The industry has its own way of operating that is unlike anything else in the world. If you really start to think about the way the industry works, you will find all kinds of things that just don’t seem to make sense.

For example, why is it that so many talented actors are passed on when other, let’s call them “less experienced actors” are cast consistently.

That’s something that most actors never really figure out, so they spend a long, long time thinking that if they could just audition for the right person things would change and they would finally get their big break.

That kind of thinking is partially true but only half of it is under your control. See, much like in professional sports, talent cannot be denied.

That’s why A listers are all incredibly talented actors. Talent makes the difference between getting a few credits and building a long lasting career as a professional actor.

The part of this that is nonsensical is that there are many levels you have to work through to make it to the top tier of the industry.

A listers build their career differently. They don’t hope to be discovered and hope to get lucky. They build their careers on purpose and put a lot of effort into refining their skillset.

If you want to be a professional actor, that’s something you have to master too. Here’s where to start...

First, let’s talk about something most actors completely ignore because it’s one of the main factors that world class actors use to bring their characters to life.

It’s something called microexpressions. The reason they focus on this is that they add an incredible amount of depth to your character.

See, you can’t fake the emotions and microexpressions are a layer of subconscious communication that audiences pick up on.

When done correctly, they’re instrumental in bringing your character to life. Try this with me now...

Look in the mirror or open the selfie camera on your phone and make an angry face. I know it will feel kind of silly but bear with me.

The reason I want you to do it this way, instead of giving you a backstory and setting up a scene, is that this is what most actors do.

If a scene calls for them to be angry, they try to show their anger but it typically comes across as inauthentic.

What did you notice about your expression just now?

You probably scrunched your eyebrows close together and tensed your lips. While that’s a good start, what really takes things to another level is drilling down to the microexpression.

When portraying anger, your eyebrows scrunch close together like I just mentioned. How close they come, is going to depend on how angry your character is. The more angry they are, the closer together the eyebrows come.

Scrunching your eyebrows is an evolutionary way of protecting your eyesight. Many animals have a variety of ways to protect their eyes when coming into conflict with one another or when being attacked.

For humans, part of that protection system is the eyebrow. However, it’s kind of a weak system on its own, so it is typically paired with a head that tilts forward slightly.

Simply frowning without the head tilt, is one those things that makes the anger seem inauthentic. The angle, just like everything else, will depend on your character’s level of anger.

The angrier they are, the more their head will tilt.

Being angry with a significant other that forgets your anniversary might yield a 5 degree head tilt.

Being angry at an invading alien species that is determined to take over your planet, calls for about a 15 to 20 degree head tilt. That’s about as far as you want to go with it.

Along with the head tilt, your lips tense up and your jaw may even protrude further than it normally does. This really only applies when your character is hopping mad and ready for battle kind of angry, like in the alien scenario.

When combined, they form a macro expression and all of the factors work together to increase the audience’s believability.

I know it sounds kind of complicated and that’s why most actors never bother to even try it. The truth is that it’s actually quite simple...

See, the other end of the spectrum is basically the exact opposite of what went over.

Do the same exercise as you did a minute ago. Look in the mirror or open the selfie camera on your phone and make a happy face.

When your character is experiencing joy, instead scrunching the eyebrows together, you would raise them. This naturally pulls up the eyelids too, which opens your eyes further so you can take in every detail of whatever is bringing you joy.

Instead of tensing your lips, you would be smiling. As with everything we’ve talked about, the more joy you are experiencing, the bigger your smile would be.

Typically, genuine joy would expose your teeth and raise your cheeks. A “fake” smile wouldn’t. I wanted to bring that up to show you that there are some variations to this along with any other expression your character will show.

There are many nuances and we could talk about them for days on end, but what we went over today is plenty to get you started because it gives you both extremes of human emotions.

Just about everything else will be somewhere in the middle.

When you start preparing for scenes using what we talked about you will be absolutely amazed at the difference it makes in your performance.

When you do it this way your characters can develop on an entirely different level. Don’t take my word for it. Try it yourself...

The reason it works so well is that research has shown that when you show an emotion with your facial expression, you start to feel and experience that emotion.

That’s why world class actors seem so genuine on screen. On some level, they’re actually experiencing the emotions that their characters are experiencing.

You don’t have to wait until you are on set to do this. Use it to prepare for auditions and you just might catch the casting director’s attention and stand out from everyone else.

You want them to compare how they felt witnessing your anger, instead of comparing your attempt at showing anger to everyone else’s attempt to do the same.

However, if you don’t have anything to prepare for, I created something that will help you be more visible to casting directors and industry decision makers where they are already looking for talent.

Remember how I mentioned that the way the industry works is unlike anything else?

Casting is a big part of that. I’m sure you can think of some incredibly talented actors that have never gotten the opportunities they deserved.

You might even include yourself on that list.

See, the reason for it is that you have to build up your industry credibility and become known as an actor who can deliver great performances on set.

So many actors never reach their full potential because they never build that kind of a relationship with CDs.

We’ll talk more about how to do that next time.

For now, here’s something you can do to show Casting Directors and industry decision makers that you are a true professional.

Like I said a moment ago, we could literally talk about this for days and go over all of the nuances but that would be incredibly overwhelming.

Start with this and feel free to get in touch if you have any questions, or even if you just want to bounce ideas about something.

Leave a comment below or shoot me and email. I’m happy to help however I can because I truly want to...

See you at the top,
Scott