Feedback, Flattery, and Keeping it Real

A friend of mine on the east coast called me up the other day and said she'd come across a review of Tom Ford's THE SINGLE MAN in an old copy of New York magazine she found at the gym, in which my decision to cast Colin Firth in the lead role was praised. My friend was surprised when I told her I hadn't seen it, hadn't heard anything about it. "Good casting so rarely gets mentioned," she pointed out. "You generally only hear about casting decisions when they're disasters."

It got me to thinking about something I once mentioned in a post here, that most of us are more inclined to register our failures as opposed to our successes, and also about how nice it feels to get positive feedback, out of the blue, when you're least expecting it. There have been a few comments from readers on this site alluding to the fact that, while not wanting to seem like "arse-kissers," they appreciate my willingness to offer encouragement. The way I look at it is, if I like getting nice feedback, I assume each one of us out there does. As for comments about my keeping it real and down to earth? That's who I am. My childhood was real and down to earth. (Which is also my way of saying that it was loving, but also challenging.) I couldn't be another version of myself if I tried.

So, one of the questions that popped up recently in a comment was whether there's such a thing as over-training. Essentially, the way I feel is that it's important that every actor keeps his or her instrument tuned up to the best of their abilities. You call on every aspect of yourself as an actor--emotions, psychology, body, movement, voice--and there's almost always something that can stand to be developed further, whether it's accent work, singing, dance training, etc. That said, there are also practicalities. You alone have to decide what you want to devote your resources and energy towards. Keep an eye on whether you're obsessing on only one angle of things, such as getting your head shots taken over and over again in the hope that the perfect photo will land you the perfect role (it won't).

It's a central theme that you're going to hear again and again on this site: strike a balance. Find a balance between the business end of being an actor, and the creative end. Put as many tools as you can into the imaginary toolbox you carry into each audition so that you can call on those tools to do your best work, but don't go into debt to do so. To be an actor is to be an artist, and to be an artist is to live a dream. But the world is a practical place, and movie-making is a business. If you stay mindful of both angles of this equation, your chances of success increase exponentially. It also doesn't hurt to be a nice person. Just keeping it real, here. Have a great day.