There are a million ways to approach the development of a character. Actors often argue the technique of working from the inside-out versus the outside-in. The thought being that your inner world dictates your outer physical being. There are times as an actor when you just can’t find that inner soul, especially if the character resembles nothing of who you are naturally. This is when you turn to the outside. Or, as an old acting coach of mine would ask, “what kind of shoe does this character wear?”

It might sound stupid but clues to a character’s soul can sometimes be found through the simplest act - like putting on a pair of cowboy boots. It’s amazing how a pair of shoes can change your whole persona. In boots you feel different. Your posture changes. You move differently. Those physical influences begin to affect your inner workings whether you realize it or not.

On a movie commentary, Morgan Freeman once mentioned his use of hats as a hook into a character. He felt that a hat, “tied the knot in the thread.” It’s the identifying part of his character that he can build from. I have to agree. After my first reading of the Cowboy Smoke script, I immediately put on cowboy boots. Boots started my character’s inner journey.

This entry was posted on Thursday, April 27th, 2006 at 3:03 pm and is filed under Production. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.