Increasing Confidence: How Do Actors Let Go of Inhibitions?

As an actor, we are sure you’ve been told time and time again that you are your own product. If you are not confident with your own product, how are you supposed to sell it? What casting director would hire someone who didn’t feel they could rely on themselves? Increasing confidence is essential for everyone, but it is crucial for actors and performers. An actor who speaks and moves with inhibitions is in no way enjoyable to watch.

The lack of confidence is an issue that needs to be worked on. You see other actors strutting the stage or executing embarrassing directions, and we wonder how they do it. If you need help, here are tips to slowly overcome your fears and work on increasing confidence.

Increasing Confidence as an Actor: How Do You Do It?

Preparation

The better your preparations are, the less likely will embarrassment find itself to you. Nothing undermines your confidence more than lack of preparation. As the saying goes, you make your own luck. Prepare yourself completely before showing up in auditions. Prepare yourself for shoots and shows by doing your homework, studying, and researching. 

Training

When you honestly know that you have a solid acting training, you can believe in your craft. Take improv workshops or classes to learn how to trust your instincts and commit. Once you get over your fear of making mistakes, you experience that they are fun and that great moments come from messing up. This progression helps you to learn that no matter what happens in class or in life, you can handle it. This type of training goes a long way in building confidence.

Experience

The more you do it, the more confident you become. Audition for scores of projects, especially the sort of work you intend to land most. If you are currently facing inevitable dry spells, make working on your craft a daily practice. Warm up your voice and body every morning. Then read a poem, monologue, or scene each day. Get yourself used to different kinds of scripts to push your boundaries. You will feel much more confident walking into an audition at the Royal Shakespeare Company if you’ve been working on Shakespearean text everyday leading up to the audition.

Successes

It’s all too easy to forget positive feedback and just hold onto the negative. So take note of the success stories in your professional life. Did your agent love your recent self-tape? Or did you get a lovely piece of feedback from your acting teacher? Write these down. Get a notebook, or open up your notes in your iPhone and make a list. By writing it down we acknowledge positivity and build from it.

Health

Taking steps to be a more healthy person will inevitably help your confidence. Making sure you are eating well, staying active, and looking good will immediately bring about positive change in your life. If you love what you see in the mirror, you’ll have no problem brandishing yourself to casting directors, directors, and assistant directors. When you are happy in your personal life, that transfers into your acting work as well. You’ll smile and laugh through your mistakes and take criticism positively.

A Final Word 

Vanity, arrogance, or egotism is not confidence. These are usually facades for someone who lacks it. If you are honest with yourself, you’ll know the difference. There’s nothing more valuable than you being you. Also remember that fear detracts from the important work of acting. You can’t truly affect an audience if your focus is personal. Be brave, and give yourself over to the scene.