Major actors do not need one, they want one
Her own framing of the question, and it is the whole answer. Coaching at that level is not remediation. It is a choice made by people who could work perfectly well without it and would rather not.
Go thereWhat’s it like being an on-set acting coach? And should you hire one? #actingcoach #acting #actors
What a coach actually does on a production, who hires them, and why the biggest names use one when nobody makes them.
6 Things Actors Should Know About On-Set Acting Coaches
Drawn from what is actually said on camera, so you can decide whether to spend the 3:01 watching it.
The engagement takes several different shapes
Hired by the actor, she may prepare a scene, work through every episode of a series, break down a film, visit set, take video calls, or finish everything before they ever leave for location. It depends entirely on how demanding the role is.
Go thereHired by production, she reads the whole script and builds a playbook
Every character in every scene, with their actions and activities laid out as options and possibilities rather than decisions. Then she is on set every day for the shoot, watching all of the performances rather than one.
Go thereNotes go through the director, never around them
She watches playback, gives her notes to the director, and the director decides whether to use them or to send her over with them. No note reaches an actor without approval. That is what makes the role collaborative instead of confusing.
Go thereA trusted second pair of eyes makes actors braver
The practical value for the performer. Knowing somebody they trust is watching frees them to attempt things they would otherwise not risk, because they will find out immediately whether it worked.
Go thereTrust takes time when you have not worked together
An actor who has coached with her privately will try something ridiculous on her say-so, knowing there is a reason. A working actor meeting her for the first time reasonably wonders who she is. Which is why she offers suggestions and ideas rather than instructions.
Go thereActing Craft is built by Web For Actors, who also wrote our guides for actors, every claim linked to its source, which draws on videos like this one.
Full transcript (596 words)
What does an onset coach do? Or what is it that you do on set? Or with these big movies with all these major movie stars, they don't need an acting coach, do they? No, they don't need an acting coach. They want an acting coach. So sometimes I'm hired by the actor. And so I will help them prepare the scene. I will look at the script. I will look [music] at what they're doing. Sometimes if it's a series, I will help them with every episode in the series. If it's a movie, we'll break it down. Sometimes I'll go out to set, [music] sometimes I'll do video calls and chats with them, or sometimes all of my work is done before they [music] leave the set.
It just depends on what the role is, how demanding it is, how much work it takes for them. Sometimes I'm hired by the director or the production team. So then I'm working with them and then I'm usually there for the entire shoot and I'm on [music] set every day, working every day. I start by reading a whole script and breaking that down, creating what I like to call a playbook, looking at all of the different characters in the scene, some of the things that might they might be doing, some of their actions, some of their activities, [music] just options and possibilities for that character. And working on set is really fun in that capacity as well. So, if I'm just there for the actor, maybe I'm in the trailer a little bit more, maybe I'm in my own place watching playback, then I'm giving notes to the director about the scene and what I'm seeing, and then [music] the director will choose to give those notes or not or have me go and give those notes if they approve. Same thing with when I'm coaching for an entire movie, right? I'm looking at all of the performances. I'm looking at some of the techniques that might be used. Maybe there's an actor [music] who's doing in a scene that they've never had to do before, a sense memory or an endowment. I've got videos on those, too. All of my acting techniques.
[music] So, maybe I'm working with them on that. Maybe I can point something out. And the same thing, I'm not going to go over and have a chat with the actor as long as the director doesn't approve [music] is likes the note that I gave. It's a really collaborative process. I think it also really gives the actor freedom to try something because there's another set of eyes, somebody that they know and they trust who's giving them notes. Sometimes when I go on for a big set, it takes a while to earn the trust. If I've been working with an actor privately for a while, they trust me. They know if I tell them to do something ridiculous, there's a reason for it and it it'll probably work, right? But if it's a brand new actor that I've never met before and doesn't know or trust me, takes a little while to develop that trust. I understand that. Who is this person? I've been a working actor for all of these years.
Why is she telling me what to do? That's why I don't tell him what to do. I have suggestions. I have ideas. I have collaborations that I will have with that actor. And so building that trust again takes a little bit of
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