| Being An Actor By 5 Greats | The Great Acting Blog

Being An Actor By 5 Greats | The Great Acting Blog

06.05.2020 , James , The Great Acting Blog

Being an actor is, at times, complex. Often it is difficult to make sense of our experiences, to give them articulation, because they are too acute. We are working with our emotions, our bodies, our personalities, with our inner creative impulses – it is difficult for us to step back from our work, to look at it objectively. After all, so many artists working in other disciplines create objects – be it a sculpture, a painting, a text and so on. But actors are not creating objects – they work on themselves to create performances. And so sometimes it is a relief to listen to the words of some of the greatest actors of the past. They can be reassuring – their towering achievements lend extra force to their insights.

Here’s five great actors who, by articulating their experiences, may help us to understand our own.

James Dean, publicity shot, being an actor, quote

“Being an actor is the loneliest thing in the world. You are all alone with your concentration and imagination, and that’s all you have.” – James Dean

“It’s just a desire to work. A desire and a need, like eating. An actress may see herself as more than a baker, but it’s the same thing. I find it really hard to resist that desire.” – Isabelle Huppert

being an actor, Mastroianni, on the set of 81/2

‘In front of a camera, I feel solid, satisfied. Away from it I am empty, confused,’ and, ‘ I only exist when I am working on a film.’ – Marcello Mastroianni. Related reading; Mastroianni In Divorce Italian Style.

“When I’m acting, I’m two beings. There’s the one monitoring the distance between myself and the camera, making sure I hit my marks, and there is the one driven by this inner fire, this delicious fear.” – Jeanne Moreau