In my experience, acting school teachers fall into three types.

The first is the ‘pleaser’. This kind of teacher just wants to please the student and won’t cause any waves. They don’t like having to confront and they themselves are looking for approval from the student. The problem with this is that, as a teacher, you need to confront students in order to move their ability on. Also, it is dishonest. If a student’s work is not good, they need to know or they will never improve. In fact, this type of acting school teacher is deadly to a student’s progress.

A teacher is not there to be a student’s best friend; they are there to get the student to reach their full potential – and that can mean challenging the student.

The other type of acting school teacher is the ‘dinosaur’. This is an acting school teacher who has been in an acting school for 100 years and has lost touch with the current acting industry. You come across this in some of the old drama schools. The teacher has worked for the school since 1895 and they don’t want to get rid of them because they have been there so long. They may have some insights of value on the craft but they haven’t kept apace with the current acting industry and its demands.

This is also not an ideal situation. As with any industry, it’s crucial that acting students are up-to-date about how to navigate the industry and what will be demanded of them when they finish training.

The last kind of acting school teacher is the ‘truth teller’. I would put myself in this category. This kind of teacher will tell you like it is – warts and all. They do it not to offend but to create pressure whereby the student pushes themselves to their full potential. The teacher also needs to nurture as well as confront. The student should be aware that the teacher has their best interests at heart, to ensure that when the difficult critics arise they are able to deal with them.

I guess there could be a fourth kind of acting school teacher and that is the kind that only confronts and tears a student down but doesn’t build them back up. This is counterproductive and won’t allow the student to move on. Plus, this kind of teacher probably has the student’s best interests at heart.

As with most things in life, a balance is required.

My personal bugbear with some acting school teachers is that they treat it as an ego trip whereby they talk about nothing but themselves. The process of teaching someone is not about the teacher – it is about training the student. Common sense really.

A great teacher is able to put their own ego to one side and make it about the student. A teacher is in the business of helping others and passing on their knowledge.

The interesting thing about great teachers is that they want to work with the best students and that often can be challenging for the teacher.

Despite what you may think, believe me, there is not an abundance of great students. What I mean by “great” is that they are open, eager and willing to put in the hours.

It is a two-way street. Anyone who is highly skilled at something wants to work with others who are easy to work with and have the potential to be great also.

Imagination is a key element for any actor. To people outside of the profession, imagination would play a vital role when working with special effects and though this is true, imagination is at work at all times. Method acting classes as well as other styles work with actors to develop their imagination throughout acting courses.

Method acting classes, provide actors with exercises that utilize their imagination from the start. Actors have to be able to be comfortable at pretending to be in any kind of environment, and on occasion this environment may no longer exist, or have never existed as it is a fictional futuristic one.

It is not just because of sets and environments that imagination is so crucial to the success of any actor. If an actor picks up a prop or even pretends to have an object in his hand, the actor has to convince an audience that it is real. Method acting classes, subsequently teach this aspect of the profession, and configure exercises and courses that all hone the imagination of their students.

Despite the emotional connection method actors have with themselves, as they use their own experiences to generate real emotion for their performances, if an actor cannot appear to be natural in a given environment, or if they fail to convince that there is a person on the other end of a phone call, the game is up. This is especially prevalent in stage acting, where generating and maintaining the illusion is crucial to the success of the performance.

Imagination also helps an actor connect to a character. Many of us may not know what it is like to be a King, however, method acting classes teaches the actor the elements that make a King: Great Power, followers, wisdom, motives, and desires, which in effect make the character human, enabling the actor to relate and to portray the character in the proper light. Imagination is at work here at all times, and often it works in a sublime fashion in the background, but it is always essential to an actor giving a good performance.

Arguably, imagination is the fuel for an actor, and the other techniques taught in method acting classes, are powered by it. Generating the real emotion that sets method actors apart from other actors is made possible through the actor’s imagination.

Would an actor be able to bring fourth real emotion and deliver that emotion together with their lines and appropriate gestures without imagination?

The complexities of method acting are considerable. Actors not only have to be able to connect to emotions they have experienced in the past and recreate them for their part, but they also have to be able to analyse a character, and decide how to portray that character in any given scene. Often, the imagination of the actor will govern how convincing they were in doing that. This is why method acting classes put a great emphasis on this element of the style.

