Tips for Character Development that Boost Your Acting Career!

Knowing how to develop your character is one of the most important skill you need in the film and television industry. Without knowing how to develop your character, you are only so believable and only so talented. This ultimately means, you’re only so booked, right? So don’t let a limited skillset limit your career.  At the New York Acting School for Film and Television, we understand the need for mastering different skills and we want to share some character development tips with you today.

The method we want to share with you is actually called Method Acting. With this method, the actor is asked to internalize the emotional life and thought processes of the character. The actor is expected to literally feel the same emotional impulses as the character would in circumstances described in the script. The classical approach, in contrast, focuses on externalizing these processes of character development by developing a certain set of skills. Here are the main points and processes:

Real Life Observation  – In developing the character, the actor must first spend time observing how the character’s real life counterparts move and operate in the world. Where do they go? Who do they interact with? How do they interact?

Character Motivation – The actor needs to ask a series of questions to determine motivation: how would the character react in the given situation? What situations would need to occur to motivate the character in a particular direction? What events would trigger particular emotions within the character.

Emotional Memory – Key to the method acting approach is the shift away from the actor’s portrayal of emotion toward the actor’s internalization of that emotion. The actor is expected to feel the emotion rather than simply pantomime it. This process is typically enabled by the memory of a past event within the actor’s own life that triggers the same emotion.

Re-Training – The method acting approach focuses on the portrayal of lifelike and “believable” characters rather than theatrical caricatures. The actor is expected to readjust the way s/he thinks and feels to fit the portrayal of the character.

Method acting is a great way to practice authentic and believable character development and can be applied in all forms of acting from stage to camera. If you have any other questions or would like information on classes or coaching, please contact us at the New York Acting School for Film and Television today.

MARK STOLZENBERG, Founder and Director of the New York Acting School for Film and Television has been in the business for a very long time and can help you find the scammers.