The master and the puppet

The tricky thing about being an actor is that your opinion is not the only one that counts. Further than that, it’s not even the opinion that matters the most. The master of the show is the director and the actor is a tool to achieve her or his vision. Everyone on set is there to make the director’s vision come to life to the best of their abilities. Despite the difference in pay, an actor serves the same purpose as a DOP, a gaffer, or an art director! Many of them do not realize this and wrongly believe that their interpretation of the character is the right one, then get defensive when they are told to change something. I believe that is what differentiates an actor that will make it and one that won’t. We often see this in class. New actors aren’t used to working with teachers and taking directions, so when they are told to chance something about the way they act, they get offended. Instead, you should be grateful you are getting help with your acting performance. Every teacher will help you learn something new and the more people you work with, the more techniques you’ll learn and the better your acting will be. Do not argue with the person trying to help you. They are not doing it to be annoying, they just want to get you to deliver the best performance you can!

Someone who can take directions and fix what their told on the spot is very helpful to the director because on set, there’s not a lot of time for actor work, so if they tell you to change something, you’ve got to be quick with it. They will test this in the audition room. If you want the role, you’ve got to take the heat!