There are many elements that make a method actor. Imagination is one of the most important ones.

There is a very strange thing that has happened in the acting industry around drama school training in the UK. Many acting schools have forgotten that it is a business as well as an art form. The truth is, that to be successful in the acting industry today you need to be more than just an artist. You need to be a business person too – and that’s where many drama schools fall down.

It is my belief that to achieve acting excellence you must be great at acting and great at the business of acting. Hollywood has a different approach to the acting industry; it is very driven by the business requirements first and foremost, and there may be an argument for them being more open to the artistic side.

As with most things in life, there needs to be a balance.

Going to drama school and just learning Shakespeare and Chekhov isn’t going to prepare you for the real world of acting. Most Casting Directors are casting TV roles where they need people to be real and believable – and not to act.

As an actor you have to think of yourself as a company – You Ltd.

You need to get up each day and think that your job is to get a job, and once you get the job your artistic side kicks in and we get to see your work.

I actually think that actors have a duty to sell and market themselves very well, because if they don’t we will never see their work – and all that expensive drama school training would have been a waste.

I am often dumbfounded by how badly wrong many drama schools get it. They train people in the art of the craft but don’t provide them with the tools to get food on the table.

The romantic notion of the struggling artist living in a bedsit is for the birds. There is nothing cool or romantic about it. You need to be positive and proactive out there; hustling to gain a position within the industry.

One thing is for sure. No-one will turn

up on your doorstep with a leading Hollywood role for you to play. You need to go out there and claim it; you need to be business-savvy about how to get in front of the right people.

Part of your acting training should focus heavily on this. I know that’s what I drum into my students and we go to great lengths to equip them in the right way.

Your acting training should be a great experience but it has to face you in the right direction to take on the realities of today’s industry.

London has always played a pivotal role in the world of acting. You only have to look at the number of acting classes in London to understand that this is a city with its heart in the arts.

The West End of London is called Theatreland – and for good reason. There are more theatres there than in probably any other city in the world.

People flood from all over the world to watch shows in the West End which fuels a very healthy proportion of theatre shows.

As well as people coming to watch shows in London, people also flood to train to become an actor London. Why? Well, London has the reputation of providing some of the best acting training in the world.

Of course, there are acting classes in London that will be substandard, but with this being such a large industry, this is no surprise.

The best acting classes in London can be found with some careful investigation and thought about what you need and what the class can provide.

Here are some points to bear in mind when selecting an acting class in London.

1. Review the coaches’ credentials. Are they players within the industry or are they just dabbling in training actors?
2. Make sure the technique that they teach is top quality. There is no point in learning a technique that is no good.
3. Get some form of guarantee. For my Method Acting Boot Camp I always offer a 100% money back guarantee on the first day. I wouldn’t want to take anyone’s hard-earned money for acting training they did not deem exceptional. Unfortunately, I am one of the only people to do this. Most acting classes in London won’t do this for you.
4. Will they teach you the business of acting? It’s all well and good learning to act but once you have learned your craft you need to get knee-deep in the industry and you will need guidance.

If you are looking to start an acting career, it’s crucial that you get the correct training. Believe me, when I was training I discovered my fair share of good and bad acting classes, and sometimes you have to give a few a go to find what’s right for you.

One thing I believe is crucial in today’s industry is that the acting class that you choose must be able to teach you how to be real, and show you how to deliver emotion on demand. When you get into the industry this is invaluable. When you’re on set for the first time and the Director wants you to get emotional, you want to be able to flick the right switches in you to achieve that. There is no room for doubt at that stage – you can either do it or not. And you want to be able to deliver on demand.

Good acting classes in London can be hard to come by despite the amount of training offered. Tread carefully and do your homework.

Casting Director (L.A.) – Victoria Burrows

“The Hobbit” “King Kong”
“Castaway” “Flight”

Casting Director – Dan Hubbard

“The Lord of the Rings” “Tomb Raider”
“The Bourne Ultimatum”

Brian with Sheridan Smith
“The C Word” “Mrs Biggs”

Brian with Paul Giamatti
“Sideways”
“Saving Private Ryan”