Anxiety about one’s true abilities is a recurring theme with actors all over the world. A fear of not being ‘good enough’, or needing to justify what it is that makes one a ‘real’ or ‘acceptable’ actor is a dilemma that punctuates the careers and fortunes of many. Why does this happen? Why do we feel it so acutely?

Part of the answer might be put down to simply being human and the experiences that we bring with us. Another may be that we are in fact asking a tremendous amount from ourselves in venturing forth to plumb the depths of art, emotions, psychology, history, physiology, literature and so on, in a land of make believe that we must somehow inhabit with a great honesty.

So very often we see actors who clearly have the training behind them in all the necessary technical and creative components, and yet continue to adhere to those technical elements in ways that can inhibit the very thing that they now must pursue if they are to develop into their ‘greatest’ version of themselves as actors.

That ‘very thing’? It is the ability to just happily let it all go, trust that it is there, and never, ever, ignore the original idea that arrives in its place.

An original idea, no matter how strange or weird it feels, or how little you may think it serves your character creation, is always to be explored … because in fact you are the one who thought of it.

It came to you for a reason that you may not understand yet, but if you can allow yourself to develop it, very often you will indeed unearth the connection between the idea and your current role. 

Getting yourself to trust that idea? Well, that is the next step. 

One of the things that has continued to impress me since we opened the London studio in February is the enthusiasm from all of our students for the way we work with them.

The students responses to ’encouragement with structure’, ’challenge with direction’, ’support with knowledge’ and ’creation without fear’ have already seen a greater daring coming into people’s work, and I am delighted for them all.