Which type of actor are you?

Actors are as individual as grains of sand, but when you work with them a lot, you quickly start to see certain patterns of behaviour emerging and I want to share this with you in the hope that you will try to avoid some of the more negative behaviour. I will admit that these are generalisations, but it will help you to avoid falling into this problem.

The Instinctive Actor

I’ve spoken about this one recently so I won’t go on. They labour under the misapprehension that they’re able to give the best performances possible without actually learning any acting skills, as if enough time on the stage/screen would teach them how to glean from a script the actable parts. They presume the meaning’s in the words and they can automagically read between the lines. They’re often very good, but they’ll never be great because they won’t allow themselves to grow.

The Protector

A close friend of the instinctive actor, the protector knows they’ve got some talent and they’ve been told it on many occasions, but they cannot risk the chance of being proven wrong. They’ll rarely take a risk, and cannot for a second step out of their comfort zone. They don’t believe in warm up, they rarely believe in rehearsal, other than as a way to learn their lines and their performance doesn’t vary from first read through to final performance.

The Pleaser

This actor sees all relationships with power from the perspective of a child. Their coach, their director, the producer are all parent figures to them. Everything they do or say is reduced to an effort to please the power figure. This leads them to do things that self-respecting actors wouldn’t, and they also get up the noses of their fellow actors with their toadying and ass-kissing.

The One-Footer

Never really put both feet into the acting profession. Often has a significant second job which has paid the bills for them, but reduced their capacity to work as actors. They’ve reduced risk at the cost of ever really being involved in the profession. They long for a full acting career but cannot risk the loss of security. When they work as actors, they often have a bit of a chip on their shoulder about not being a “real actor”. They often didn’t go to drama school, but they do consider themselves to be an actor, despite spending most of their time – doing other things.

The Clown

Related to the pleaser and the protector, but uses humour as a way to avoid being challenged. They make little jokes here and there, but it’s all a defense mechanism, their fear prevents them from engaging, so they use joking as a way of diverting attention away from their fears.

The Old Hand

We can all learn something from our elders, but the Old Hand is more intent than most on teaching everyone else how things used to be done. Fond of the anecdote and giving other actors advice, the Old Hand has worked with everyone and is a mainly benign force in the room. The only trouble is that the Old Hand is not very keen on getting down to business, will give a workmanlike performance when they do. They poo-poo anything new, have bad experiences of anything innovative and often talk about the director behind their back.

The Excuser

Always has a reason why what needs to be done hasn’t been done. They’re often late, (never their fault) and want to leave early (always a good reason). They’ve always got a solid excuses and unfortunately because others have been taken in by their bull, they’re used to getting away with it.  Can get shirty when challenged.

The Star

Had some telly success and is known by face, if not by name. Often found on Number 1 tours, probably has a catchphrase. Earns more than everyone else, and don’t we all know it. Never afraid of reminding the rest of the cast about their status.

The Grafter

Turns up early, stays late. Learns lines before the start of rehearsals/filming. Secure in themselves, doesn’t bitch about others, grateful for the opportunities, wants to make the most of it. Willing to give anything a go, doesn’t moan when they need to change something at the late stage. Consume professional, good to be around, often goes unnoticed because of a lack of histrionics. This is the one we all like to work with.