9 Signs to Identify a Good Actor—Without Being a Film Critic

You don’t have to be a famous film critic to be able to rate an actor’s performance. It is possible to just use instinct. However, professionals have some important criteria to distinguish a good performance. So, if you look closely, you might as well play at being a professional film critic.

We, from awesome.club, we list 9 signs to distinguish a good performance from a bad one. Check out!

Some of the most defining roles for actors are those that allow them to play real people. But it’s also quite risky, because the viewer can compare the performance directly and tell how well the actor did in the role. If you forget you’re seeing a movie star while you’re watching, then obviously they’re doing a good job.

Sometimes the opportunity to play a real person allows the actor to better reveal his creative potential. For example, if previously film critics used to be skeptical of Kristen Stewart’s performance and said that it was “painful to watch her”, after playing Princess Diana, Kristen received an Oscar nomination. In Spencer, the actress not only credibly reproduces Lady Di’s mannerisms, but also infuses her own character with melodramatic hyperbole.

Mimicry is a complex tool that allows you to show subtle emotions and momentary pauses between lines. It helps to better understand what is said, as well as to feel the speech on a deeper emotional level. An example of this is an expressive and meaningful look. Using this technique allows you to explain the state of the hero without words.

That’s why Leonardo DiCaprio won his long-awaited Oscar for his performance in The Revenant, even though he had a long list of notable roles before that. The actor had been indicted for his performance in The Wolf of Wall Street in a previous edition of the awards, but it was in the feature The Revenant that he managed to convey the feelings of pain and the tormented soul of the character with a look. He was able to show a wide range of emotions like never before.

A true professional knows how to make the viewer stop seeing even the actor’s traits in his character. The artist must convince us of the reality of his hero. In addition, with each new job, you cannot be hostage to a previous character. When we watch movies with Meryl Streep, for example, we see different women with their own stories, experiences, problems and hopes. No wonder Streep has 3 Oscars and 21 nominations.

At the same time, there are a lot of good actors who get stuck in the same types of characters over and over again. For example, Sarah Jessica Parker brilliantly played Carrie Bradshaw on the Sex and the City series, but since then she has been stuck in the image of this heroine. Including, her most recent work is to reincarnate the character in the revival of the series.

Good actors make the audience forget that it’s just a movie and that they are playing a particular character. And one of the ways to do that is to have a vivid reaction to what’s happening in that imaginary world. It’s important to make the viewer believe that the person on the screen really belongs there. According to professionals: “The trick of a good actor is to completely immerse himself in his character. He can make the camera and 50 bored dudes eating donuts disappear.”

Having close interaction with your scene partners helps you fully immerse yourself in the circumstances offered by the scenario. Talented actors are ready to be flexible and adapt to the fact that something may not turn out as scripted and improvise is necessary. For this, it is important not to focus only on the performance itself.

For each character to be as believable as possible, the actor must research his role. To do this, first, the script is quickly read, trying to understand and question everything that is known about the hero. Second, the actor also tries to imagine the past and future of the person he will play. Finally, learning about the character’s profession helps to get into its atmosphere. For example, if you are going to play a university professor, you need to know what it takes to become a professor in a certain field of knowledge, talk to some representatives of the profession, find out the salary and what their lifestyle is like.

For example, when Meryl Streep played a tough and cold magazine editor who was feared by everyone around her, she didn’t break character even backstage and kept aloof from her peers. And Heath Ledger, preparing to play the Joker, voluntarily completely isolated himself from the rest of the world and spent 6 weeks alone in a hotel room. All this time, Heath kept the “Joker Diary”, in which he described what was going on in his head.

Vocal control encompasses almost every detail of a scene: it helps the actor control his own and the speaker’s pitch, even impacting other aspects of the entire scene. The voice can help show the hero from a different perspective, so the artist can use abrupt changes to dictate the pace at which the character changes. That’s what Colin Firth did when he played George VI in The King’s Speech. Vocal control helps to show more vivid emotions through speech.

Or, conversely, the actor prefers to maintain a single tone of speech throughout the story. For example, Heath Ledger used this technique when he played the Joker — and it made his character even more sinister.

A good actor must have perfect body control, because through his movement he can help reveal the essence of the character without using words. Motion helps tell a hero’s story and communicate his feelings, not just in a single moment, but throughout the entire screen time. A classic example is Charlie Chaplin. His clumsy and comical movements give a complete idea of ​​​​the character at once. And in general, for all comedians, movement is the best way to create funny situations. Think Jim Carrey, Rowan Atkinson, Melissa McCarthy. An integral element of comedy is movement within the scene.

Great actors are ready to show the public those most intimate parts that most people hide. They are always emotionally exposed and aren’t afraid to appear petty, ridiculous, mean, jealous or scared on the big screen. Yes, many of these feelings are within us, but we are ashamed to show them, so good actors are not afraid to sacrifice their dignity for the sake of a role.

The ability to manage to be unrecognizable is another skill that great actors possess. Yes, costume designers and makeup artists often help them with this, but real professionals are not used to relying on special effects or computer graphics. The ability to transform requires a lot of preparation. To play Stephen Hawking, actor Eddie Redmayne had to prepare a lot to embody the scientist who lived with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS). To do this, he spent many hours training with a Hollywood choreographer and a neurologist.

For you, what is the most important feature in the acting profession? What do you pay attention to when you follow artists’ work? Tell us in the comments section.