I'm not a COMPLETE psychopath; I would never kill anyone or break the law.

However, it's hard for me to empathize with most people; I sort of have a very cold and "black heart"... I am talking about in real life; I am not repressing or "blocking" anything or not "allowing" myself to feel; I think I am just naturally cold hearted.

Does that make acting a lot harder? For example, even if I am pretending and imagining that someone I "loved" died in a scene I wouldn't feel much but that's how I am in real life. I never felt much either when relatives died either, including those that lived in the same house with me all my life... I wasn't repressing anything; I'm just "cold hearted" naturally. I don't feel much in real life but it's not repression; I may be a bit of psychopath in terms of feeling empathy for others.

Does that make it a lot harder to act? Or can I imagine myself to care even though I might not even care if it happened to me in real life?

For example, it's hard for me to imagine to care deeply about a brother or sister or mother or father in a scene since I don't talk to my family and cut them off... and I don't even think I may truly love them to be honest. Sounds horrible but do issues like this make it hard to act or imagine "love" when you don't really love anyone?

Then you need to find things you DO care about and use that as a substitution in your acting.

Use an "As IF."

If you have a scene where you are being very loving to your Mother and you love....(insert here) then do an as if and substitute.

Good actors know how to push their own buttons. You have to know yourself so very well to be a good actor. That is personal. A teacher can't teach that. You need to know yourself. Good and bad.

quote:

Originally posted by amo37:
Then you need to find things you DO care about and use that as a substitution in your acting.

Use an "As IF."

If you have a scene where you are being very loving to your Mother and you love....(insert here) then do an as if and substitute.

Good actors know how to push their own buttons. You have to know yourself so very well to be a good actor. That is personal. A teacher can't teach that. You need to know yourself. Good and bad.

Good points.. The only people I used to love were my exes (however, I don't love them anymore, one of them was abusive towards me). However, at the time it was crazy love/obsession/co-dependency.

I try it with imagination too but there are times when I feel "nothing" but that's because I don't feel much in real life either.

Acting has made me realize how emotionally messed up/psychopathic I am...

Everyone loves something. Doesn't have to be a person or a pet.

If your imagination is strong enough, you can use that. As children we really believe there is someone at our window or under our bed...Strengthen that. Daydream.

For all those things you're not, you must use an 'as if.' And it is up to you to create your own. That's why they call acting a craft and an art form. You have to craft your performance, much like a woodworker crafts a new cabinet. That's what the best actors do.

There's no standard of how to feel or act when you love something or are sad, etc. Not everyone cries when something bad happens and not everyone gets excited when you're in love.

If you are a certain way in a situation then own it! That's how YOU deal with a situation and what makes you, YOU. Show us how you tell a story.

And most successful actors are NOT normal. If DeNiro, Walken, Denzel, and Streep were, they wouldn't be working. Yes, talent and gaining skills are important, but being interesting is what prevails over ability or lack thereof.

quote:

Originally posted by TRUTHTELLER59:
There's no standard of how to feel or act when you love something or are sad, etc. Not everyone cries when something bad happens and not everyone gets excited when you're in love.

If you are a certain way in a situation then own it! That's how YOU deal with a situation and what makes you, YOU. Show us how you tell a story.

And most successful actors are NOT normal. If DeNiro, Walken, Denzel, and Streep were, they wouldn't be working. Yes, talent and gaining skills are important, but being interesting is what prevails over ability or lack thereof.

Reassuring to know since I am very abnormal...

Good point about owning how I am since it's inherently unique.

What you are describing is a sociopath.

You just have to figure out what works for you.

For example, I am animated in real life, but that doesn't play well in drama, so I have to tone down what my natural reaction would be in a situation. I can not "become the character" by putting myself in those cirmstances because it doesn't read right. You can't become a character because you can not feel the way they do. You just have to find ways to make it read right on camera. It's an extra step many people doen't have to take.

On a side not, I would sugest that "method" would ot be the technique for you. I would also point out that you don't need to feel the same way as a character to play a character. I'm sure some very nice people have played terrible cold-blooded murderes that have done terrible things.

Hi Jakie I think you are very interesting. Just find characters that you are capable of playing on your own strength. Assasians, layers, doctors, con artists and even clowns have psychopathic traits, but they are not all that way. The audience POV will usally call them "bad ass" characters on screen or on the stage. It's up to you to find what works for you and what you will allow in your system. Emotions are not all that poisonous

quote:

Originally posted by amo37:
Then you need to find things you DO care about and use that as a substitution in your acting.

Use an "As IF."

If you have a scene where you are being very loving to your Mother and you love....(insert here) then do an as if and substitute.

Good actors know how to push their own buttons. You have to know yourself so very well to be a good actor. That is personal. A teacher can't teach that. You need to know yourself. Good and bad.

"A teacher can't teach that" that is so true and I back that point 100%

quote:

Originally posted by Iceman:
You just have to figure out what works for you.

For example, I am animated in real life, but that doesn't play well in drama, so I have to tone down what my natural reaction would be in a situation. I can not "become the character" by putting myself in those cirmstances because it doesn't read right. You can't become a character because you can not feel the way they do. You just have to find ways to make it read right on camera. It's an extra step many people doen't have to take.

On a side not, I would sugest that "method" would ot be the technique for you. I would also point out that you don't need to feel the same way as a character to play a character. I'm sure some very nice people have played terrible cold-blooded murderes that have done terrible things.

Thanks, that helps a lot. I will just have to find an approach that works for me.

I took method acting classes a few months ago and your "problem" is similiar to that our teacher had to face in his early years. He told us the same thing that some of you mentioned: To push the right buttons and figure out what works for you.

He said to us that he almost never gets angry with anybody. He always gives second chances. The only person he used to be really mad at was his teacher when he was a kid. Later starting to learn acting he had to play a role in a play where he had to get furious. He didn`t know how to do it because he never felt this feeling before. Suddenly he remembered his teacher.. But it wasn`t enough. So he worked out a special recipe. He would imagine himself kissing his old ugly teacher. That was the "button" he had to push to get in a rage...

Yeah use "As if" also if you want to be more empathetic .Look for articles that interest you or interviews .Of people talking about their experiences .While your reading or listening to these people.Paint a mental image in your mind of everything their saying .That helps me out work on becoming a visual thinker.Dont read words visualize them .

or just play different variations of psychopathy. During your performance do you get terrible headaches or stomach pains...