Acting : 10 minutes with Bill Nighy by Steve James

Ha, looks interesting already :)

"I don't have time for feelings."

His answer to "How much research did you do?" At my age, none LOL! Agreed, Steve James, I love that his own "feelings" don't come into the laundry list of things he has to do in order to execute his job.

Fascinating. He certainly exists on a far end of the spectrum in regards to his approach to acting, but I love hearing that insight. Some actors are cerebral like this, and others are so lost in character and prep (perhaps Daniel Day Lewis). In the end, like Bill said, the audience doesn't know what's ACTUALLY in your head or what you're ACTUALLY feeling, so whatever your process is, as long as the audience is moved by your performance, who cares?

I will say that actors tend to get caught up too much on those internal feelings. Especially with self-taped auditions. I've run a taping service for over 10 years, and SOOOOO OFTEN actors want to do multiple takes until they FEEL GOOD about it, despite the fact that to the objective observer (me, or eventually the CD) all the takes were exactly the same. I think it's ok on the one hand, because we do want to feel good about the performances we're doing, but it needs to be balanced with an understanding that no one else can tell the difference (most of the time) between the performance you liked vs. the one you didn't "feel".

Steve, thanks so much for introducing me to the BAFTA YouTube Channel. Awesome! I'm going to subscribe and recommend it to my clients. What stood out to me in his interview is his emphasis on being prepared, being professional and the ability for every actor to connect with any character. I agree with him when he said that as an actor, "There is nothing out of your range or out of your reach." It makes no sense to me when an actor says I won't audition, because I don't get or don't connect with this character. In my opinion, an actor should be able to play any character, and it will be unique how each actor plays that character... but ultimately, that's the actor's job, to make a bold choice and have fun "playing" the role. I agree with Matthew that actors overthink their auditions, and the nature of taped auditioning tends to breed that thinking. That's why I think it's so valuable for actors to do theatre, because it forces them to adapt to different emotional experiences with no 2nd take. They have to continue on even in the most difficult of circumstances, whether technically or performance-wise opposite another actor. It's so valuable. British actors are masters of their craft, because they value live performance and take their professions very seriously. I really enjoyed that interview, Steve! Thanks again!!

Fascinating points that people are bringing up, I'm glad that this 'touched a nerve' - it did with me too.

So many gems in this clip! One of my faves -- his words on preparation. Thanks for sharing this!