In my previous blog, The Power of Presence: How Being Fully in the Moment Transforms Your Acting, I talked about how certain actors have a remarkable presence in their work. I purposely chose an image of Marlon Brando in The Godfather to represent this idea. Brando’s power of presence is legendary among actors; he literally transformed “truthful” acting forever with his groundbreaking portrayals of Stanley Kowalski in A Streetcar Named Desire and Terry Malloy in On The Waterfront, for which he won the Academy Award for Best Actor. If you’re a young actor reading this and haven’t seen those iconic performances, I highly recommend you do—they continue to influence actors today, whether they’re consciously aware of it or not.
Brando once said that you can never know the “how” in acting, which means you must be in a constant state of “not knowing.”
This state of “not knowing” can be exhilarating but also intimidating for actors, as it requires letting go of control over what’s happening or what’s going to happen. Yet, this is where your talent, imagination, playfulness, and instincts come alive, and one of your greatest strengths as an actor—vulnerability—truly shines.
(I’ll dive deeper into vulnerability in a future blog.)
“Not knowing” not only makes you a better actor, but is also the springboard into great acting when you trust the moment, trust yourself, and trust the story as it unfolds. The actor who can consistently stay in a place of “not knowing” as they explore their role, may very well become one of the greatest actors of their generation.
That could be you, if you’re up for the challenge. I don’t know. ;) Do you?
Join us to explore the power of “not knowing” and bring a new level of truth to your work.
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