One of the greatest tools actors have is the knowledge of how to build a character’s backstory. But all too often, we stop there. As actors, we are, first and foremost, storytellers. So why aren’t more of us producing our own content?
There’s a moment in “Uta Hagen’s Acting Class” where she singles out an actor to tell her what her problem is. She then goes on to talk about our need for an audience, our need to perform, and how there’s not enough out there for all of us. But I think there can be; it’ll just take a bit more creativity and a lot of tenacity.
Look actor Brit Marling. She wanted more roles so she wrote them. Now we have “Another Earth” and Netflix’s “The OA” because she wasn’t willing to wait for a role to be written. She did it herself.
Or consider John Krasinski. Yes, “A Quiet Place” was already a screenplay when he heard about it, but he wanted to add his perspective to strengthen the story. And before that, he wrote, “Promised Land” with fellow actor/writer Matt Damon.
We need to follow their lead. Write, direct, and star in our own films. There are no excuses for not producing our own movies. But
One of the greatest tools actors have is the knowledge of how to build a character’s backstory. But all too often, we stop there. As actors, we are, first and foremost, storytellers. So why aren’t more of us producing our own content?
There’s a moment in “Uta Hagen’s Acting Class” where she singles out an actor to tell her what her problem is. She then goes on to talk about our need for an audience, our need to perform, and how there’s not enough out there for all of us. But I think there can be; it’ll just take a bit more creativity and a lot of tenacity.
Look actor Brit Marling. She wanted more roles so she wrote them. Now we have “Another Earth” and Netflix’s “The OA” because she wasn’t willing to wait for a role to be written. She did it herself.
Or consider John Krasinski. Yes, “A Quiet Place” was already a screenplay when he heard about it, but he wanted to add his perspective to strengthen the story. And before that, he wrote, “Promised Land” with fellow actor/writer Matt Damon.
We need to follow their lead. Write, direct, and star in our own films. There are no excuses for not producing our own movies. But
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