how hard is acting, really?
 

what's so hard about it? the cameras? memorizing lines? getting that break?



any actors here? wannabe actors?

:)

paid to pretend... sounds like fun anyway :)





ps: i've been 'acting' like an asshole for years!

exactly right.

it does sound like a blast, i want to do it!

:thumbsup

ummmmmmmmmmm

The acting part is easy, it's the pressure knowing you have to deliver the way the director wants you to deliver, memorizing your lines and doing it all under a huge budget someone else is paying for. The location, the crew the lighting, and everything else involved in making a movie.

Now, reality TV, that's not acting, that's being yourself.

Could I do it...Hell No!

Talk to LAJ.
:winkwink:

i see. i guess it's different once you're on set eh.

did he give it a whirl or....

Go on a few Auditions and report back to us. :1orglaugh
If you need help, my wife wrote a book about newbies breaking into the industry.

i will. :1orglaugh

i would be interested in that book or something similar, where can i pick that up?

IME, it's damn hard to do well. :2 cents:

It sounds easy in the abstract, but there's a lot more to it than memorizing/delivering lines.

For example, it's a bit harder to deliver lines you have memorized when you're also receiving direction that includes communicating an emotion with your facial expression while delivering a specific set of hand gestures that have to be coordinated with the words you are saying, and on top of that, deliver your lines in an accent that you have to maintain throughout, one that is not a natural accent for you. That's all in a day's work for someone like Meryl Streep. (It's beyond cliche to cite her as an example, I realize... but she is in fact quite good at her trade.)

I used to make fun of "bad actors" quite a bit -- and then I tried doing it for myself. It just ain't as easy as it looks/sounds. I'm sure like everything else, it gets easier with time, experience and training. For some people it probably comes way more naturally too, and they don't struggle with it as much as a hack like me.

And yeah... LAJ has some work to his credit. He can tell you all about how easy it definitely isn't to crack into the field professionally, too.

Here you go,
Everything you need to know.
http://www.amazon.com/Insiders-Guide...1179108&sr=1-1

good info, thx. i agree with the streep level of acting but in general/typically, if an actor is cast properly, the role shouldn't be too much of a stretch, right? then it's just a matter of putting all the distractions(set, cams, etc) out of your mind and thinking in your mind you are that person, right? know what i mean?

If what Vince Vaughn does can be called acting, then no... it's not that hard.

Thanks for the kind words Q.

I pursued acting thru much of the 90s in LA. Worked enough to warrant pushing forward, but not enough to make a livable salary. Took nearly 10 years off, and got back into it again. Last thing I did was "Friday Night Lights" about 2 years ago. I just keep it open now as a hobby. The dream is long behind me LOL.

The hardest part about acting is getting the job.

:thumbsup i think i will get this.
:thumbsup :1orglaugh

right on, how do you suggest going about getting into it?

Its in the Book, including Agents and Managers.

It has to be much harder than people think. You have to actually have some level of intelligence to be a decent actor -- for example, Jessica Simpson is a horrible actress because she's a fucking moron.

How many people honestly think they could do Tom Cruise or Leo DiCaprio's job? Pull off the emotional stuff, the charisma, the stunts -- there's a reason they get paid so much money.

Depends on where you live, what you want to do (stage, tv, commercials, film, industrials, etc.) and how serious you are about doing it.

You'll need to get a headshot and resume together for starters, and you'll want to find opportunities to showcase your talent. Take acting classes... network with other actors... find agents and managers and think about who you want to target. Learn who all the important casting directors are in your area and read up on what projects are happening... I read the Hollywood Reporter and Variety religiously in the 90s. I also used to get creative when I was able to get on the lots like at Paramount, Sony, Warner Brothers etc. and would find ways to get my pic and resume in front of the right people. These are just a few things to think about :)

Everything LAJ just said is in the Book, step by step. :thumbsup
Why did you stop?

I don't remember the statistic but I think about 90% of all SAG actors back when I was most active made less than 5K / year.

Yes, sounds discouraging, but getting into acting AND being successful, especially if you are in your 20s or 30s is about as difficult as it gets.

My 30s were knocking back in the late 90s and I didn't want to be a waiter for the rest of my life LOL. Leaving the entertainment industry, and subsequently LA, were the best decisions of my life.

You know what they say 'Mo: Acting is so easy even a kid can do it. :)

i'm not sure i agree with this. are actors, as a whole, more intelligent that everyone else? i do agree re: hanks, di caprio not at all, he's a 1 dimensional actor imo. every role it's the same ole with that guy. he's fortunate he performs in high quality productions. not calling him a hack but.........
right on, are those rags still the ones for getting that sort of info these days? i'm in l.a.

:thumbsup

Cool, I don't know how people do it. I never could.
At least you can say you did it.

might be harder than you suspect... it's very difficult to direct actors for head shots I can tell ya that. it's very difficult to be natural on camera and handel all the pressure, then hit your marks and deliver the lines.

re: SAG, isn't that a sticky part of it all, getting that card?
seems that way eh! lolz

They should be! Doing theatre and ensemble comedy there is also a good thing. I made quite a few connections in both. good luck to you!

Yeah man... any time I bum out and go "what if, what if" (which is very few and far between nowadays) I can say I gave it a good honest try and worked several decent jobs.

