Have you ever noticed that most actors subconsciously do all kinds of crazy things with their hands?

They rub their foreheads when their character is thinking about something. Sometimes they point at the other actor in a scene during a confrontation, or they’ll make other hand gestures to emphasize their words.

But, have you ever stopped to think about how natural any of that even is?

How many times have you sat at the dinner table, rubbing your forehead when you are deep in thought?

Probably not many times...

It’s actually a pretty unnatural thing to do. When people are deep in thought, they tend to be rather still. Finger tapping is a much more natural action 99% of the time, but that doesn’t mean it should be your go to character choice.

It may seem like nitpicking, talking about what goes on with an actor’s hands in a scene, but things like this are what separates amateur actors from professional actors.

Professional actors get into the details, to be sure that performance is always the best it can possibly be.

So, if you want to be a professional actor too, shouldn’t you do the same...

Acting classes don't cover the topic of what to do with your hands very well, so most actors never give it a thought.

It seems reasonable to think that it’s such a small part of your character, that it should be dealt with on set.

For an amateur actor that makes sense. A professional actor knows that anything that happens on set, should already have been considered and prepared in advance.

From there, your castmates will pull other things out of you and help you layer your character with additional choices, and your director will take you the rest of the way. But, it all stems from already having your character built on a solid foundation.

I’m not saying that what you do with your hands will make your character, but it can certainly break it.

So how do you know whether what you are doing with your hands is layering your character or just distracting the audience?

The first thing that would alert you is your instinct.

If something doesn’t “feel right” for some reason, then it typically comes across that way on screen as well.

if you find that you are actively thinking about when to punctuate a certain word or phrase with a gesture, chances are, it looks unnatural to the audience as well.

Your character choices and their corresponding actions should always feel and look natural. Often, you will get through a take, watch the scene and notice that your hands just didn’t look right.

Resist the urge to plan something else. Instead, just let go and let it happen.

If it still doesn’t feel right after a couple takes, pull the director into your process and get their opinion. If they haven’t given you any direction to this point, they may not see an issue with it, but they will still be ok with giving you a few more takes to improve your performance.

When you go back for those additional takes. Try something completely different than what you have been doing up to that point.

Going back to the previous example, if you have been pointing or gesturing to your counterpart in an intense scene, escalating or relieving some of that tension would be a good step.

Instead of pointing, make contact. Putting a finger in someone’s face and putting a finger on them are completely different things and the audience reaction to that is different as well.

If escalating the tension doesn’t feel right, then try to relieve the tension by doing away with the hand gestures all together. Maybe a nod will suffice and do more in the scene.

There’s not a single formula for this, since every scene and every character will call for something different, but there are some tell tale signs to look for so you know when you are on the right track.

Just like we talked about before, when you are on the right track, things will just feel right. You will have that feeling of being in flow and your performance will reflect that when you watch the takes.

You will notice what your hands are doing, but they won’t be pulling your focus. If that’s the case, and no one else is focusing on your hands either, you’re good.

If you start mentally justifying why your hands did something, go back to the drawing board on the next take. follow the steps we outlined a moment ago.

Don’t go back and do it the same way again. change things up because if you are being distracted by what your hands are doing, the audience is being pulled out of the scene as well.

It may not cause a knee jerk reaction but even small, subconscious reactions stack up and that leads to a performance that is “ok,” when it could have been world class.

When the audience gets distracted by what you are doing and they get pulled out of the emotions you want them to experience, it’s almost like breaking the 4th wall.

This drives industry decision makers crazy! It screams “amateur” and “unprepared” to directors and even your fellow castmates, and that leaves a lasting impression.

You will leave some kind of an impression with every project you ever work on and it’s up to you to decide whether that’s a good impression, a bad one, or not much of one at all.

The last of those is probably the worst...

If the industry doesn’t know you, they can’t hire you.

See, you can be an actor, worthy of every award the industry has to offer, and remain stuck in your career if you are not visible to the industry. Here’s how I can help with that.

Everything we talked about today will do wonders for you in terms of delivering a world class performance on set, but that depends on you being able to get there in the first place.

That’s the part actors struggle with the most, and it’s why I built this to help.

I’m not saying you have to do things this way or that you even have to accept my help. You can absolutely do it on your own. You just have to hyperfocus on building up your body of work, so that you can get on the industry’s radar.

Then, you just have to be sure that your industry reputation matches your goals.

Decision makers want to work with actors that have a solid reputation. This is what makes them feel comfortable with moving forward with you and it’s what makes you visible to the industry.

If you are not making the kind of progress you should be making in your career. It’s time that you try something different, so ask yourself “if not this, then what?”

Let me know what’s on your mind, after going over this. Shoot me an email or leave a comment below. I read and respond to every one and I’m always happy to help however I can because I truly want to...

See you at the top,
Scott