Directing Actors: Key Principles & Tips — Full Breakdown & Transcript

[00:00] The things that never stay to an actor. Ooh, hmm, all the things. Lots of things. Let's begin. I got one, think sexy clown. Which was... confusing.

[00:13] I hate when a director says, bring it up or down. Just, can you bring it up, or can you bring it down? Because that could mean so many things. I really don't like it when someone goes, that was so great, but this time can you just...

[00:25] And then they deliver whatever it is, like, okay, it's cool that it was great, but it doesn't need to be pandering. All those directions that I can think of that are just funny and are at my expense and were right. Like, once I had to push something and someone was like,

[00:39] let's try that again and have it sound like you're not taking a s*** and I was like, you're right. Precisely, good. Thank you. Sometimes people will just say, okay, give me another one, more. More what, bro?

[00:51] You don't know what's going on in here. More and less happy. With sad in there. you know you're sad about your father like that doesn't help that doesn't help

[01:03] at all directing actors is one of the hardest things you can do on a film set because actors we are all uh tiny little babies

[01:16] lots of actors are fragile bunnies uh myself included sometimes basically actors are beyond fragile human beings it's really sad we all need to like grow a pair and not be so sensitive, but we aren't.

[01:31] We will probably always be the sensitive, so there's that. Never bring up another actor when they say, Hey, could you do it like this person? Because the first thing that runs through my head is,

[01:43] Why didn't you just hire that person? Some of the things that make me uncomfortable as an actor, I had a director that sh**-talked other actors around me. That made me feel real weird. So don't do that.

[01:55] That's just a good rule for life also, really. because as soon as you start talking about someone behind their back, even if it's like in middle school where you're like, I'm only telling you this, and that makes us best friends, it actually makes you trust the person less

[02:09] and wonder what they're saying about you when you're not there. We have to, as actors, be able to trust our director and know that that person is somebody that we want to work for, we believe in their vision, we believe in the project that they're doing,

[02:21] and that mutual trust needs to kind of come back our way. and if you don't trust your actors then you really shouldn't have cast them you should cast somebody else that you trust or that you really believe

[02:33] in their work and their work ethic I worked with a director who's so awesome that even in the rehearsals when we were going through this he's doing the smiles he's smiling at his eyes he's doing that even in the rehearsal and I'm like

[02:45] that's awesome because it helps me talk in a way of like hey blah blah blah I'm not just throwing my charismatic voice into a void I'm there an audience and I need that And at one point I was like singing there was a song in the episode that I had to do and I wasn quite hitting the note And I was like man I sorry guys I taking a long time

[03:04] And he was like, what? This is a cartoon about a singing bee. Don't worry. It's not a big deal. He was lower than space. And immediately, I was like, oh, yeah, you're right. And then it was so much easier to actually get to the place where I needed to get to with it. I think the most important thing is to have open communication with the people that you're working with.

[03:19] I've seen a lot of times a director and an actor will speak their own language. and the way that a director will talk to me may be completely different than how that same director will talk to a co-star. It's the same in real life.

[03:31] You don't talk to your mom the same way you talk to your dad. You don't talk to one best friend the same way you talk to another one. Just the more comfortable you make that person, the better performance they're going to give. If I can feel comfortable with my cast members or directors

[03:44] or if I'm comfortable on set or feel good in my costume, it goes a long way. it's always a good idea to just look at your actor and be like, hey, how you doing? What do you need?

[03:56] Find out, you know, maybe what your actors need. Make sure that they have enough from you. Let your actor know how much time they have until they'll be called upon. But not too much. Like, not every minute. That's one of the most stressful things for any physician on set

[04:10] is you don't want people to feel like they're waiting for you. So helping your actors not ever get stuck in that situation is amazing. So if they need to go change a costume, if they need to prepare to literally have a cameraman ride them around all in piggyback just to get the shot, it's great.

[04:28] As long as they're okay with it, as long as you talk it through, and as long as everyone's on the same page. Everything matters, and as an actor, I really hate when someone on set says it doesn't matter. It might not matter to you, but if I'm asking about it, then obviously it matters to me.

[04:42] Yeah, if I ask a director a question like, hey, what do you think about this or this character's relationship or anything? And they're just like, oftentimes we'll just be like, I don't know. I'm sorry about that.

[04:55] And I hear, that's fine. And I was like, my fragile little actor heart crumbled into a million pieces. And I was like, it's fine.

[05:08] but I'm a sensitive little flower child, and I need you to have my back and know that you're going to help me look good on this thing. So even if you don't know,

[05:21] maybe say, oh my God, we're going to make you look great. You're going to be, everyone's going to love you. You're so beautiful and pretty. We're all so pretty. That's the other thing. Remind us that a lot.

[05:33] I was just going to say, Every actor despises line reads. We all hate them. But I've met a few friends who actually really like it. If I'm not... their thought is, if I'm not doing it right, and you know the way to do it right, just tell me and I'll do it.