Yup... that's one of your first big hurdles. I lucked out by booking a national commercial back in 1992 (speaking part) which waived me in.

that's kinda what i was thinking, putting the cameras out of your mind and just thinking it's all natural prolly goes a long way in acting.

Is It easier if you are not in your 20s? I would have thought that is the age you should be in kinda.

yeah, i was an extra in the 1st season of sons of anarchy, and a couple of the cats i met were talking about that. one was bitching how hard it is and another was saying he lucked out and someone with some pull just got one for him.

When I went to broadcasting school we had to do a lot of weekly exercises in front of the class and all the instructors.... proper speaking & enunciation techniques, dealing with heckling, 100% improv, teams, etc.... it's not hard, but I can imagine someone with public speaking phobias to have trouble. :2 cents:

It's a good age to be cuz there are tons of roles for that age group, and you have your most energy in your 20s, but you are also competing against a ridiculous amount of people.

I'd go on commercial auditions where there would be one role available and literally 300 of us with similar features or characteristics going for the same thing. It's interesting seeing a lot of the guys I knew way back when now playing middle aged dads on TV LOL.

I live in Austin now and audition for stuff here and there and have way less competition now. But also there are way less roles.

Just when you think you are perfect for a role, you go in and there are 100 other people that look just like you.

Just when you think you have the perfect Abs for a new Abs Infomercial, 100 other guys with the same abs if not better are there trying out for the same role.

But eventually, you start booking jobs. I think if book 1:20 Auditions you are doing pretty good. That's doing it full time. Like 3-5 auditions a day.

One national commercial you can make anywhere from 5K to 100K, depending on the commercial.

interesting, so 5 auditions/day is doable? at 1:20 that 1+ gig a week eh?

Best way to find out it to try it out ;)

It all depends, but if you are doing it full time and you have a manager that is getting your ass out there a lot.

You just have to go in, give it your 110% and move on to the next one. You can't stress if they liked you, did you mess up, are you going to get a call back.

Maybe you can Stunt work.

I always said, if they need a psycho guy on a motorcycle doing wheelies at 100MPH, I'm the guy. Plus I'll be in a helmet so I'm ok with that.

i dug up a pic of me out&about with tommy and johnny from sons of anarchy. unfortunately, i've lost touch with them since. i wasn't much interested in pursuing acting then.

http://i38.tinypic.com/3581cf9.jpg

http://foolery.typepad.com/photos/un...r_thespian.jpg

I utilize plot and dialogue in most of the scenes which I write and direct, and I can't tell you how frustrating it is to work with adult industry performers that only want to fuck... :1orglaugh

Over the years I have developed techniques for getting good performances from people who have insisted that they could not act. They were in fact surprised at their own performances afterwards.

When I get the opportunity to work with performers who actually enjoy the acting part, it is a true joy, and it shows in the finished project.

My "A" list of Asian adult actresses includes Evelyn Lin, Lucy Thai, Annie Cruz, Mika Tan, Charmane Star, Nautica Thorn, Keeani Lei, Kaiya Lynn, Tia Tanaka, and Lana Croft, all of whom I have worked with multiple times. I only worked with Asa Akira and Mimi Miyagi each once, however they were both great to work with.

http://www.asiandivagirls.com/tgp/20...t/adg_0925.jpg

http://www.asiandivagirls.com/tgp/20...t/adg_0090.jpg

Among the best male performers I have worked with are Dale DaBone, Nick Manning, Otto Bauer, Marcus London, Alan Stafford, Eric Swiss, Hershel Savage, Steven St Croix, and Alec Knight. I have not worked with Barrett Blade yet, but I was on another director's set watching him act once, and I was really impressed with his acting ability.

There are many amateurs whom I have worked with that gave some good acting performances too, but I doubt anyone would recognize their names.

Now when it comes to adult "performing", that is a whole other category... :winkwink:

ADG

spammmmmmmmmm lolol

plus the technique of 'acting' must be mastered. I worked in this movie as an actor

http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fu...eoid=11021 85

which one are you in that?

Dave, i just purchased your wife's book, looking forward to reading it, thx.

I know you are a poet...do you find that live reading (or poetry slams) have helped you as an actor?

I write poetry and short stories (under a psuedonym), but I have major anxiety whenever I try to recite what I have written. Ironically, when I am not performing myself, I can easily coach/direct other actors on their lines and performance.

ADG

Except reality isn't all that real. You reckon a camera is in the right place at the right time, every time? Oops... hold that thought, wait until we get the camera guy over there... ok, that angle was a bit weird, let's redo that fight!

MTV has admitted that some shows are "partially" scripted

Reality? Pffft. :winkwink:

Robert Mitchum was once asked about method actors and he said something along the line of...my method is to get before the camera...say my lines...and I can't believe that I get paid good money for doing that...I have always felt that I should have a job doing something useful.

I think it would be fun to do some small parts in b movies, as long as I didn't have many lines. No way I could memorize as much as some actors do, I can't remember my own phone number half the time. Now improv, that's some fun stuff.

and he was considered to be one of the greats!

He certainly was a major movie star...a giant among several giants in his time. Actors like him just had a presence about them and scripts were built around that presence...so for them it pretty much was just getting before the camera and saying their lines. I cannot think of a current actor/star that has that kind of a presence...can you?