Talking With Actors
One of the big differences between successful film directors and successful film writers is that directors have experience and skill talking with actors, and screenwriters typically do not.
That’s a huge problem. While nothing can ever take the place of experience, there are a few things to keep in mind when you find yourself talking to an actor performing a role from your script.
Let’s establish why it’s important that screenwriters and actors feel comfortable speaking with each other. The director is always responsible for the actor’s performance, and the director is typically the only individual giving the actors performance notes during the actual shooting. However, in the time leading up to production, it’s good for writers and actors to be able to discuss the character with each other in a dramaturgical way. When we talk about the character’s backstory with the actor, or their intentions in a specific scene as written, it’s a good thing. It’s best to make sure that the director is comfortable with you speaking with the actors. Some directors hate it and want their actors to remain untouched by any other human’s hands, so to speak.
If you learn how to talk to actors, odds are that you will be trusted to always do so.
Okay, on with the advice.
First, you have to understand that actors and writers are very very very very very different sorts of people. Our creativity is entirely internal. Theirs is largely external. We think. They portray. We imagine. They become. Our craft is focused through the written word. Theirs is focused through their bodies, their faces, their eyes.
So when you talk to an actor, you don’t have to approach them like a dog you don’t know, but it does help to put yourself in their shoes. You may love your words, but they have to say them, and while your name will always be associated with the movie, their face will exist saying that line over and over and over until the sun explodes.
Therefore, if they have an issue with the dialogue, don’t get defensive. This isn’t a play—actors generally know that other actors have performed the lines in a play, so they’re “safe”. In a film, this moment is the only moment there will be. This performance is the only one that they can ever deliver. The actors will chisel the words in stone. Work with them to find ways to get your intentions across as effectively as possible through your actors. After all, if they hate the line, they’re either going to tank it, ad lib it, or ask the director to rewrite it.
If the actor is at all famous, put that out of your mind. They are stared at like an oddity all day long, and they are painfully aware that there’s an instant unnaturalness between them and any non-famous person. Don’t allow yourself to show that unnaturalness. Don’t talk about how big of a fan you are, blah blah blah. Talk about your movie. Talk about this role. Be professional in every regard.
When you’re dealing with multiple actors, be aware that actors are just as flawed as we are. Maybe we get a little precious with our words, or tend to write things that are better as concepts than as actual scenes. And maybe some actors tend to view the story solely in the context of their character.
Never fall into the trap of defending the writing on the basis of its literary quality. They don’t care. They’re not meat puppets. The production hasn’t rented their face to mouth-flap up and down for the words in the script. A good performance will never be believed by the audience if it’s not believed by the actor giving it. Defend the writing in the context of their character and their performance.
At times, you will be negotiating between multiple actors in the cast. Don’t play favorites, and don’t borrow from Peter to pay Paul. Stick to what’s best for the story. If you get into a disagreement with an actor about a particular scene, then simply defer to the director. Easiest strategy in the world.
When you’re talking with actors, be aware of your own mood. Jerry Lewis wrote a now out-of-print book about directing, and in it he made an interesting point. Actors often assume that your mood is a reflection of how you’re feeling about them. No, that doesn’t mean they’re self-absorbed narcissists. It’s just a symptom of their craft, which is very much a “I behave, you respond to my behavior” effort. If you’re cranky about something, leave it outside the door before you walk into the actor’s trailer.
Keep in mind that when actors sometimes seem grumpy with writers, it may be because they’re actually intimidated by us and what we represent. We’ve given them a person to be and a world to live in, and sometimes they feel insecure or defensive when talking with us about the pages. Let them know that you’re not going to bite. If you project that you care more about the movie than your script document, they’ll loosen up around you.
Finally, try and pick quiet times and quiet places to talk about the screenplay with the actor. Trailers are great for that, be it hair/makeup or their own. The dance of give-and-get is delicate, and a lot of actors don’t want to be watched publicly as they ask for help about their character. Besides, it’s hard to have any kind of meaningful, open discussion about feelings, emotions, choices and intentions when grips are lugging lights and ladders past your head.
In the end, writers and actors aren’t from different planets, even if it feels like it sometimes. We need each other to make the movie work. Don’t be afraid of them, don’t patronize them, don’t be in awe of them, don’t ignore them. The truth is that for all their insecurities and foibles and obsessions, I love actors. If you want your terrific screenplay to ever be a terrific movie, you should learn to love them too.
yeah craig is right, actors are much more responsive when you sit and talk to them about the backstory of their characters…. i was really lucky that i got to direct the story i wrote and a lot of the improvs the actors did, they actually worked better than some of the stuff i wrote… if you show them that all you want is the best end product they will do their best to help you…
I’ve seen you on set Craig and you really know how to talk with actors. You guide them emotionnally, rather than intellectually through the beats of a scene, in a language they can easily translate for their instrument. They seem comfortable with you, partly because you interact in a playful manner, leaving the pressure out of the room. They also sense that you like them, you appreciate their efforts, and they want to pay you back by giving you the best performance.
You are privileged as a writer to be able to direct without the directing credit. You sometimes even direct more than the actual director. I can see why producers and your bosses want you to officially direct in a near future. Anyway, I think, from observing, that you have what it takes to direct actors in a comedy. Keep up the enthusiasm! :-)
Thanks, Craig. I’m also privileged to work with a director who is secure enough to let me help where and how I can. Not every writer gets that opportunity.
