Acting Class - How to achieve Internal Motivation
Most actors will agree that motivation is vital if you want to truly commit believably to any spoken line, action or character need. Well, here’s a secret that you won’t learn in most acting classes:
Your motivation to play the Intention is never a variation of the Intention, but rather a pain, fear, panic, hurt, insecurity, or self-doubt that gives a life context to the Intention and then demands that you play it. So if, for example, you want “To eviscerate the bastard,” you’d better get in touch with the pain of losing your murdered sister right before you do the scene.
The NEED to Play the Intention
Another example: if you want “To win her over,” you better get in touch with your feelings of being alone and unloved first. Those motivational feelings are created in the emotional preparation (see Section VI: Life Support) right before the scene and almost force you to play the Intention. If you truly NEED to play that intention, you’ll be forever fascinating to watch.
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"He taught more than any other teacher I had . . . is responsible for creating the kind of actor I am today. He taught me how to truly take risks in my work, invest authentically in my characters, and expect nothing but professionalism from myself and my colleagues. Peter’s standards were high and exacting, and as a student, I was thrilled to be held to them. It was the first time I had been treated like an actor, not just as a student. The method that Peter taught is still one that I use today – he gave me the tools to access, emotionally and intellectually, very dense material. He allowed me to see that with every character, every piece there is always a way that is deeper and truer than you first imagine.”Julianne Moore, Actress