Have you ever wondered how some actors are so convincing, even if they have experienced nothing like their character? A huge part of the answer to this question lies in the way they build their characters. Building a character is more than pretending to be someone else; it is understanding another person’s mind and absorbing it. While each actor has their own approach, here are three principles commonly found among the most successful ones.
Looking beyond the script
The script is the starting point for the actor’s journey. It shows what the character says and does, but rarely explains why. The actor must read the script and discover what’s between the lines.
“What is going on in my character’s mind while doing this?” “How are they feeling after this situation?” “Is there any past experience that led my character to behave like this?“
The actor has to pay attention to the subtext of the entire narrative. The dynamics of a scene may be related to previous ones, and they may shape the character’s mindset and behavior. Understanding the narrative, themes, and other characters’ perspectives provides valuable context that makes each performance more believable.
Understanding the Character’s Psychology
We can’t expect a character with a traumatic childhood to be full of confidence, trust, and completely emotionally stable, right? Real people don’t make random decisions, and convincing fictional characters shouldn’t either. When the actor relates the character’s behavior to their experiences, they can build a compelling performance grounded in psychology, even without being a professional.
Instead of judging the character, actors should seek to understand them. The goal isn’t to agree with every decision, but to understand why that decision makes sense from the character’s perspective. This psychological foundation creates consistency. Once the actor understands how the character thinks, reacting naturally in any scene becomes much easier.
Bringing the Character to Life Through Choices
Every day we act in some way. Some people deal with a bad day by isolating themselves, while others choose distraction. Different people deal with everyday situations differently, but it all aligns with their inner selves. The way we walk, our habits, gestures… These are how we express ourselves daily.
Physical behavior should reflect the character’s emotional and psychological world. For example, a confident character may stand with an open posture and move decisively, while someone hiding insecurity might avoid eye contact, hesitate before speaking, or unconsciously make themselves appear smaller.
The actor should use their imagination and be observant so they can build a character that behaves according to their personality.
“Wait, but how am I supposed to do all that, actually?”
So, here’s an exercise that may help you build your own characters. First, find somewhere quiet that you feel comfortable, and lie down. Then, close your eyes and imagine yourself as this character. Now, based on the character’s personality, you’re going to visualize their environment and choose a specific daily activity. For example, if your character is a high school student, imagine you’re waking up to get ready for school. Imagine your bedroom. Are there posters on the walls? How big is the room?
After that, trying to stay consistent with the character’s psychology, think about how you would get ready. Would you make your bed first? Would you put on a song? What song would it be? Would you be late or early? How well dressed would you go to school? Why?
Take as much time as you need. At the end of the exercise, you may have a lot of solid habits and gestures, and it may be easier to imagine yourself as the character in different situations, especially real scenes. For a deeper immersion, you can look up pictures online that resemble the character’s bedroom, the school, their posters or any decoration, and even put on the music you may think would fit in that situation.
