I came back from holiday recently, and on holidays is when I read all the books I try and keep up with and can’t when I’m reading scripts. A book I read was ‘Silkworm’ by Robert Galbraith.
The book described a character as ‘a reliable pursuer of the obvious’. You think of that kind of person. Who is a reliable pursuer of the obvious?
You think someone who’s really conservative, narrow focused, narrow thinking. They’re not imaginative and spontaneous.
The point I’m making is when I go into the audition space if you give me a faithful rendition of what’s in the sides. So many actors do. If I’m seeing 20, 30 people I guarantee 80% of them are following it, right down to the punctuation.
What does that make them? It makes them a reliable pursuer of the obvious.
Did you start becoming an actor to be a reliable pursuer of the obvious? Of course you didn’t.
You must take risks. You must be inspiring to the casting director, to the filmmakers, to the decision makers. Because that is what’s going to inspire us, maybe to get this role, maybe not, but more importantly it’s going to inspire us to want to see you again.
You have to deliver individuality and not be a reliable pursuer of the obvious.