"Actors, by the nature of their calling, have a simpler, purer conception of art. They have dedicated their lives to individual, personal expression—to what you are calling “holding onto your mind’s eye view”—against all the bureaucratic and socia...
Read MoreAs the The Great Acting Blog approaches it's first birthday, I decided to compile a filmography of all the films mentioned in blogs during that year. As soon as I glanced over the list, I was immediately struck by the number of big hitters not...
Read MoreWhen rehearsing a scene for the first time, it is important to make a start. I used to find this blindingly obvious notion extremely difficult, and couldn't bear to walk across the stage until I was solidly off-book and confidently understood the ...
Read MoreDevil And The Deep is an old Marion Gering film from 1932, and stars Charles Laughton as a submarine commander who is insanely jealous of any attention given to his wife, played by Tallulah Bankhead, so insanely jealous infact, that he drives her ...
Read MoreTwo things happened in the last couple of weeks which got me thinking about acting and writing. Firstly, I finished writing a feature length screenplay which I started work on 21 months ago, in October 2009. I abandoned work on it last August, tel...
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"Look for the truth and tell it" - Harold Pinter Dirk Bogarde is a great actor. A great actor. He shows us that a person walking through a hallway can be a work of art. Admittedly, I know less about his earlier work, when he...
Read More“What makes a fruitful collaboration?” - Ted Hope. The above question is one of 25 plus questions Ted Hope asked new filmmakers to answer on his blog this week. Most of the questions are equally apt when put to an actor, and instead of trying...
Read MoreAll this bullshit among actors who get scared that a colleague might outdo them professionally, or outshine them in the work, is really just that: bullshit. If your fellow actor is playing the scene brilliantly, don't fume and politic (and I've co...
Read More“Nothing in the world can be compared to the human face. There is no greater experience in a studio than to witness the expression of a sensitive face under the mysterious power of inspiration. To see it animated from inside, and turning into poet...
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