What differentiates good acting from acting that is great? Ultimately, this is a subjective question that deals more with taste than a concrete definition of what makes an actor good or bad. While no truly objective standards to judge a performance exist, there are specific factors that can be considered in order to more persuasively frame a conversation about why some actors move us while others don’t. In this video, we’ll look at why certain performances make you feel emotionally moved while others feel…well…stilted.

//CHAPTERS:
00:00 Intro
03:04 Aiming For a Result
04:22 Big vs Small Performances
05:23 Vulnerability, Directing, and Writing
07:42 Making Interesting Choices
08:39 Physicality and Accents
10:16 Listening
11:08 Filmmaking as a Collaboration

//SOURCES:
INTERVIEWS – The Hollywood Reporter Actors Roundtable (2010, 2018, 2019, 2020), Variety Actors on Actors Annette Benning and Naomie Harris, THR Actress Roundtable (2014, 2021), The Dan Patrick Show Adam Sandler, Actors on Actors Nicholas Hoult and Paul Mescal, Riz Ahmed and Steven Yeun, Kirsten Dunst and Jamie Dornan, Sam Rockwell and Alsion Janney, Hugh Jackman and Willem Dafoe, Amy Adams and Nicole Kidman, Paul Mescal and Joe Alwyn, Hugh Grant and Colin Farrell, Benedict Cumberbatch and Claire Foye, Timothėe Chalamet and Emma Stone, Kate Winslet and Saoirse Ronan, Kristen Stewart and Nicole Kidman, Brad Pitt and Adam Sandler, Charlie Rose Paul Newman, DGA Nominees for Feature Film (2018), Build Series Viola Davis, Willem Dafoe Interview with Sam Jones, Charlie Rose Actors Studio Interview, THR Directors Roundtable (2011), THR Emmy Actress Roundtable (2016), Charlie Rose Paul Thomas Anderson (2000), Viola Davis BAFTA Guru, Robert Pattinson BAFTA Guru, SAGAFTRA Career Retrospective Rachel Weisz, Mark Mylod Succession Scene Breakdown, PTA Interview The Los Angeles Times, Michael Parkinson Interview Robert DeNiro, Todd Phillips Joker Scene Breakdown, Academy Conversations Natalie Portman, Idriss Elba Kate Winslet Interview, Claire Foye Q&A “Women Talking,” SAGAFTRA Leading Female Actor Interview, Vicky Krieps SAGAFTRA Interview, Jaoquin Phoenix and Riz Ahmed Interview, THR Drama Actors Roundtable (2023)

FILMS/TV SHOWS – Moonlight, Tár, The Lobster, A Woman Under the Influence, Corsage, I, Tonya, Punch Drunk Love, Call Me By Your Name, Never Rarely Sometimes Always, The Asassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, Interstellar, American Beauty, Requiem for a Dream, Empire of Light, Nights of Cabiria, Aftersun, Little Women, Tokyo Story, Atonement, Casablanca, L’Avventura, Blue Valentine, Normal People, The Florida Project, The Master, Cool Hand Luke, Lady Bird, Fences, Nightcrawler, Get Out, The Banshees of Inisherin, Fleabag, The Favourite, No Country For Old Men, The Sound of Metal, The Worst Person in the World, Into the Wild, Beef, The Power of the Dog, Bonnie and Clyde, The Truman Show, Phantom Thread, The Lighthouse, American Psycho, Succession, Taxi Driver, Joker, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing Missouri, Jackie, Being the Ricardos, The Big Lebowski, Till, Shame, Sicario, Wanda, Paris, Texas, In the Mood for Love, Cold War, Marie Antionette

//MUSIC:
Sunn Forest by ELPHNT
The Life and Death of a Certain K. Zabriskie, Patriarch by Chris Zabriskie is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 license.
Source: http://chriszabriskie.com/vendaface/
Artist: http://chraiszabriskie.com/'>http://chraiszabriskie.com/
What True Self, Feels Bogus, Lets Watch Jason X by Chris Zabriskie is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 license.
Source: http://chriszabriskie.com/reappear
Artist: http://chraiszabriskie.com/'>http://chraiszabriskie.com/
Sunrise in Paris by Dan Henig

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