Last night my wife Natalie and I decided to watch a movie. It was called ‘Killing Them Softly’. It’s a very good film but what was outstanding was James Gandolfini’s performance. It’s a masterclass in great screen acting.

The next day I hear the sad news that he has passed away.

He was an amazing method character actor, who could convey so much through those big sad eyes of his.

Of course, he will be most remembered for his role in the Soprano’s.

When he was interviewed about being cast in that role, he said he was shocked when he got the job. He thought they would go for a handsome leading man type.

Thank god they didn’t. He changed the face of American TV with that role.

RIP James Gandolfini.

He’s got too much acting work on.

Now, I know you may not have much sympathy for him, but to be fair he has worked like a dog to get into this position.

He’s been acting for 20 years. He started acting aged 12 on the Disney Channel’s Mickey Mouse Club.

After a long hard slog he has finally reached the top and now he faces his biggest challenge yet.

He’s burnt out!

This is what he said.

“I’ve been doing (acting) it too much. I’ve lost perspective on what I’m doing. I think it’s good for me to take a break and reassess why I’m doing it and how I’m doing it.’’

He adds: “The more opportunities I’m given, the more I learn about how easy it is to (f***) it up.’’

“You fight for freedom and then you get it, and then you have enough rope to hang yourself. It’s like trying to exercise some restraint because I do have so much freedom.”

You see, no matter what level you are at you need time to stop and take stock.

You also need to be clear about what it is you want to achieve acting wise and put a plan in place to achieve it.

Then one day you may wake up and say ‘’I need a break, too much acting work!’’

Well the results of the 2011 Academy Awards are in and I guess there were no great surprises.

Colin Firth won Best Actor. Although Colin puts in a great performance I would argue that method actor Javier Bardem’s performance in ‘Biutiful’ was far superior. His performance was in another league. He brought great emotional depth and range to the role.  The film is very gritty and in Spanish which is probably not as appealing to UK and US audiences as the ‘The King’s Speech’ which is all about the British royalty.

Personally, although ‘The King’s Speech’ is an enjoyable film, I’m a little tired of seeing British films about the monarchy and the old British stiff upper lip. Give me a gritty, real and  emotional moving film any day.

Talking of which the film ‘The Fighter’ did well at the Awards. Method actors Christian Bale and Melissa Leo won Best Supporting Actors and Actress Awards and well deserved too.

Also Natalie Portman won Best Actress for her role in ‘Black Swan’. The 10 months of ballet dance training before shooting the film paid off!

Last week my graduating Ultimate Acting Students had their exclusive showcase at The Groucho Club, London.

Above I have posted a backstage video from the night.

Recently, my wife Natalie and I got to hang out with Ruby Wax.

Let me tell you, she ain’t the shy and retiring type! But having spoken with her there may be something you wouldn’t expect to hear from her.

Early on in her career as an interviewer, she said that she used to feel incredibly nervous and her defence mechanism would be to attack the interviewee.

This did not work for her at all. She, by her own admission, managed to alienate the interviewee and she got nothing interesting out of them as a result.

She then changed her approach. She started doing extensive homework on the people she was about to interview and then looked for similarities to her own life. You may not know that Ruby is actually a trained actress, so she would apply some of her character research strategies to her job as an interviewer.

The results were astonishing. She would meet them for what was a ten-minute interview and end up staying for three days. She built such strong rapport with them, empathising with them, making them laugh, and becoming their friend in a very short space of time.

This is a skill all actors need to have.

When you go to auditions, whether it be to get into drama school or for a professional job, building rapport is one of the best things you could do.

When you think about it, when you are cast in a role, you could be working with that Director for months. They want to work with people they like. I will repeat that line again: They want to work with people they like.

If people don’t like you, don’t expect the work to flood in. Talent is important, and your ability to do the role is important – but believe me, people will make many allowances for someone they really like. If there are two actors left in the running for the role and both have talent and can do the job, but they get on with one more than the other, then who do you think gets the role?

Yes, you guessed it.

Learn to get on with people; become their friend, help and assist them, empathise with them, give them interesting information, look them in the eye, smile, make them laugh.

All of this will help you stand out and get them on side.

Ruby had to learn the hard way – on the job. I would advise you start doing this now with friends, family and co-workers. If it’s a habit, then you won’t need to think about it when it really counts, plus you will develop amazing relationships with those around you.

I read an article about Denzel Washington’s Method approach to acting on his new movie with Ryan Reynolds and thought you would like to read it.

I keep telling people all the best actors use The Method – and here is the proof.

Ryan is being given a masterclass by Denzel on The Method, whilst actually filming. In my experience, you don’t want to leave it that late before learning it!

Here is the article: http://www.dnaindia.com/entertainment/report_ryan-reynolds-finds-denzel-washington-s-method-acting-endearing_1617306

Gary Oldman – recently seen in Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy (a film I highly recommend you see) has been awarded with a career tribute award at the Gotham Independent Film Awards.

Here is Gary’s advice to actors, which is something I tell my students all the time!

“ If I have any advice for young people or young actors, do your homework, know your lines, and get there on time, actually get there early!”

Method actress Meryl Streep has just won a Best Actress Award from the New York Film Critics Circle. I think this is a sign of what is to come with the Oscars.

In case you haven’t heard, Meryl has been filming a film about the life of Margaret Thatcher. It is due to be released soon.

The thing about Meryl is that she is a complete chameleon, and when she develops a character she goes the whole nine yards. Apparently, when they were filming, the other actors said it was really like Margaret Thatcher was in the room.

This is what I love about Method actors. They only settle for outstanding. They go the extra mile and they use every tool in their Method toolbox. Well, I guess you need to if you are being paid £15m a movie!

I suggest you watch her performance and dissect it. Look at her emotional range and truthfulness; look at her physicality; listen to her voice. I tell you, she has the whole package going on – which you can learn a lot from.

Best wishes

Brian

A few weeks ago leading Casting Director Dan Hubbard, who cast The Lord of the Rings Trilogy and The Bourne Trilogy and who discovered actors like Kate Winslet, Sienna Miller and Colin Farrell, visited my actors’ studio to talk with my one year students.

He gave some interesting insights. Here’s a list of 10 tips he gave:

1. When going for an audition read the whole script, not just your scenes. Sounds obvious, but it happens a lot.
2. Be enthusiastic and interested in the project.
3. Learn the script. Cancel any engagements the night before and work on the script.
4. Research the director, so you know their work.
5. Don’t talk to other actors in the waiting room before auditioning. Concentrate and focus.
6. Be directable. If the director asks you to do the scene in a different way you must be able to do this. Otherwise they will think you can’t take direction and this will severely handicap your chances of getting the job.
7. Bring your personality into the room. Be polite and personable.
8. Do not say anything negative, especially about the project.
9. Have an interpretation of the role. Do something with it.
10. Be thick-skinned. If you don’t get the job, keep going and go into the next one with a positive attitude.

Last week, Scarlett Johansson got to put her hands in the cement at Hollywood’s Walk of Fame.

Does she deserve it?

I say absolutely!

Scarlett is a very talented Method actress. There is a simplicity about her work. She makes it look effortless and easy, but actually she is doing very complicated work underneath it all.

The first time I saw her work was in the film Lost in Translation directed by Sofia Coppola, daughter of Francis Ford Coppola who directed The Godfather. Francis liked to work with Method actors, and this way of working certainly rubbed off on Sofia. She beautifully directed Scarlett in a very understated but utterly truthful performance.

For that one performance alone, I would put her on the Walk of Fame.

Well done Scarlett!