How do you reconcile your personal beliefs with a charaacter who holds opposing views?
This is a good one for writers too. How do you write characters with a different value system than yours?
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Really good question. I'm sure there are those who will say something to the effect of "Find some common ground with your character" or "substitute your feelings about A with B and use that". Or, there's always Sir Lawrence Olivier's credo (to Dustin Hoffman) of 'Why don't you try acting?"
I don't think there's an easy answer here. For some, it's fun to play someone totally opposite -- they might find it liberating in some way. For others, it's about engaging in deep character study to try to find that element of commonality. And, for others, they simply would turn down the role. I think it boils down to what you as a performer are comfortable with.
I start with what I want the Character to represent. How do they interact in the world. What are their Good Points and Bad. Where is their motivation coming from. then I write from there.