As with any profession, people always have different opinions on how best to do the job, and around these opinions, schools of thought develop. Then there are the endless debates about which is the best approach, and the claims that you can only hope to be successful if you subscribe to a particular school of thought and pay copious amounts of money to study with their teachers.
Thinking about this, I was reminded of a question I once saw asked on an online discussion page...
'Is there a word for Actors who are most comfortable playing the characters closest to themselves? Thanks.'
Yes there is. They are called 'Personality Actors'. In simple English, they are Actors and Actresses who can play many different roles by effectively playing themselves. This is not the same as being 'typecast', which involves those responsible for casting, employing the same person for similar roles. Some of the most wonderful and entertaining work in history has been made with the skills of Personality Actors, and there are many such Actors and Actresses around today. Errol Flynn, (pictured here), made fifty-six movies, and effectively played one character! But his films were hugely popular in the Golden Age of Hollywood, and are as entertaining over sixty years after his death as they were back in the day.
In the final analysis I do not believe there is a 'right way' to act. Since I came to acting the single most important thing I have learned was taught to me by my Friend and acting Tutor, Colin David Reese. He said: "Our job as Actors is to give the Editor something he can work with."
Personally I would never question what works for another Actor, because it doesn't matter whether you use Meisner/Method/System or Personality, ultimately it comes from you, and if you have given the crew something they can use in post production to tell their story, then you have done your job...
Image from the Movie: They Died With Their Boots On, (1941).
Director: Raoul Walsh.
Distributed by: Warner Bros. Pictures.
Thinking about this, I was reminded of a question I once saw asked on an online discussion page...
'Is there a word for Actors who are most comfortable playing the characters closest to themselves? Thanks.'
Yes there is. They are called 'Personality Actors'. In simple English, they are Actors and Actresses who can play many different roles by effectively playing themselves. This is not the same as being 'typecast', which involves those responsible for casting, employing the same person for similar roles. Some of the most wonderful and entertaining work in history has been made with the skills of Personality Actors, and there are many such Actors and Actresses around today. Errol Flynn, (pictured here), made fifty-six movies, and effectively played one character! But his films were hugely popular in the Golden Age of Hollywood, and are as entertaining over sixty years after his death as they were back in the day.
In the final analysis I do not believe there is a 'right way' to act. Since I came to acting the single most important thing I have learned was taught to me by my Friend and acting Tutor, Colin David Reese. He said: "Our job as Actors is to give the Editor something he can work with."
Personally I would never question what works for another Actor, because it doesn't matter whether you use Meisner/Method/System or Personality, ultimately it comes from you, and if you have given the crew something they can use in post production to tell their story, then you have done your job...
Image from the Movie: They Died With Their Boots On, (1941).
Director: Raoul Walsh.
Distributed by: Warner Bros. Pictures.
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