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The Great Acting Blog: “Why Do Actors Do It?”

30.07.2013 , The Great Acting Blog , 43 Comments

From the outside, the life of an actor may not look too appetising, indeed, many former actors appear to have lacked the stomach for it - the continual struggle, the financial insecurity, the constant judgement, all seems to grind them down after a while. A...

The Great Acting Blog: “Take A Point Of View And Act On It”

29.07.2013 , The Great Acting Blog , 0 Comments

Take a point of view on everything you do. If you don't like the way something is done, don't just accept it, make a note of it, work-out how it can be done better, and do it in the new way. Perhaps you don't like the way...

The Great Acting Blog: “The Story Of The Working Actor”

28.07.2013 , The Great Acting Blog , 0 Comments

When I started out as an actor I had a friend who was constantly in work. He had been an actor for the same length of time as I had, but while I struggled to get even a bit part in a student film, he...

The Great Acting Blog: “The Director’s Culture”

27.07.2013 , The Great Acting Blog , 0 Comments

So often the director sets the tone for a production. His approach to the work becomes the approach of the company. If he shows seriousness, commitment and focus for example, then that becomes the dominant culture of the group. Other directors prefer to create a...

The Great Acting Blog: “What Have You Got To Offer?”

26.07.2013 , The Great Acting Blog , 0 Comments

The constant stream of actors moaning about work, or lack thereof I should say, really doesn't make any sense at all. Firstly, there are actors who complain about not having any work but never actually attempt to get any. Draw your own conclusion there. But...

The Great Acting Blog: “The Scarcity Of True Artists”

25.07.2013 , The Great Acting Blog , 0 Comments

People who try to treat acting as a business are wasting their time. Why? Because acting doesn't make any business sense whatsoever. No businessperson in their right mind would view an acting career as a choice investment opportunity. If we examined the life of an...

The Great Acting Blog: “Pick From The Tree”

24.07.2013 , The Great Acting Blog , 0 Comments

Somebody once said that if all the apples in the barrel are rotten then you should pick from the tree. One of the hardest aspects of assembling a team for a production is finding people who share the same values as you do. I'm not talking...

The Great Acting Blog: “When Direction Is Futile”

23.07.2013 , The Great Acting Blog , 0 Comments

On the few occasions I have had to direct other actors, I have found the most exhausting aspect to be the articulation of my ideas for how I think the scene should be approached. It requires absolute precision of articulation and must be said in...

The Great Acting Blog: “When A Project Ends”

22.07.2013 , The Great Acting Blog , 0 Comments

The end of a production is naturally a time for reflection. Looking back, seeing what worked well, feeling bone crushing shame at glaring errors. Why did I lose focus at a certain time? Why did I think that shabby piece of work was acceptable? I...

“Pierre Etaix’s Rupture”

21.07.2013 , Drifting Clouds Cinema Blog, The Great Acting Blog , 0 Comments

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=orX3qV2Bskw "Pierre Etaix is one of the few comic author-director-actor film-makers practicing today." - From Variety, April 1969 I recently discovered the work of actor-filmmaker Pierre Etaix, a clown and comedian who was dubbed the "French Buster Keaton". He had been a gag writer for Jacques Tati, and worked with...