Genuine: What All Performers Must Be

Joe Hacker, my Performance for Camera professor at the University of Southern California gave a lecture this week on the pay off of being genuine. Throughout my entire life as an actress, I have often wondered what it is about certain actors that make them stand out and rise above everyone else in the entertainment industry. Why is it that whenever someone mentions the word “actor”, there is a select few that immediately pop into mind? Most of all, how on earth can an aspiring actor reach that peak level? These questions were answered with that one simple word: Genuine.

When describing what it means to be genuine, Hacker says “to be genuine is to be remembered.” When auditioning, the director does not want to see an actor trying to be someone he/she is not, “they want to see the person in real time doing real things.” It all comes down to truth. When the director asks the auditioner how they are today, it is never a good idea to say “good.” They hear that two hundred times a day, every day. They’ll forget that audition in a second. But rather, “communicate [the] emotional relationship to whatever [is being said],” and this can easily be done by actively communicating the emotional points of view expressed through the tone of voice and body language.

This is what makes an actor famous and remembered for years passed their death. These actors have owned their mistakes and have shared their true inner feelings with the camera, which has allowed the audience to see the actor and character for who they really are. A prime example would be the worldly known Ian McKellen, as shown to the right. At the age of 68, he still owns the camera by his genuine graces. OneNews just released an article based on Mckellen’s unforgettable appearance to the camera and how it has raked in an extremely large sum of money within the business. The article stated that “playing Gandalf [from Lord of the Rings] made McKellen, one of the English-speaking world's leading actors, an international box office star.” Ever since this debut, he has been asked back repeatedly by a countless number of directors around the globe begging his presence in their plays and films. McKellen later quoted in the article that “I became more of an actor because I could play before the cameras…it made for a big change in my life.” He has been asked back to play the role as Gandalf for the future making of The Hobbit, once he wraps up his world tour performance of King Lear at the end of this month.

Tom Hanks, as displayed on the left,is yet another actor that is constantly brought up upon discussing acting. His presence is clearly unforgettable and the way he transforms himself before the camera makes him all the more real and genuine. Age does not slow this man’s career down at all. All Headline News announced that he will be reoccurring in the Da Vinci Code’s prequel titled Angels and Demons, which “is set to begin filming in the beginning of 2008 for a December release.”

Of course there are a number of actors that undoubtedly appear in conversation when it comes to fine acting as Johnny Depp, Natalie Portman, and Dustin Hoffman are only a few. In order for an actor to be within that list of memorable names, he/she must first know how to audition. Upon auditioning, the main goal is to be remembered, and the only way to do this is to be genuine, and this comes by recognizing what is going on inside of the mind and sharing it with the camera. As Michael Caine, another world know actor once said, “the more you share with [the camera], the more it will take care of you.” This is what lead Ian McKellen and Tom Hanks to their success.