like Meryl Streep seem to have endless access to their full humanity and are able to act in mature roles with full vulnerability, depth
Leave a Reply