Become Director-Proof

“If you cast me, this is what I’m going to do. If you don’t like that, don’t cast me. I know what this character is about and what he wants.  I’m going to go in there and get that, or at least die trying.” - William H Macy

Become a self-sufficient actor.‍ ‍

If you don’t have a way of working, you’ll always be waiting for someone else to tell you how to work.

When you have a way of working, you have something to protect.
It becomes your safety net.
It’s how you protect yourself.

I can take adjustments, but I’m going to be clear about how I want to play her.

Come with your choices, and live and die by them.

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• Look For The Conflict Between The Characters.‍ ‍

You’re in a different place than the reader.
You want something, they want something.
You’re emotionally in conflict with the reader.

You: I would die for you. Them: It’s over.
You: I’m the boss. Them: Do your fucking job.

• Who Am I Talking To?

Everything you will ever do is relationship driven. Not plot.
If you know who you’re talking to, a reality is formed.

Endow the reader with a reality:
She’s a traitor.
He’s an asshole.
She’s my last hope.

• Why Now?‍ ‍

This scene has to happen now.
It can’t wait another day, it can’t wait another hour.
It has to happen now.

If I don’t get her to understand, then I’m a failure. She can’t make me a failure.

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Do this work out loud, don’t think it.  It’s not an intellectual process.

Ask questions out loud. Talk about what happened.

Talk to the page, ask the writer what the hell she means.

Go through everything your character is going through.
Make yourself laugh. Make yourself cry.

Make the circumstances real for you.

Daydreaming is huge because it gives you permission.
Explore these human beings.
Drive the world of the character even deeper into yourself.

Then put your character into action and find out.
You only know him by doing him.