Actors Are Not Born They Are Made

Creative minds indeed are born but the art of putting your creativity into action is something that is self-taught and hence proves the well-said theory, “actors aren’t born, they are made”.

The true potential isn’t realized before training and struggle. I believe our passion for something makes us sacrifice everything to achieve it. We must be taught to harness the instincts with which we are born so that we can create the role and inhabit the imaginary world the writer has placed us in.

A talented actor without training and struggle is like a river running without a direction wildly. Great actors are born with more highly developed imaginations. When most of us play "pretend" games, that is exactly what we are doing: pretending. But the trained ones play "believe" games.

To craft a performance, you must know how to read a script, how to create specific relationships (points of view) with the given circumstances (all the persons, places, things, events, environments, etc.) that the writer and/or director has provided. You must know who you are in the aesthetic reality that you have been placed in. How do you play a character, or more importantly, how do you allow the character, the scene, the given circumstances to play you?

Regarding acting, it has been said that the definition of talent is the degree of depth of an actor's imagination and ability to enter into the imaginary world and play pretend. Having said this, I do not believe that the natural gift of this facility means that a great actor is simply born.

Itzhak Perlman, the legendary violinist, was interviewed once and asked the same question regarding his mastery as a musician. He answered that regardless of any inclination or natural talent or ability anyone is blessed to be born with, the true craft is achieved only through rigorous study and the development of technique, which earns the artist full access to his talent and consistency.

There are very rare instances where an actor seems to have emerged untrained and yet possesses the technical skill that most actors achieve through intensive training. But even these rare actors might further develop their facilities if exposed to the power of a great technique. Hence I subscribe to the sentiment that great actors are born with the potential for greatness but that potential must be nurtured through training to be made.

As Herbert Berghof was fond of saying, "Never mind your talent; do you have the determination?" You must be truthful with yourself and not rest on what comes easily. Each effort to communicate something meaningful and human presents new obstacles and demands. Each performance depends on a unique fusion of the intentions, efforts, and talents of the artists involved. You work as hard as you can to build a lightning rod, then hope and allow that lightning may strike.

If you are expecting to be great, you will likely miss the mark. If you are diligent, honest, and passionate about your work, you will do well.

- Anushka Jain