Most actors misunderstand what directors want from them on set, and that has a huge impact on how they build their career.
When you know what directors want, and you are able to deliver it, they want to work with you again.
That’s why many of the most successful actors have built their career alongside some of the most successful directors.
It happens because they make a good team, so they are able to deliver excellent results together.
The opposite is also true.
If you don’t deliver what they want, directors will remember that too and that can impact whether you get to work with them again.
Finding a director that likes to work with you is one of the most impactful things you can do for your acting career.
Otherwise, it’s almost like building your career from scratch every time.
Professional actors know that, so they put a lot of effort into maximizing every opportunity.
Working well with directors goes way beyond just memorizing your lines and delivering a good performance.
Most actors don’t have a clue about what directors really want, but if you want to build your career as a professional actor this is something you have to figure out quickly...
You have to understand that there are different kinds of directors. Some directors are highly analytical and detail oriented.
Others are kind of scatterbrained and focus solely on what’s happening in the moment.
Some directors are all about the visuals, while others gravitate more towards the audio and how it shapes the scene, leaving the visuals to the DP.
Wherever they fall on the spectrum, that’s where you have to meet them, if you want to have a good experience and hopefully work with them again.
Most actors treat every director the same way, but what works with one of them may be completely off putting to someone else.
Here’s what I mean...
A director that wants their actors to take the lead would find it tedious to work with an actor that is constantly asking for feedback on what to try next.
However, a director that wants to mold the action on set into what they have in mind, would welcome it. They may even find it insulting if you don’t ask them for reassurance that you are on the right track.
That’s why it’s important that you work with directors in the way they operate.
At first, that can be a little bit tricky because directors won’t exactly express it. It will be up to you to decipher what their preferences are.
When you are working with a director for the first time, it’s important to pay attention to the language they use.
If they are asking you a lot of questions about your character choices, that tends to be a sign that they want you to take the lead and then they’ll shape their vision around you.
However, if they are saying things like “why don’t we try it this way” or “I think your character would be more like...” then the director is trying to get your actions to fit into their vision.
Once you figure that out, you can then work with the director much more effectively.
You can offer different perspectives, without seeming combative or without sounding like you distrust the director’s vision for your character.
Directors love working with actors that push the limits of their creativity, so they will always be open to new ideas and they will be very excited about trying things differently than what they may have originally had in mind, provided that you can clearly communicate with each other.
That starts with understanding the director’s preferences, when it comes to the way they work with actors.
We could get deep into the nuances but what we went over will actually get you ninety percent of the way there and it will put you head and shoulders above other actors that don’t ever put this kind of effort into working with directors.
We can dive into the details another time.
For now, think about the directors you have worked with recently and try to decipher what their preferences were.
What language did they use? What were they most focused on when giving you direction? How did you leave things when you wrapped production?
This simple exercise will help you find some patterns that you can identify in the next director you work with.
What we talked about today can do wonders for your career but it only matters if you have enough opportunities to get on set and work with directors often.
Most actors focus solely on what happens on set, because it’s the more fun and creative side of the industry, but there are many other things that go into building your acting career.
If the building blocks of your career aren’t in place, things can be very tough, regardless of how well you perform on set.
Like I mentioned a moment ago, how well you perform on set doesn’t matter until you have the opportunity to get on set and there are many other things to do before that happens.
Auditions can be very tough without a few key things in place, but things can happen quickly when you are highly visible to casting directors and industry decision makers, and you have a stellar industry reputation. That’s why I built this to help...
So, get started on what we talked about today and we’ll talk more about the rest over the coming weeks.
If you have questions about any of it or if you just want to bounce ideas, send me an email or leave a comment below.
I’m happy to help however I can, because I truly want to...
See you at the top,
Scott