I have an annoying habit of turning anything I find interesting into something about acting. So you can imagine what I was thinking when I saw Inception.
You can’t? Well, then, allow me to elaborate. Let’s look at the rules for planting an idea by way of a dream:
1. Keep it simple. A complicated idea just won’t take.
This is a common hurdle when getting beginning actors to pick a driving action (the verb form of your objective; what you are doing to get what you want). It is not complicated, and it does not require complex explanation. It is simple, direct, and compelling, and it will infect everything you do in the scene.
2. Think positively.
When deciding on the most clear and simple idea, Cobb says, “I think positive emotion trumps negative emotion every time.” Indeed.
In the world of film acting, we so often see character breakdowns with phrases like “He’s kind of sleazy and obnoxious,” “She’s overbearing and strident,” or, my most recent favorite, “He’s basically an asshole.” Of course, if you see the character that way, you are doomed. You must find what is positive in the character and fight for that, and the best way to do that is by defining a driving action that has you working for something positive in the others. The overbearing mother is not selfish or mean; she loves her child and is trying to get the best for him. The fighting ex-lovers only continue the fight because of the attraction that lingers between them.
Watching Cillian Murphy play Fischer drives this point home. If he simply hates and resents his father, who was apparently quite horrible to him, he becomes petulant and boring. But because his hurt is born of a deep need for his father’s love, we become invested in the character’s struggle.
This is an easy concept to forget, because it seems fun to play the asshole, to be mean, to be sleazy. But every time, it is shallow and showy. Fight for the good in everyone.
3. The subconscious knows when you are messing with it.
In the dreams, the subconscious projections begin to turn on the dreamer when they sense that something is false and that the dreamer is manipulating their world. The subconscious knows and resents when it’s being screwed with.
If you bring something into a scene that doesn’t belong there (a la Emotional Recall) or force a moment in order to meet some emotional checkpoint, the audience will resent it. Perhaps not at first. They may even offer shallow praise: “Wow, you were really crying (or yelling or acting terrified)!” But the subconscious is smarter than that, and it knows when it’s being extorted. If you try to manipulate, if you aim to make your audience feel a certain way, they will resent it and they will resent you. As they should. Stick to your actions and fight for what you want. You have been trusted with some power in telling this story, and if you abuse it to serve your own ends, the world will turn on you in revolt.
4. Get some physical training.
Okay, so this doesn’t really come from the rules of the inception. But watching Arthur dance/fight in zero gravity was among the more beautiful images I’ve seen this year, in part true because I knew Joseph Gordon-Levitt had the training to do most of the physical work himself. Never forget that acting is mostly about our bodies, not our minds. These ideas we discuss help fill the time and focus the work, but the work is action. Keep fit, study movement, learn to use your instrument. One day, a director may ask if you're ready to fight someone in a giant rotating hallway, and you’ll be able to smile and say, “I’d love to.”
Stay honest, stay on task, and keep acting.
1. Keep it simple. A complicated idea just won’t take.
This is a common hurdle when getting beginning actors to pick a driving action (the verb form of your objective; what you are doing to get what you want). It is not complicated, and it does not require complex explanation. It is simple, direct, and compelling, and it will infect everything you do in the scene.
2. Think positively.
When deciding on the most clear and simple idea, Cobb says, “I think positive emotion trumps negative emotion every time.” Indeed.
In the world of film acting, we so often see character breakdowns with phrases like “He’s kind of sleazy and obnoxious,” “She’s overbearing and strident,” or, my most recent favorite, “He’s basically an asshole.” Of course, if you see the character that way, you are doomed. You must find what is positive in the character and fight for that, and the best way to do that is by defining a driving action that has you working for something positive in the others. The overbearing mother is not selfish or mean; she loves her child and is trying to get the best for him. The fighting ex-lovers only continue the fight because of the attraction that lingers between them.
Watching Cillian Murphy play Fischer drives this point home. If he simply hates and resents his father, who was apparently quite horrible to him, he becomes petulant and boring. But because his hurt is born of a deep need for his father’s love, we become invested in the character’s struggle.
This is an easy concept to forget, because it seems fun to play the asshole, to be mean, to be sleazy. But every time, it is shallow and showy. Fight for the good in everyone.
3. The subconscious knows when you are messing with it.
In the dreams, the subconscious projections begin to turn on the dreamer when they sense that something is false and that the dreamer is manipulating their world. The subconscious knows and resents when it’s being screwed with.
If you bring something into a scene that doesn’t belong there (a la Emotional Recall) or force a moment in order to meet some emotional checkpoint, the audience will resent it. Perhaps not at first. They may even offer shallow praise: “Wow, you were really crying (or yelling or acting terrified)!” But the subconscious is smarter than that, and it knows when it’s being extorted. If you try to manipulate, if you aim to make your audience feel a certain way, they will resent it and they will resent you. As they should. Stick to your actions and fight for what you want. You have been trusted with some power in telling this story, and if you abuse it to serve your own ends, the world will turn on you in revolt.
4. Get some physical training.
Okay, so this doesn’t really come from the rules of the inception. But watching Arthur dance/fight in zero gravity was among the more beautiful images I’ve seen this year, in part true because I knew Joseph Gordon-Levitt had the training to do most of the physical work himself. Never forget that acting is mostly about our bodies, not our minds. These ideas we discuss help fill the time and focus the work, but the work is action. Keep fit, study movement, learn to use your instrument. One day, a director may ask if you're ready to fight someone in a giant rotating hallway, and you’ll be able to smile and say, “I’d love to.”
Stay honest, stay on task, and keep acting.