This is not a question I could begin to answer myself, but several people have in the past.
‘Understanding, Sensibility and Fire’, said John Hill, 18th century actor and playwright.1
‘Imagination! Imagination! I put it first years ago, when I was asked what qualities I thought necessary for success upon the stage, and I am still of the same opinion. Imagination, industry and intelligence – “the three Is” – are all indispensable to the actress, but of these three the greatest is, without any doubt, imagination.’ So said Ellen Terry.2
‘Success in acting is at base “a question of confidence”’ according to Peggy Ashcroft.
You can’t argue with that, even if the confidence itself is part of the performance.
According to the 18th century French actor Talma: ‘La sensibilité extrême et l’intelligence extraordinaire’.3
There’s a lengthy quote about Talma from a critic called George Lewes, cited in Actors and Acting:
‘Talma told M Barriere that he was once carried away by the truth and beauty of the actress playing with him till she recalled him by a whisper: “Take care, Talma, you are moved!” on which he remarked, “It is really from emotion that difficulties spring: the voice balks, the memory fails, and gestures become false; and the effect is destroyed.”
‘[Fellow actor] Francois Molé said, “I was not satisfied with myself tonight; I allowed myself to be carried away and did not remain master of myself. . . I was the character himself, no longer the actor who played the part. I had become as real as if I were in my own home. To achieve the scenic illusion one must be otherwise.”’
There’s a lot of food for thought in this. David Garrick prided himself on staying outside his character all the time, claiming he could emote as effectively to a post as he could to his fellow actors. The French philosophe Denis Diderot believed an actor should be devoid of personal emotion (though he was not an actor himself). Method actors presumably would not agree.
Talma went on to say: ‘I have suffered cruel losses, and have often been assailed with profound sorrows; but after the first moment when grief vents itself in cries and tears, I have found myself involuntarily turning my gaze inwards, and found that the actor was unconsciously studying the man, the catching nature in the act.’
When I posed this question recently to actor friends their response was more concerned with constant hard work, observation, determination and above all ‘the ability to bounce back’. One of them ventured that talent can come from practice.
Can it? I’m not sure, though from my researches into actors past there’s no question many of them started out very shakily, having to overcome physical awkwardness, feeble voices and a total lack of presence before they became superstars.
What do you think? I would love to hear your thoughts. Which actors do you most admire, and why?
Actors on Acting, eds Toby Cole & Helen Krich Chinoy
Ibid
Mr Macready, J C Trewin