The ingredients of amazing acting

What is it that distinguishes the average, employed actor from the truly memorable, astonishing actor? It was once thought that the ingredients of amazing acting were inexplicable and could not be taught.
But during the last 20 years, huge advances have been made in actor training and many of the ingredients are clear.
If you find one of the rare great acting classes, you can cultivate many of these qualities in yourself with profound results.
Here are a few vital characteristics of a great actor: a free-flow of emotions and impulses expressed in the body and voice; an understanding of how to create life-and- death, moment-to-moment acting; a vivid imagination; and a body and voice capable of telling all kinds of stories.
We live in a dangerous world. People are insensitive, self- absorbed and emotionally retarded. Interacting with people can hurt, often far more than we consciously realize. Life shuts most of us down.

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We tense up and build a protective psychological wall around ourselves. The temptation to avoid our feelings is irresistible for most of us. Feelings can be no fun.
We live in a culture filled with distractions and addictions that take us away from who we are on the deepest levels. We are forgetting who we are and our deepest experience of life, over and over, because it seems easier.
So when it comes time to act and genuinely experience the reality of a character, we are blocked. Great actors understand the human tendency to shut down. They fight against it.
There are many ways to slow down and open yourself up: yoga, massage, meditation, nature walks, long drives, proper nutrition, cutting down on caffeine, eliminating drugs and alcohol from your life, etc.
It is vital that you continually find ways to slow down and open yourself up emotionally as an actor.