This post raises a very important point within acting that you need to know, so I would recommend reading it the whole way through.

At the weekend I went to see the critically acclaimed film ‘Black Swan’.

It was a very interesting film and I recommend you see it. Not only is it a great film but it also highlights a particular acting challenge all actors face.

If you haven’t seen it yet, let me fill you in. It centers on a ballet dancer (Natalie Portman) who has worked very hard at her craft but has failed to land a leading role. Why? Well, she is technically brilliant but lacks artistic flare.

An opportunity arises when the Artistic Director (Vincent Cassel) decides to stage ‘Swan Lake’ and needs someone who can play the white and black swan. As you would imagine the white swan character is angelic and fragile while the black swan is, well, a bit naughty. A bit of a simplification but you get the picture.

Portman’s character is great at the white swan. Her character type fits the white swan. But when she dances the part of the black swan she just can’t crack it. It’s too controlled and analytical. Her character hasn’t fully lived yet and is a goody two shoes who struggles to relate to the darkness of the black swan. (It’s worth noting how her real life affected her dancing life, which is very often the case with actors too.)

There is however another dancer in the troop of ballet dancers (Mila Kunis) who is very good at doing the black swan. She comes across as a mischievous and sensual person who can identify with the black swan.

But here is the Directors problem he needs someone who can play both. In ‘Swan Lake’ one dancer plays both roles.

He opts for Portman and tries to educate her on how to play the black swan.

I won’t ruin the film for you so I will stop there, but this raises a crucial acting issue.

Sometimes actors are not aware of how they come across and how much they need to change in order to play a role.

The casting of the film itself highlights this. Portman plays the ‘nice’ girl beautifully and manages to pull off the bad girl routine as well, but not quite as well as Kunis who was cast as the bad girl of the film. You can see that she is very comfortable with that kind of role.

In order to play a range of roles you need to transform because if you don’t someone will walk into the casting room who is exactly like the character.

Here is my pivotal question.

Can you do that now?

Do you have the skill and technique to pull off a performance at the highest level and completely transform?

If you can’t then there is someone out there who can, I can assure you.

If you want to develop this sort of skill and achieve this sort of level of performance then you need to start training.

Natalie Portman employed some hallmark method acting techniques. She also trained in ballet dancing for 10 months before the acting process began showing true commitment to the role.

I predict an Oscar for her performance. Bravo!

On Wednesday I met with Dev Patel at The Groucho Club. In case you don’t know Dev, he played the young male Indian lead in ‘Slumdog Millionaire’.

It was interesting because very quickly it became apparent to me that he possessed many of the traits successful actors demonstrate.

He was enthusiastic, positive, polite and a joy to be around.

You benefited from being in his company. How many people can you say that about?

This is something I bang on about all the time. It’s not enough just to be a good actor you have to be charismatic and the best way to develop charisma is to cheer up. Be energetic and happy, it’s often construed as charisma.

People don’t want to be around pessimistic people with a chip on their shoulder. If you were at a party and came across such an individual you would run a mile.

It’s no different in the acting industry. As an actor you have meetings with agents, casting directors and directors and you need to develop your personality so that they are attracted to you. Simple as that.

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!