An Actor's Type
The Three “T’s” of a Successful Actor
Three fundamental qualities found in the successful actor. They are Talent, Type and Tenacity. The actor who learns what those qualities truly are, and then understands how to use them, stands the best chance of succeeding in show business. Let’s look at the second element. Here is the definition of Type – a number of persons sharing a particular characteristic, or set of characteristics, that causes them to be regarded as a group, more or less precisely defined or designated.
Actors hate this word with a passion, but the truth is everyone falls into a type or types, and the intelligent actor knows what those types are and how to refine and showcase those qualities. Although you may think you can play just about any role ever written, unfortunately, you aren’t the one who’s doing the hiring. So the first step in understanding your Type is to understand the concept of Essence – the things that make you… you!
Your Essence
There are three elements that make up your essence – your personality, your physical appearance and your vibe. While the first two components are pretty self-explanatory, vibe needs a little clarification. Think of the energy you bring into the room, the unspoken attitude you send out to everyone; that is your vibe. In acting terms, you would call it your “subtext”, so think of it as your real-life subtext. There are times we knowingly put out a certain vibe, and one of the most important challenges you’ll have is figuring out what kind of vibe you are sending out at any given moment and learning how to use it to your advantage.
Obviously understanding your essence is not something you are going to master in a week or two. But through a careful examination of who and what you are, as well as the vibe you send out to people, a powerful tool will become available to you. This self-awareness allows you to harness the various qualities you possess and use them for your benefit in any situation; the audition, the interview, your public and private life. That said, as an exercise, take a few minutes and see if you can come up with words or descriptive phrases which capture your essence; that is, your Type.
The Industry
Next, you must begin to understand how your three elements are viewed, or typed, by the Industry. The people who do the auditioning and hiring evaluate and make casting decisions based on their observations of your essence and how they think it would fit with a particular role they are casting. What you show them has a direct impact on which roles you’re called in for. Not to realize this, and accept it, is to be dishonest about your Type and your possibilities for employment. Like the Chinese proverb says, “The beginning of wisdom is to call things by their right names.”
Finally, list the kinds of roles you typically get called in for or have played recently. So which part of your essence would you say was most responsible for you getting that audition or part? Or was it a combination of them? Do you see a connection between how the essence of these characters fit with your essence? You may be surprised at what you discover.
The theme of this piece continues in the articles, An Actor’s Tenacity – The Three “T’s” of a Successful Actor and An Actor’s Talent – The Three “T’s” of a Successful Actor
An Actor's Type
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