Actors: What do you get out of acting?

Question

Hi, I'm Cody Soluna. And I'm doing a survey on why people do what they love to do. Actors are first on my list. I come from the music side, which is known for being very expressive. And I love being able to express myself through music. It's so great and beautiful to do so, that I can barely imagine why anyone would not like to do something like that. So, with that being said, I want to know what the people who act get out of acting. So how about it...What do feel when your acting? What's it like? Is it expressive? Please tell me everything about your passion for acting. I'm very curious about you guys. Thanks a bunch!

Answer 1

Like music acting is an escape. However, while music lets you escape your thoughts, acting lets you escape your personality. When you act, you are no longer yourself you are someone else who has different mannerisms and vocal patterns. If you are acting on a stage you also feel an amazing rush. The high that one experiences while playing a role in-front of hundreds of eyes is better than all of the drugs in the world combined.



Even though you are acting as a different person, acting is also an expressive art. This is because, as you play the part of your character you bring your own persona to the stage. When people watch you perform, not only do they see your character but they also see a bit you inside the character. It allows you to vent your feelings that otherwise would have to remain bottled up. As an example: let's say that you really just want to punch a person square in the jaw. Normally in today's society that is considered unacceptable but, when on the stage if the character must do harm to another no one is going to raise their voice against it.



So, to wrap up this whole long thing. Yes, acting is an expressive art (and a fun one at that).

Answer 2

Yes, it is expressive. You are bringing people to life, enhanced life, on stage, tv or film. A writer, very expressive too, creates a person, a place, a time on paper: why does this person (character) do this, feel this way and us (the actors) bring the depth to the person; who, before we interpret him or her and breathe life into the character, was words and description on pages in a script.



It is beautiful to spend an hour or two, relating to another human being, or several . . . creating another human being from within yourself and enhancing the audiences experience by sharing this person's emotions, angst, conflict and love, hatred and passion with them [the audience]. Whether you play a serial killer or the kindest person in the world, you, as an actor, must find his or her humanity. Because even the most evil person in the world doesn't feel he or she is evil; and everyone loves something or someone.



Being an actor teaches tolerance and understanding to an actor. We learn what motivates every type of person, we learn a bit of psychology, too. There is a beauty to wear another person's persona, to become something you are not, yet with a touch of you in them.



Actions (or, in this case) acting can speak as loud, if not louder than the words. Think of great films and stage plays which changed our world, even if for a moment or two: To Kill A Mockingbird; The Green Mile; The Sixth Sense; Casablanca; Schindler's List; The Miracle Worker; The Ten Commandments, West Side Story, The Heart Is A Lonely Hunter, Children Of A Lesser God, etc., etc.



Through acting, we can reach so many with messages of why prejudice kills (i.e. West Side Story, To Kill A Mockingbird, The Green Mile) or how anyone can overcome the biggest obstacles (The Miracle Worker, The Ten Commandments).



Actors have the priviledge to inspire, to move, to entertain and to express life, to bring to life and reach so many. We get to connect and find the acceptance, and oneness among us who live on this planet.



And on a less serious note, we get to "play" for a living. We don't have to really grow up! And there's nothing more fun than getting to pretend for a living. All children love to pretend. Us actors are big children, spending our lives pretending on the stage or sound stage. There's enough hours in the day where we have to be grown up's! Might as well play for a living!

Answer 3

I'm an artist, not an actor at this time. I was in pursuit of a career in acting for a long time,

but basically, what I loved about it, was the fun of creating a character from scratch. The bottom

line was too expensive for me, the head shots, the self promotion. It became a

situation of money constantly going out with little return. I envy the successful ones, but I doubt that most of them just got there with timing and hard work, I'm a skeptic because I've been there, done that.My passion is creating art on canvas, I'm the director, producer, creative team, and special effects man. Good Luck.

Answer 4

Acting. Well, I've had a passion for the stage since I was about 3 years old. Acting is kind of an escape from the ordinary. In theatre, you get to leave 'you' backstage, and become someone completely different. You get to affect an entire group of people, your audience. You get to make them laugh, or cry. You get to make them love or hate you. The biggest thrill as an actor is when someone comes up to you after a show and tells you how your performance affected them. Theatre isn't just a hobby. Theatre is a lifestyle. Its a wonderful, amazing thing. Its having another family, one that will always have your back. A family that will always be there for you. Its best friends, and true love, and laughter and tears. thats acting.

Answer 5

There is a common mis-perception that actors are extroverts. In fact, most actors are introverts. What? No it's true. Extroverts love to have many many relationships, but none that run very deep - they are more surface level relationships. Introverts like relationships too, but they like to have relatively few, very close and intimate relationships. You'd think then, that actors would be extroverts. But when you act, you play your part as if the other actors are the only ones there - you ignore the audience. Plays usually center around some intimate relationships between the actors' characters (and by intimate I mean heartfelt - not as in sexual). The storyline is contrived to bring about a wide range of emotions. There are few moments in real life that hold such intimate emotional interactions that characters in a play have. For an introvert like me, a play is like the relationships that we crave, on steroids.



You can't sustain that level of intimacy and emotion for extended periods of time. By the time a play is over and done with, I find myself emotionally spent (but it is a "good" tired). Besides, it's kind of nice to leave yourself behind and become someone else for a while.

Answer 6

I love being an actor. To play someone you are not is a lot of fun. I act because I feel that somewhere out there is a character who needs to be shown to the world and it's my job to bring him to life. Everyone in this world is doing his/her part in the circle of life. I feel acting is my part. When I act, I act with passion all the way. I am acting not just acting for myself. I am acting for the people out there who needs to be entertained or who needs to know a person whom they will never met.

Acting is fun.