The Great Acting Blog : “The True Actor”

The Great Acting Blog : “The True Actor”

“there is a difference between mere brightness and real light; the latter has a definite source within itself, the other borrows it’s radiance; the one is called forth by an illumination coming from the outside, and anyone who stands between the source and the object immediately turns the latter into a dense shadow; but the other has a glow that comes from within” – Seneca, Letters From A Stoic.

Seneca could so easily have been writing about acting.

The merely “bright” actor is an extortionist, they act not to communicate the play but to extort a compliment from the viewer (making themselves cry for example). They may be praised for a fleeting moment, but the praise itself is fleeting too. The performance is quickly forgotten by the audience because it was only skin deep. They come to acting not to give but to take. They need people to kiss their ass or hold their hand and when neither is forthcoming, they are wretched. They try to advance themselves not through their genuine contributions but by manipulating their colleagues. They lack the courage to treat those around them with genuine respect. That is the irony, they believe themselves to be superior to their colleagues and to the audience but desperately need their attention – they are nothing without it. We note their smiles but feel the chill of inauthenticity.

The “real light” is the true actor. The “glow from within” is desire: to communicate, to share, to warm, to heal, to give, to offer something as a sacrifice to the audience. We feel the warmth emanating from this actor, we enjoy their generosity. You cannot steal what this actor possesses, this inner desire, because it is self-generating. It feeds off their sheer joy at doing the work of the actor. It’s not a fake joy, like those self-promoters who go round shouting about how much they love it, when in fact all they love is themselves. No. I’m talking about an organic, unself-conscious joy, that’s not something that can be faked. These are the true actors, who illuminate the lives of the audience, and who take care of them. Unfortunately, they are a very rare breed indeed.

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