The Great Acting Blog: “Integrity Works”

The Great Acting Blog: “Integrity Works”

In response to my post on first principles, it seems that some have complained that integrity is impossible to define, that it means different things to different people, that it changes, and so how can one truly act with it? Well, the whole point is that you define integrity for yourself and then act in line with that definition. You don’t just blow in the wind, trying to win the good opinion of any old Tom, Dick or Harry who happens along. No, you win your own good opinion of yourself by employing your principles, especially in stressful and complex situations.

More specifically, this integrity must extend to artistic matters. That’s why I say actors need to have long range technical and aesthetic goals. This is about declining any work that comes along but which you deem to be out of line with those goals. The alternative is to accept anything, regardless of it’s merit. This approach may appear to make life easier in the short term, after all, you’ll be working at least, however over time it leads to a corrosion of the actors work which can eventually cause him to quit the profession altogether. Why? Because this short termism results in the actor no longer enjoying his work, losing his respect for it. The actor with the long term goals though, may appear to have fewer options available to him in the short term but, by refusing to compromise his integrity, creates a meaningful body of work, one which excites and nourishes him.

It’s just too easy to dismiss everything with; “oh but I need to pay my bills”. And it may be comforting to hear the words; “do as you’re told today and you can do what you want tomorrow”, but it’s a lie, told by knaves in order to control the naive and the foolish.

Define the terms of your work and define the terms of your life and act in accordance with those terms, it’s just more productive and more fun, it works.

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