Working with actors

A director's core job on set is getting great performances — and that's a skill of communication, trust, and psychology, not just shot design. Actors are collaborators and artists, not props; how you talk to them and what environment you create directly shapes what they give you. This lesson covers the fundamentals of working with actors (the how of directing performance comes in the next lesson). Let's get real performances. Let's work with actors well.

The director-actor relationship

YOUR JOB WITH ACTORS: create the conditions for a great performance + guide it
toward the story you're telling. Foundations:

- SAFETY + TRUST FIRST — acting means being emotionally exposed. Actors do their
  best, bravest work when they feel SAFE + respected. A calm, encouraging, no-
  judgment set = better performances. A harsh/chaotic one makes actors guard +
  shrink.
- CLEAR VISION, SHARED LANGUAGE — know what the scene needs (the character's want,
  the emotional truth) + communicate it. Talk about the CHARACTER + the situation,
  not "do it better".
- COLLABORATION, NOT DICTATION — actors bring ideas, instincts, + choices. Invite
  them in ("what does this feel like to you?"); the best performance is often a
  blend of your vision + their instincts. But you steer.
- KNOW THE CHARACTER + SCENE deeply — objectives, backstory, subtext — so you can
  guide truthfully + answer actors' questions.

REHEARSAL — where much of the work happens: explore the scene, find the
performance, build trust + shared understanding BEFORE the pressure of set (so set
time is capturing, not figuring out). Even a little rehearsal helps enormously.

Your job with actors is to create the conditions for a great performance and guide it toward the story you're telling — and it rests on a few foundations. Safety and trust first: acting means being emotionally exposed, and actors do their best, bravest work when they feel safe and respected — a calm, encouraging, no-judgment set produces better performances, while a harsh or chaotic one makes actors guard and shrink. Clear vision, shared language: know what the scene needs (the character's want, the emotional truth) and communicate it — talking about the character and situation, not barking "do it better." Collaboration, not dictation: actors bring ideas, instincts, and choices, so invite them in ("what does this feel like to you?"), because the best performance is often a blend of your vision and their instincts — but you steer. And know the character and scene deeply (objectives, backstory, subtext) so you can guide truthfully and answer actors' questions. Much of the real work happens in rehearsal — where you explore the scene, find the performance, and build trust and shared understanding before the pressure of set (so set time is capturing, not figuring out) — and even a little rehearsal helps enormously.

Communicating with actors on set

HOW TO TALK TO ACTORS (so they can USE it):

- BE SPECIFIC + CONCRETE, not vague. "Be sad" or "more energy" is hard to play.
  Give something PLAYABLE (next lesson): an action ("try to make her laugh"), a
  circumstance ("you just realised he lied"), an image.
- FRAME POSITIVELY + FORWARD — "this time, try..." not "that was bad". Give a
  direction toward the next take, not a critique of the last.
- ONE OR TWO NOTES AT A TIME — don't bury them in ten adjustments. Prioritise;
  let them focus. Too many notes = a stiff, heady performance.
- TALK PRIVATELY + RESPECTFULLY — give notes quietly, one-to-one, not shouted across
  a set. Protect their dignity + focus.
- LISTEN + WATCH — direct what you're actually SEEING; adjust to what the actor +
  scene are giving you. Sometimes the best direction is to say nothing + let them
  play.
- PROTECT THE PERFORMANCE — manage the set so actors can focus (limit distractions/
  crew chatter during takes), keep energy up, and know when they've got it.

BUILD A COMMON VOCABULARY with your actors (some like detail, some like to be left
alone). Adapt to each actor.

THE PRINCIPLE: create safety + trust, communicate the scene clearly + playably,
collaborate, and protect the performance — that's how you get truthful acting.

How you talk to actors decides whether they can use your direction. Be specific and concrete, not vague — "be sad" or "more energy" is hard to play; give something playable (next lesson): an action ("try to make her laugh"), a circumstance ("you just realised he lied"), or an image. Frame positively and forward — "this time, try…" not "that was bad" — a direction toward the next take, not a critique of the last. Give one or two notes at a time — don't bury actors in ten adjustments; prioritise, because too many notes produce a stiff, heady performance. Talk privately and respectfully — quietly, one-to-one, not shouted across the set — to protect their dignity and focus. Listen and watch — direct what you're actually seeing, adjusting to what the actor and scene are giving you (sometimes the best direction is to say nothing and let them play). And protect the performance — manage the set so actors can focus (limit distractions and crew chatter during takes), keep energy up, and know when they've got it. Also build a common vocabulary — some actors like detail, others prefer to be left alone — so adapt to each. The principle: create safety and trust, communicate the scene clearly and playably, collaborate, and protect the performance — that's how you get truthful acting.

The mistake beginners make

The first mistake is creating an unsafe/harsh set — being impatient, critical, or chaotic, so actors guard and shrink and the performances go flat; build a calm, safe, respectful environment. The second mistake is vague, result-based direction — "be sadder," "more energy," "do it better," which actors can't play; give playable direction (actions/circumstances). The third mistake is too many notes / negative notes — piling on adjustments or critiquing the last take, making the performance stiff; give one or two forward notes. And treating actors as props / not collaborating — dictating every detail and ignoring their instincts; invite their ideas (and steer). And skipping rehearsal — figuring out performance on the expensive set; rehearse first. Build a safe set, give playable and forward direction, keep notes few, collaborate, and rehearse.

Your turn

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Your turn

1. Create safety: run a scene rehearsal with a calm, encouraging, no-judgment tone and notice how much more the actor risks and gives compared to a rushed/critical setup.
2. Rehearse before set: rehearse a scene (even briefly) to explore it, find the performance, and build shared understanding — so on set you're capturing, not figuring it out.
3. Give forward, specific notes: replace a vague note ('be sad') with a specific, playable, forward direction for the next take ('this time, try to hide how much it hurt') and see the difference.
4. Limit your notes: after a take, give just one or two prioritised notes (not ten), delivered privately and positively, and let the actor focus on those.
5. Collaborate + adapt: ask an actor 'what does this feel like to you?', incorporate a good instinct while still steering toward your vision, and adjust your approach to how that actor likes to work.

Key points

• The director's job with actors: create the conditions for a great performance + guide it toward the story. SAFETY + TRUST first — acting means being emotionally exposed; actors do their best/bravest work on a calm, respectful, no-judgment set (a harsh/chaotic one makes them guard + shrink).
• Have a CLEAR VISION + shared language (know the scene's want/emotional truth; talk about the character + situation, not 'do it better'), COLLABORATE not dictate (invite actors' instincts + ideas — often the best performance is your vision + their instincts — but you steer), and know the character/scene deeply (objectives/backstory/subtext).
• REHEARSE — much of the work happens before set (explore the scene, find the performance, build trust) so set time is capturing, not figuring out; even a little rehearsal helps enormously.
• Talk so they can USE it: be SPECIFIC + PLAYABLE (an action/circumstance/image, not 'be sad'), frame POSITIVELY + forward ('this time, try...' not 'that was bad'), give ONE-TWO notes at a time (too many = stiff), talk PRIVATELY + respectfully, LISTEN/watch (sometimes say nothing), and PROTECT the performance (limit distractions during takes). Adapt to each actor.
• The mistakes: an unsafe/harsh set (actors guard + go flat), vague result-based direction ('be sadder' — unplayable), too many/negative notes (stiff performance), treating actors as props / not collaborating, and skipping rehearsal (figuring out performance on the expensive set).