January 2, 2008
How To Become A Great Actor, according to Sir Ian McKellen
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“How is it that I am a good actor? What I do is I.. pretend to be the person I’m portraying.
You’re confused.
Case in point: in Lord of the Rings, Peter Jackson comes to me and says ‘I would like you to be Gandalf the Wizard,’ and I said ‘You are aware that I am not really a wizard?’ and Peter Jackson said ‘I would like you to use your acting skills to portray a wizard for the duration of the show.’
So i said ‘Okay’ and then I said to myself ‘Mmm.. How do I do that?’ And this is what I did: I imagined that I was a wizard, and then I pretended, and acted, in that way on the stage.
How did I know what to say? The words were written down for me in a script. How did I know where to stand? People told me where to stand.
If you were to graph my acting, it would look something like this: Sir Ian, Sir Ian, Sir Ian, action — wizard! “YOU SHALL NOT PASS!” Cut! — Sir Ian, Sir Ian, Sir Ian…”
–Clip from the excellent BBC/HBO series Extras (Youtube).
As stupid as this scene is, it’s brilliant. It’s brilliant, because it’s true.
Acting is really simple. You pretend. That’s it.
There is a catch. It, too, is simple: there’s no science to acting; it is an art.
Granted, you can teach one how to use the tools that are available to you, but without the instinct there is no art. There’s a reason why the School of Theatre is a part of the College of Arts.
You can give me the absolute best box of crayons and the highest quality paper, and I still can’t draw worth a shit. You can give me oil and canvas, marble and chisel, or piano and music, and I still can’t paint, sculpt, or sing. Like the previously mentioned subjects, acting is an art — you can’t teach it, per se. You can teach the methods, but you can’t teach the instinct.
I’m not a huge fan of method acting. Yes, I use aspects of Stanislavsky’s method in my own acting, but my own acting is much like Sir Ian McKellen’s: me, me, me, me, action! (say lines) cut!, me, me, me, me.
One of my instructors keeps trying to cram into our heads that actors should “really do what you’re doing.” This is wrong. Absolutely wrong. The minute you start to really do what you’re doing, you’re no longer acting — you’re no longer pretending — you’re just YOU on stage dressed up like someone else.
In the end, however, I don’t particularly care how YOU act, so long as you act well. I have friends who can’t act worth a shit, and I’ll never cast them unless their actual, real personality fits with the character. I’ve had friends that I could’ve sworn the author was thinking of when he wrote that play — they’re that much alike.
But when I hold auditions, I look for good actors. Actors who do different things, who behave differently than they do in “real life”, who can show me a range of behavior. After all, the best characters in a play change over the course of the play: they grow. If an actress can’t act, if she can only portray herself, then how can she grow on stage?
The simple answer: she can’t.
As stupid as Sir Ian’s explanation is, it is brilliant. It’s true.
Acting is pretending.
Stumble It!
11 Comments »
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the christmas special didn’t pack enough laughs but the final message from ricky was spot on!
Comment by aniche — January 2, 2008 @ 5:00 am
Awesome quotes from Gandalf!
-jim
The Hobbit(s) in 3-D? You bet.
http://www.marketsaw.com
Comment by Jim Dorey — January 2, 2008 @ 10:31 am
I’ve always said that acting is just really good lying. You have to believe your own bullshit — some people are just better at it than others. Great post!
Comment by madmargaret — January 2, 2008 @ 2:46 pm
It’s true! I saw that particular episode with my friends, and we launched into an hour-long discussion about how true it was — as stupid as it sounds, it’s absolutely how acting works!
Incidentally, I’m getting the complete series in two weeks. I’m excited!
Comment by director — January 2, 2008 @ 3:16 pm
I actually got into an argument with M about this once. I told him acting was just being a really good bullshitter and he was so offended! He says I just don’t understand, that there’s more to it than that. I say, he’s being a snob about it because of his professional background.
Comment by madmargaret — January 2, 2008 @ 5:27 pm
Well, there IS much more to it… but at it’s most basic level, it’s just pretending! Anyone can pretend — but not just anyone can be a good actor. There’s an instinct that’s required, I think, to be good. But as far as technique — I don’t particularly like Method acting. I’m not knocking it. It certainly works for others! But in the end, it’s just you pretending to be someone else. That’s all!
Comment by director — January 2, 2008 @ 5:30 pm
What I always tell people is, method acting is just that — a “method” — a way of getting your mind into a particular groove or break down its own resistance. There are as many “methods” as there are stars in the sky. Use what works for YOU. And yes, I agree there is a lot more to it — the craft of it and the talent involved. Fact is, some people are just natural actors and need fewer “methods” than others. M and I have very similar acting styles, but the difference is, he’s formally trained and 30-year professional experience. I’m trained in the school of hard knocks and gut instinct based on 30 years of dealing with people. Yet, our approach to the material is exactly the same — his on experience, mine on instinct — and we both (so I’m told) don’t suck. Don’t get me wrong; I’m not saying education or experience is negated by any means, but this business of getting snobby over it is just bollocks in my opinion.
Comment by madmargaret — January 2, 2008 @ 6:11 pm
How To Become A Great Actor, according to Sir Ian McKellen « The Director Sector
Ever wondered how to become a great actor? Ever wondered how the greatest actors of our time think when they’re in front of the camera? Do you want to be the best? Sir Ian McKellen explains it all — with commentary from The Director. Read this ent…
Trackback by bloggingzoom.com — January 2, 2008 @ 6:59 pm
Entertaining. As always.
Comment by Julie-Anne — January 14, 2008 @ 11:37 pm
Entertaining. As always.
Comment by Julie-Anne — January 14, 2008 @ 11:38 pm
Ditto, Julie-Anne.
I always hate reading about this mystical “talent” that you just have, because even though I’m told I can act (much to my embarrassment at the times) I keep thinking ‘but, but… what if *I* don’t have this “talent”…!!!’ Then I just have to forgot it for awhile, because I’ll always decided I don’t have it.
I’m so insecure about myself it’s not funny. I mean, sometimes I tell people I’m insecure (it comes up in conversation) and they’re like: “No way! You’re so outgoing and not afraid to say what you think.” Yeah - Don’t mean I think I’m good at acting/writing/painting/drawing…
But anyways… I’ll go back to my roleplaying… *grin* (Not. A. Word.)
Comment by Saiyne — October 11, 2008 @ 8:24 pm