Stop Trying to be Interesting
Please
Stop trying to be interesting
Let me explain :)
This question has come up a bit recently
How can I be interesting?
How can I make interesting choices?
How can I stand out from the others?
How can I be a rebel and make dangerous choices?
First things first
Rebels are just as boring as sheep
Why?
They are predictable
A sheep does what the group does
A rebel does the opposite
Predictable
And predictable is the opposite of alive
Therefore
Boring
Next
Let’s look at an actor who is wanting to make “interesting choices”
Who is wanting to “stand out from the crowd”
Well
Right from the get go
The actor has given their power away
Why?
Well, who determines if the choice is interesting or not?
Exactly
It’s something external to ourselves
I might think I have made the most interesting, unique, dangerous choice in the history of acting
But the kid in the front row eating his bag of crisps might stare back at me and yawn out of tremendous boredom (true story)
Therefore
The kid is the one who determines if my choice is actually interesting or not
This is outside of my control
And the chances are then
I’m up for an exhausting journey
I’ll go to sleep happy if the kid stands up on their chair and cheers for me because they’re enthralled by my choices
But the flip side is that I’ll go to sleep disappointed if he takes another crunchingly-loud mouthful of crips because the bag is more interesting than my work.
Big ups and downs
Not very sustainable
So
To be clear
Interesting choices are a result which is out of our control
Let’s let go of the results here and go back to process
Let’s look at the experts
What is unanimously the most dangerous, interesting, unique thing an actor can do?
Be. Present.
An actor who is present is alive
Now, THAT is a goal worth working towards
However
One can not instantaneously become present just by thinking “C’mon Michael, be present dammit!”
Presence itself is a bi-product, a result
So
The question then becomes…
What is a process that results in presence?
What can I actually DO in this moment, right now
In order to help me move into a place of presence?
Breathe
Breath = presence
If I can go back to my breath
I can become present
And being present means I can genuinely react to my given circumstance
DAYEM
Now, I love that actors go out of their way to have a “character’s secret” or copy Brando and make their "character’s animal" an English bulldog that’s been shot in the throat for dramatic effect
But when it comes to skills I truly believe are worth investing in
That will actually result in the improvement and progression of their craft
I still have not come across something more valuable than breath
So please
The next time an acting teacher says to you
“Make interesting choices”
(which I believe is equivalent to saying “hey just be amazing but I don’t actually know how to help you do that”)
Go back to process
Breathe
Your breath will help you move into a state of presence
Your presence will help you listen, react, speak truthfully and in general, come to life!
And you being alive… you living in front of the lens and reacting truthfully…
Mmm
That’ll do pig
That’ll do
So
Stop trying to be interesting
Instead
Breathe
And let the results take care of themselves
Hope this helps
X