Well said. The optimum for me when preparing a role is to spend time talking to the writer.In my experience actors and writers are not so different especially in the “room” or at a diner after midnight.
Very interesting read for me, as an actor and writer. “I behave, you respond to my behavior” was a great way to put it. Whatever insecurities I’ve had in a particular performance have come from not having a full grasp of what the director wants or what the writer intended.
My writing paycheck cherry has yet to be popped (and if I keep using analogies like that…) Acting and self-promotion are so time- and money-consuming, I think a LOT of actors cut corners when it comes to script analysis.
Having read more books on writing and finished a screenplay, I find acting (and pleasing directors and writers) to be MUCH easier. And that makes the job a lot of fun when you start nailing each take and the director has the luxury of experimenting with the performance, and viola, the magic happens.
And then, you throw a big frackin party the night your show airs and in front of all your closest friends, you realize that your scene has been completely cut and you’ll never, ever get to see your own performance.
It’s amazing how many fellow actors I talk to really have no idea about subtext. I LOVE script analysis, I’m such a dork. If I have one scene in a film, I wanna see the whole script. I want to know the full context of my scene, my character, everything. I love picking apart a film and reconstructing the blueprint as much as I love picking apart a character.
I had the misfortune of becoming entangled in a soft-porn project. The director was AWFUL.
Craig, is there anyway to mention a partiuclar performance you enjoyed? After all, in a normal workplace, it’s not uncommon to compliment a co-worker on a job well-done. What’s the line between normal discussions about the job, and stalker/fan-boy geekiness?
So, in your case, how could you make the difference between Craig the writer and Craig the director ?
Matt:
Usually I wait until the actor broaches the topic of some past role, and then I feel like the ice is broken on that. Leading with anything that feels fannish is a bad idea…unless you’re commenting on a very recent role.
Of course, none of that’s relevant once you establish a relationship with the actor. Then you’re just friends, and friends always talk to each other about what they’re doing and what they’ve done.
I reckon that talking with actors is a good POV exercise, since actors invariably approach a script with their character as the hero of his own story.
I’m a relatively inexperienced screenwriter currently romantically involved with the co-star of a hit syndicated TV series. He and I were having lunch one day and talking about the craft of screenwriting and how it relates to actors and their craft. The mood was light and fun — and then, suddenly, he looks me dead in the eyes with a cold seriousness and says: “Actors don’t like script direction.”
Now, I’ve heard before that actors would prefer to find the emotion and subtext in the lines for themselves in order to play the scene with conviction, rather than be told ‘exactly’ how to say the words — and I agree with that for the most part. But it’s kinda hard for writers, directors and actors to find that happy place in the middle where all feel respected for their talent, intelligence and dedication to the project.
It seems you’ve found that happy place, Craig. Good for you!
So here’s something that has always tripped me up when breaking the ice on those occasions when I’ve met a celebrity.
When meeting a non-celebrity, it’s natural to chitchat with questions like “What do you do?” and “Where are you from?” But those questions seem kind of phony and forced when I’m meeting somebody whose every personal detail has already appeared on E! Entertainment Television.
Any suggestions?
Jacob:
I usually stick to discussions about the circumstances under which we’re meeting, the people around us, neutral topics like pets, kids, vacations, my cool new gadget…simple stuff.
This way you’re neither dancing with nor awkwardly avoiding the elephant in the room.
Craig, very helpful stuff, thank you.
Just last week I had a phone call with a casting director; I’d written up a sample scene for auditions, and the casting director had called asking about possible changes to lines. You know what they were? Conversational slang, like “dude” and “easy peasy.”
The director and I talked to the casting director to let her know those lines were there only as placeholders to communicate the kind of comfort level/friendship the two characters have together. Just because my friends use that slang doesn’t mean the actors understand it the same way. While it wasn’t a session with an actor, it was close, and I realized how much I need to ramp up my actor-writer communication skills.
This entry helped a ton.
What happens when an actor inadvertantly puts you between himself and the director?
Or the actor wants to work with you on a scene when they have not talked about it with a director…
Or the director does not share the actor’s concerns?
You don’t want to alienate the actor, but also don’t want to piss of the director. Just curious.
It just seems that the waters can get awful dangerous between these two jagged jetties.
Michael:
That’s an easy one.
It’s unprofessional to undermine the director. Simple as that. If the actor refuses to allow you to consult with and collaborate with the director as the director wishes, then you should probably speak with the producer.
Kelly,
I’ve heard that many actors hate direction in screenplays, but my feeling is that that direction in screenplays (e.g., parentheticals) is more for the reader than it is for the actor.
Craig,
I’ve found that actors want to talk to the writers about their characters and dialogue, but often, the director drives a wedge between them. Once, a director called me and my husband and said, “I’m having a meeting with actor’s name here to discuss the script. What should I say about their character?”
Nice article. Thanks.
Stellar article.
Thank you very much.
That last anonymous was me. Don’t know what happened. Hopefully this posts correctly.
Like your article. You mentioned an out-of-print book on directing by Jerry Lewis. What’s the title? I’d love to track it down.
Precious insights. I’d also appreciate the title of the Jerry Lewis book that you’ve mentioned. Thanks. Gary
The book is called “The Total Filmmaker.” People apparently sell copies on Ebay every now and then, but I hear they’re pricey.