[05:50] It easy And so some actors actually like line reads Me personally I hate them Definitely something that drives me insane which I sure has been mentioned already is line reading Line readings make me insane Say I saying like the dog walked across the street Say it like I saying it So

[06:08] the dog. So you're like, okay, okay. The dog walked across the street. No, see, you didn't say it right. You didn't say it, and that wasn't the way you, and it's like, oh,

[06:22] well, I'm an idiot actor, and I don't know how to mimic you. Just give me the intention that you want me, like, just give me the motivation throughout it. Don't just, like, so anyway, that is clearly a pet peeve of mine. Don't give line readings. Just don't do it. You

[06:38] should be bringing an actor in so that they surprise you a little bit, or so that you're getting something out of them that will be additive to the process, rather than just being like, I want to be like a puppet. I just want to put my hand up your butt and just make you talk.

[06:52] You know, there should be some sort of collaboration there. Yeah, exactly. Never make someone copy something. You don't, it's just not going to be as good as the original. It's like you zeroed out your face in the machine. It's not going to look like your face on the other side.

[07:05] It's going to look like it, but it's going to be kind of funky. So you want to make it genuine to the person delivering the line. If you're indecisive as a director, I start getting nervous. Because then it's like, I don't know, you don't know what you want. so I don't exactly know how to give you what you want.

[07:19] Uh, okay. I really liked it. Let's do one more and then just, like, completely different. It bothers me when a director doesn't want to talk about the roles it's made or the script.

[07:32] If a producer is giving you a note as an actor, you should immediately have sirens going off and be like, do I need to listen to you? And if I do, why am I listening to you? Because you are better than the director

[07:45] and usually, in most cases, you want to just listen to the director. And if it's the wrong direction, you can be like, that was wrong, what you did was better, let's go back. You know, like, just make a choice, and then afterward, if it wasn't the right choice, you can be like, no, that didn't work, that's fine, let's move on to this other thing.

[07:58] So there's, like, an element of, like, just make the decision, be confident about it. If it was the wrong decision, that's fine, you can do another take, but, like, don't just, you know, it's not during headlights time, you have to be like, okay, I want to do this. I think brevity in direction is really useful

[08:12] just because the worst thing you can do for, like, if your scene is like, oh, your character is crying, your actor is crying, or like something really traumatic just happened, keep your direction brief and be gentle because they're in a space. Like, they went to a place.

[08:24] You have to be mindful of that and if you start talking their ear off, like I have a friend that I happened to recently where he's like, he has to cry for the scene and the director like started waxing poetic about like different things in the scene

[08:36] and he was like, no, no, no, no, like we need to, this is a limited time offer. We got to get going, you know? As you can see, we have a tendency to get worked up and get in the zone and like, if I'm feeling good about something, I want to keep going.

[08:48] How you're feeling comedically, you want to stay in that moment because sometimes they hard to come by Speak eloquently directly sensitively and clearly So it always nice to hear that you doing okay

[09:02] that you're doing a good job. Like, obviously, if you're directing, you're like, you know, you're going around everywhere, you're trying to figure out what the f*** is going on, you're trying to take care of everything. But it's always nice if you felt like your actor did a good job, just be like, hey, great take, or like, thanks, that was awesome,

[09:15] and we got it, or whatever, just to feel like you're on track. Because we need, like I said, constant, just constant validation in every way, really. Like, just look in my eyes and tell me I'm pretty and good.

[09:29] And as a director, you want to make sure that you can talk to actors in a way that encourages them to want to build on a performance and get something that, you know, at the end of the day, everyone is happy with. And if you can just keep doing that and, like, you know, respect that I've done the work.

[09:44] because that's the most important thing for me is I think that I've worked with a lot of first-time directors who think that actors just come in and say the lines. And no, we put in the work. So let's work together to find a way that we get what you want.

[10:01] So we can really work for you, bro. I don't know what that was. So when working with them, it's always good to make sure that they feel like they're part of the team and that whatever they're doing is respected but also appreciated.

[10:16] Don't make the actor feel bad for feeling vain or insecure. You want to just make them feel comfortable and natural and like they can be vulnerable.

[10:28] When it comes to actors, you need to treat them not as all as one entity. It's not like they're all you, so I'm going to hurt you guys all. You guys are all the same. You guys all act the same. I'm going to give you all the same notes. Every single person is different, and the way people take notes is different.

[10:42] Some people will be more sensitive, some people will be less sensitive. So you just need to make sure that you really know who you're talking to every time you deliver a note or talk to someone. The best thing you can do is to be decisive, to be confident, to be kind.

[10:54] I think that's really the best stuff that you can do. If you give a bad direction, you can rewind and give a better one. You know, if the day is going crazy but you're still being nice to people,

[11:06] it will make everyone feel so much better and give you better work. It's just, it kind of just is like, it's just how you are in life. The most ideal way of being in life is the most ideal way of being a director, I think. Again, there are no rules, but morally be a nice person.

[11:22] That should be like lesson number one in life, let alone directing. If you can't treat people like a human being, you should maybe go back to human school. Figure it out. Yeah, okay, cool. All right, love you. Is it even on?

[11:34] It might be on. Thank you.