Artistic, experienced actors know there’s a major difference between acting from the head; versus acting from the heart, soul, instinct, acting-instrument.
Only after quite a bit of experience, do actors know that the latter is acting at a higher level. It takes some acting experience to know that emotional, ‘real’ acting cannot be left to chance.
Besides an actor’s highly developed, substantial craft… on a set, there are additional positive influences that can support the actor; or detracting elements that need overcoming. That is, in order to facilitate the most authentic acting performances.
Actress Lauren Graham compares working on both ‘The Gilmore Girls’ and ‘Parenthood’. She describes the different approaches to the work on both of the shows, and what, specifically, about the work ethic of the ‘Parenthood’ set, the relationships, the prep; that has contributed to freeing her acting, up to a higher level. To
emotional acting; rather than the limiting cerebral performance-type acting style.
Acting On Parenthood, Actress Isn’t Stuck In Her Head
Lauren Graham: Technically, [series regular roles] are completely different jobs. Gilmore Girls was so language-based, so technical. It was about committing something perfectly to memory, because there was no deviation from the script. In terms of stamina and having to memorize, Parenthood feels much more like my experiences of doing film, where the moments are smaller. It’s those small moments of listening, that’s where the show lives.
Acting Prep With Actors, Show Creator
Q: How much prep time do you spend with your fellow actors and showrunner?
Graham: A lot. These are very special people to me. We start talking about the scripts the minute they come out, actually. And often we’re shooting two shows at a time, so they story-board it for us that way. This is even more important on this show because you’re shooting what’s going to happen in the next episode while you still haven’t finished what happens in this episode. We also have an unusually confident showrunner, Jason Katims, who knows when he can trust us to have some input and then knows when he wants things his way. He came to me at one point in the season and — he’d never said this to me before — “I really like this one speech as it is, and I would love it if it was just that way.” It was really nice.
Toughest Acting Scene So Far?
Q: What was the toughest scene you filmed in Season 2?
Graham: Well, I haven’t even watched it yet, so I don’t know how it came out! But there were those scenes in the hospital after Mae [Whitman], who plays my daughter, had been in a car accident, which we shot on my birthday, actually. Just the idea of what had happened to her was so powerful. But it was interesting because Mae wasn’t even there that day. But just the idea of it was so vivid; my feelings for her are very real. I just had never really had that experience before as actor.
Acting Emotional Scenes, No Connection
Q: Is it possible to do emotional scenes with actors to whom you don’t have a personal connection?
Graham: …The worst thing is when you really connect to somebody personally and then onscreen it’s just like, nothing is there.
As An Actor: Much More Vulnerable, Because…
Q: What would you say you’ve learned most about yourself working on Parenthood?
Graham: I feel much more vulnerable as an actor than I used to, and I think that’s a function of using my brain and my words less and having to access a greater emotional life. I’ve had to just access things emotionally that I never had to before. I always thought of myself as more of a comedian and a verbal person, but Mae and I can barely get through a scene without crying. I know it sounds really sentimental and stupid, but there’s a depth to that relationship of struggle and love that is so moving to me. In the past, I had struggled to get to that place, so I credit this show, and the reality of these relationships, with really opening me up.
Credit+ thanks to THR.
Best,
Dana
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