“You’re so dramatic!” That may be something you’ve heard a time or two. Off stage, actors tend to be animated because it’s kind of part of being an actor.
So, it’s no wonder that most actors like to play this type of role on set as well. It tends to be animated and plays well with an actor’s nature.
Last week we talked about how to be a comedic actor.
This week we are going to be switching gears and talking about how to be a dramatic actor, which is incredibly important, even if you have no interest in ever playing a dramatic character.
When you do this, along with what we went over last week, you can have an incredible acting range. That’s something you can bring to any character you ever play.
If you truly want to be a professional actor it can be a game changer for you. You won’t believe what can happen in your career when you master this category. Here’s why...
Great dramatic actors are in really high demand. In fact, if you can deliver a great performance for a dramatic role you can have Casting Directors wanting to cast you over and over again.
It won’t stop with just CDs either. Directors, industry decision makers and even your fellow castmates will also want to work with you over and over again too, and that’s how you truly build an acting career.
More on that in a bit...
Most actors love to play dramatic roles but few are able to knock it out of the park. They tend to either overplay the role or underplay the role.
Unlike other categories, when an actor overplays or underplays in a scene, it’s more difficult for a director to step in, while still maintaining the realism in the scene.
Here’s why.
Dramatic characters are a lot like characters in any other genre, but with a few key differences.
Just like any other character you play, you have to Identify what’s going on in the scene. You also have to connect what’s going on in the scene with your character’s backstory and make your character choices.
However, when you are playing a dramatic character you have to plan your level of intensity. Drama requires relief at some point. That can come in a number of ways.
The scene can switch from dramatic to suspenseful. That’s a subtle difference but the underlying emotions of your character would change quite a bit.
That’s what everyone gets wrong about being a dramatic actor and just this one simple tweak can be a complete game changer.
So, when you are preparing for a dramatic role look for the places where you can change things up. When you are on set, look for places in the script where the mood changes and the dialogue shifts.
Then, you can change your character's choices and add another dimension to your performance.
It sounds trickier than it actually is and we’ll go over this more in depth in the coming weeks.
Start with this for now and get comfortable with the idea of switching things up. It can make a huge difference in every character you play, because you will be adding to your acting range.
If you choose to go down this path and start focusing on being a dramatic actor it can either be the best career path or it can be the worst career path.
It can be the best if you specialise in that category and put the majority of your efforts into it. When you decide to do this, a couple things happen.
You will meet people that also specialize in the same category. True industry professionals almost always specialize in a particular category, so they end up working with a similar group of people from one project to the next.
That’s not limited to just actors.
Think of it like this...When was the last time M. Night Shyamalan did a romantic comedy?
He specialised in a category and has stuck with it. Others do branch out and take on different kinds of projects but they do so after having established themselves in a single category.
When you truly master a category you become the only logical choice to be cast. When a CD is deciding who to move forward in the casting process, they look at things like this.
If they are casting for a dramatic role, someone who is focused in that category will almost always have a big advantage over someone that jumps from one category to the next.
Also, Casting Directors are always looking for someone who can bring something to the production, beyond just their talent.
This is where specializing in a given category comes in handy again. Everyone has a favorite genre. So, as you do more and more projects in a category, you will start to become recognizable to that category’s audience.
If you can bring that kind of attention to a production, it can give you an incredible advantage during the casting process. Here's how I can help with that.
See, regardless of how talented you are if you don't have this in place, your career progress could be much slower.
So make things easier on yourself and give yourself every advantage possible to succeed.
We just went over some really high level concepts, so take some time to let everything sink in. If you have questions about any of it or even if you just want to bounce ideas, remember I’m always only a comment or an email away.
I’m always happy to help however I can because I truly want to...
See you at the top,
Scott