You’ve heard of Angelina Jolie right? I don’t need to reel off a bunch of films she’s been in for you to know who she is. Angelina Jolie is a method actress – and a VERY talented one at that. Her Mother trained with Lee Strasberg himself at The Actors Studio, so she was in very good hands growing up with her acting dreams. Angelina herself went onto train with Lee Strasberg, who, if you didn’t already know worked tirelessly to re-develop Stanislavksi’s system to keep up with new discoveries of the human condition.
METHOD ACTING
Is the best technique there is in the world for becoming an outstanding actor. Like no other technique out there it forces you to understand the human condition, it encourages you to empathise with people, it asks you to question yourself and who you are, it makes you aware of your emotions, it works alongside psychology, NLP and the best scientific knowledge there is. Method acting gets you to understand your mind, your senses and be able to connect to your own experiences whilst engaging your imagination. It is this technique that has allowed Angelina Jolie freedom as an actress, by freedom I mean freedom in her roles, to work to such a level she has received an academy award, two Golden Globe awards, screen actors Guild award among many, many others.
So why is it there are so many young actors
so unsure of themselves?
When I say young I don’t mean as in age, I mean young as in the beginnings of your career. Is it because you are scared of failing? Scared of what others say about you? Failure is a huge part of life; the only way to become successful is by failing and many times over and people are always going to have an opinion.
At StandBy and all great training grounds for actors you are taught to “work in the moment”. Angelina says she ‘believes in something primal and instinctual and likes to work in the moment.’ To her this is ‘to be who you are and feel what you feel, and to be completely honest with yourself and those around you; to be alive, completely alive.'(1)
This week when you’re acting, whether working on set, in the theatre or in class – take these words on board from one of the world’s greatest actresses. Allow yourself to be alive, allow yourself to be free and most importantly allow yourself to be you.
If all the actors in the world became so struck with fear or insecurities that they couldn’t go on – the industry would cease to exist. The industry needs you but more importantly you need you, whatever brought you to acting you need to express yourself and be completely honest.
If you want to see the full interview with Angelina from Inside the Actors Studio, you can find it here
NEED MORE INSPIRATION & EFFECTIVE ACTOR TIPS?
If you found these tips useful, you can grab yourself more tips completely FREE. Louise O’Leary is a professional method actress, acting coach and CEO of StandBy Method Acting Studio. Her mission is to help as many actors as she can achieve their acting dreams. Her eBook “Respect your craft, discover my top 45 method acting secrets to launch your career”, has helped hundreds of actors around the world.
It covers how to build a character, the business of acting, how to learn lines effectively and confidence in acting. Download your copy here bit.ly/free45tipsbook to get on your way to acting success. Or hop over to facebook.com/standBymethodactingstudio for inspirational advice and tips every day.
(1) Taken from Inside the Actors Studio
