Originally Posted by PornMD

I'd say maybe 90-95% of the roles in movies if not more should be easy to act, even amongst leading roles. When it's playing relatively straightforward characters, even if they're not the kind of person you are, you can draw upon movies you've seen, people you know, etc. in order to act the part.

It's the more bizarre roles I think that can be harder to do, because there's a fine line between being realistically bizarre and overacting or seeming fake. Additionally I could see how roles in movies that are plain weird, even if they are kind of straightforward roles, would be tough too. With that said, a couple of roles off the top of my head that I'd think were difficult were Christian Bale in American Psycho and Guy Pierce in Memento (his character has a lot of straightforward traits but in the bizarre context of the movie, there's a lot that needs to be kept in mind with every scene...or in his case kept OUT of mind :P).

That said, there's also roles that may not have been THAT difficult, but there's a difference between doing it well and doing it damn near perfectly. Like I'm not really sure I'd consider Edward Norton's role in Primal Fear THAT hard even though many others would...he essentially plays 2 characters in 1 and they're pretty straightforward. However, I think he fucking nailed it better than most actors could have IMO.

So it's a combo of difficulty of role and good vs. great vs. perfect acting of it, plus the variety of roles people choose (lack of variety of roles makes some otherwise good actors kind of overrated IMO...almost like you know they're pretty much acting as themselves or a part of themselves in every movie, which is easier than branching out).

Originally Posted by kane

Give yourself a little try. Pick some lines from a movie you like, memorize them then stand in the mirror and say them.

It is one thing to repeat them, it is another all together to say them and sound natural as you do it.

Chances are you will sound fake as you say the lines. Getting to a place where you can say the lines and sound sincere and natural is the hardest part.