Character analysis means reading the script for evidence, then answering a short list of questions: who am I, where and when am I, what just happened, what do I want, what is stopping me, and how do I feel about everyone I talk to or about. When we asked 20 casting directors what seasoned actors do differently, their answers described the results of this work: specific choices, clear relationships and an inner life.
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It is the homework that turns lines into a person. You gather facts from the script, decide what the character wants in every scene, and build enough history that their behaviour makes sense to you. Kym Jackson boils it down to empathy and imagination: picturing yourself in that person's shoes, then justifying what they do.
How to read a script covers format and scene breakdown; this page is about the person.
The facts of the scene that you don't get to change: who you are, where you are, when it is, what just happened and who else is there. Anthony Brandon Wong told us the actors who stand out follow their impulses, but those impulses have to be backed up by the given circumstances.
Casting director Kahleen Crawford said she is surprised how often actors don't ask what happened just before and just after their scene. If you only have a few pages, ask casting or your rep; manager Chris Roe said reps will usually try to get answers about a character that aren't in the breakdown.
Every scene, ask three things: what do I want from the other person, what is stopping me, and what do I do to get it? Then look for the bigger want that runs through the whole story, often called the super objective. Anthony Brandon Wong said reading the full script is how you find it.
Make the want urgent. His observation is that many actors play it safe, like a tennis player who just gets the ball in without going after it. The ones who stand out bring real need to what they are going after, with their heart and gut, not just their head.
This is where casting directors notice the difference. Gayle Pillsbury said that with a seasoned actor there is no question how they feel about each person they talk to; their eyeline, their use of the space and their behaviour all show it.
Kym's tool is a relationship web: your character's name in the middle of a page, a line to every other character, and your opinion of each one, even people you never share a scene with. When the opinion is deep enough, she says, you don't need to show it. Telegraphing a feeling for the audience is a sign of inexperience.
Use everything the text gives you first: what others say about you, how you react, what you avoid. Then invent only what you need to justify the behaviour on the page.
Kym uses a visualisation: imagine the character at four, seven, eleven, fourteen and so on, a couple of minutes at each age. What does the room look like, who is there, how are you treated? It takes about 20 minutes, and she finds it hands her memories that explain why the character behaves as they do. Finish with a page of the character's thoughts about the world.
Subtext is what the character means underneath what they say. Kahleen Crawford said looking for subtext happens surprisingly rarely in auditions. Kym points to Shakespeare as the training ground: the words are a vehicle, and what you play is the intention behind them.
For each line, ask what you are really trying to do to the other person, and what you are not saying. Then say the writer's words exactly. The subtext lives in you, not in a rewrite.
Scale the work to the role, but never skip it. Gayle's example was a co-star bartender: the actor who knows his environment, has a towel, is cleaning glasses and has an attitude to the customer stands out from most of the people who just say the line.
A small role exists to serve the story, so analyse what the scene needs from you. Leads need the full map: the arc, the super objective and the turning points. Director Kate Dennis told us series regulars carry the character's DNA, and a director's job is mostly to keep them serving the story.
We asked 20 casting directors what seasoned actors do differently in auditions. Most named confidence and ease. Several described the results of good analysis:
David Newman's advice was to stop trying to prove you can act. The audition is about your choices.
Find the part of you that is. Actor Kevin E. West's advice when a breakdown says "hot" and you don't feel it: substitute a day when you did. When it says "ugly", enjoy being as ugly as you can, inside or out. Accent teacher Amy Walker starts with the character's voice, which can unlock how they move and think.
Kym also uses animal work and music. She once cracked a character she disliked by realising the woman was a duck stuck in mud who believed she was a swan.
Bring the inner work, not the costume. Manager Chris Roe said you become the character when the scene starts, not in the waiting room. John Frank Levey's version: keep your process in the hall.
Big choices are welcome, and you rarely need to announce them. Never bring a real weapon.
Who am I, where and when am I, what just happened, what do I want, what is stopping me, what do I do to get it, and how do I feel about each person I talk to or about.
The facts of the scene you cannot change: who you are, where and when the scene happens, what has just happened and who else is there.
The big want that drives a character through the whole story, as opposed to what they want in a single scene. Reading the full script is the best way to find it.
Start with every clue in the script, then invent only what you need to justify the behaviour on the page. A short visualisation of key ages can fill the gaps.
Yes, though they see the result, not the notes. Casting directors told us seasoned actors stand out through specific choices, clear relationships and the ability to adjust.
Character work only lands once the words are second nature. Our free line learning guide is the next step after your analysis.
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