Listen. Listen to the director . . . very carefully. The director is the guide to the story and will tell you how the character should react and what your motivation and subtext are for each scene. The director is also the only person on set who knows how all the other elements will come together to support the performances, from music and sound effects to the editing and digital effects. Don’t be afraid to ask the director questions. The actor–director relationship is very important to creating a living, breathing character on the screen.
When people talk to each other, the words that come out of their mouths do not necessarily reflect how they are feeling. But, the words are a symptom or result of how they feel. True acting isn’t based on the words a character utters, but is driven by WHY she says those words. What is MOTIVATING those words? For example, you may run into an old friend at a restaurant that you haven’t seen in years. Although you may exchange greetings, ask how he or she has been, and express an interest in seeing him or her for lunch to get caught up with each other, the scene would be played very differently if you secretly hated that person. What if you found out that person stole from you? Or was cheating with your boyfriend or girlfriend? Although the dialog is pleasant, the subtext is anger. Acting the subtext will add additional layers of realism to the performance. Part of creating multilayered subtext is having a strong character backstory. Understand what is driving the character to act certain ways, say certain things, and react to different situations.
