We all want to be good actors. Hell, most of us want to be effen GREAT actors.
But you know what I've found. Every great actor that I've known personally, or watched an interview for...they've all been really really good at something else. Something completely unrelated to acting.
These things range from poker to playing the piano. I even heard of a very prominent actor who used to be a damn fine lawyer.
Now, right off the bat, these things seem unrelated.
"I thought I should spend all my time focused on my craft."
Yeah, you should focus on your craft. Get our emails, get your practice in. But you should also be doing something just for the sake of doing it. Just for the fun of it. Because it brings you joy. It can be anything. Juggling, crosswords, it really doesn't matter.
The thing is, is that it'll bleed into your acting. Probably not in the "I get to play a champion crossword puzzler" way, though I'm sure that part is coming. Being really good at something else will give you confidence, patience, and depth that you can't get by just memorizing lines all day, and "getting to know yourself." Having something else you're good at will allow you to draw all kinds of similarities between what's happening in a scene, and what happens when, say, you finally solve the rubies cube in under 30 seconds. That feeling of pride, is the same pride your character is feeling when they get the contract from the boss. Same pride. The camera won't know the difference. 😉
There's already something you're pretty good at that you've been doing for a long time. Get back to it. Use it as a touchstone. Use it to have some fun. And if it creeps into your characters a bit, so be it.
AP
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