Jennifer Rae is an Equity Actor who has been involved in all aspects of acting including Theatre and screen for more than 20 years.
In her acting tip “Acting 101: How to Build a Character” she describes the process of becoming an actor is to understand your character. Furthermore, within understanding the character you must understand the who, what, where, and why of your character?
Who is your character? Take the name you are given for the role and expand upon it. For example, ask your self who do the characters relate with, who are they related to, what does the character want?
Essentially you are slowly building a framework, and foundation for building the character. Build your character with the director. By doing this, this will help you make decisions whether or not how your character will react in certain situations.
Building a character not only involves familiarizing yourself with the basic traits, but also analyzing ever aspect of the character's behavior. Flesh out a character through acting with advice from an experienced stage and screen performer in this free video on acting.
Not Getting Called Back? Check out our list of resources to help you land your next big role!
