Work backward from when it already happened
The note itself is confusing, so he reverse engineers it from the performances where he was lost in the scene and forgot about himself. Those moments are your own data on what the note is asking for.
Acting Tips: Think the Character's Thoughts
The note is confusing until you work backward from the times it happened by itself. What was different, and how to make it repeatable.
4 Things Actors Should Know About Thinking the Character's Thoughts
Drawn from what is actually said on camera, so you can decide whether to spend the 2:07 watching it.
That state is what actors are actually chasing
Every actor he speaks to describes wanting to live in somebody else's life and forget their own. Being in the zone is not a bonus on top of good work. For most people it is the reason they do this at all.
Specificity is the route in
You do not get there by deciding to. You get there by answering the concrete questions: the relationships, the place, the moment before, and above all what you need the other person to do or say.
Make the other person the most important thing in the room
Listen for the specific thing you need, and stay connected to whoever might give it to you. At some point it tips, the way a surfer catches a wave, and the character's thoughts arrive without being summoned.
Acting Craft is built by Web For Actors, who also wrote the 85 things casting directors and coaches say about auditions, which draws on videos like this one.
Full transcript (332 words)
[music] Have you ever gotten that note that you need to think the character's thoughts? All right, that's kind of a confusing note. At least it was for me. So, let me work backwards and I think about the time when I did think the character's thoughts. All of those times, all of those performances where I was lost in the scene and I forgot about me. And that's the magic. That's the high. That's what we're addicted to. That's what we want. Every actor that I speak to is like, well, I just like to live in other people's shoes. I want to live in their world and forget about my life. [music] And that's what acting does, right?
That's called being in the zone. And I am so excited and proud because the nine questions of intentional acting helps actors get into the zone. How does it do that? Because you have to get specific. Specific on what are the relationships, where does it take place, what happened the moment before. You just take it through all the questions and they will lead you to with your intention. What do I need that other person to do or say? If I'm listening for it and I listen, if I am so specific and connected to that other person and I am making them the most important person in the scene, at some point it's like boom. It's like catching the wave for a surfer and you're just in the scene. That's when the character's thoughts come. So, if you're getting the note that you you're not thinking the character's thoughts or you need to think the character's thoughts, that means you need to get more specific and you need to work on I I'm going to tell you do the nine questions of intentional acting and get really specific in them and practice them in their your scene [music] and that will lead you to tripping into the zone. out.
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