An Actor’s Guide to Being a Man: One for the boys.

I am a man. I have been a, “man”, for over twenty five years now. I have enjoyed it, most of the time. I have had fun being a man, and will continue to enjoy it, until I can’t anymore. I have had some difficulties, because of being a man, but that is what the next few pages are going to be all about: The difficulties of being a man.

It’s not easy being a man. This is true, whatever our age. And it’s even more of a challenge if you’re an actor and have to play one. But don’t fear, we’re here to help with your male acting techniques. From being angry, to being tearful, to simply being there – this is the actor’s guide to being a man:

Display no emotions

You are a man, you have testosterone coursing through your veins and therefore cannot display emotions. If you’re in pain or upset then you need to cover it up otherwise people will think less of you. You might be concerned that this may affect your acting – but who cares? As a man you should be more concerned with appearing strong rather than actually being able to act! The key thing is that no one see any weakness in you.

Can I cry?

You’re damned right you can cry! But only if something really devastating has happened. Even then it must be controlled crying so as not to show weakness. If you want to cry without having anything devastating happen then don’t worry – just think about how much effort it takes for men in our society, particularly actors,

Some people think that the acting industry is full of beautiful people with nothing but narcissism and superficiality running through their veins. It’s not true; there are some very beautiful people in this industry, but they are a lot deeper than most give them credit for.

When you put yourself in a position to be judged by others you have to have more than just looks and talent. You need to understand what it is to be a Man.

There’s no denying that the majority of actors are male who are successful and in demand. The fact is women outnumber men in this business and the competition is fierce, so you need to be able to stand out from the crowd.

I have been around actors my whole life and I am yet to meet one who doesn’t want to be a good person and make a difference, even if it’s only in their own little world of family and friends.

My name is Jonathan Slinger. I am a professional actor and have been for twenty-two years. I am also a man, a husband, a father of two girls, a son and brother; I enjoy rugby and beer. This is my guide on how to be a man.

I was born in 1977, the year of punk rock, the year of Star Wars, the year of Ted Heath’s resignation as leader of the Conservative Party and the death of Elvis Presley. It was also the year that the Sex Discrimination Act came into force in Britain. That meant that for the first time it became illegal to discriminate against women in employment and education – and it was also made illegal to discriminate against men or boys on grounds of their sex or marital status.

It’s hard to imagine now, but up until this point in history (in Britain at least) you could legally restrict jobs to men only or women only. Imagine going into work on Monday morning to find that your boss has decided your entire department should be staffed exclusively by people with red hair (or who like Led Zeppelin), even though there is nothing about your job that requires it.

It is a truth universally acknowledged that actors are all screaming, self-obsessed egomaniacs with no sense of humour and even less of a moral compass. That is why they tend to do so well as politicians.

As I write this article, there are two professionally trained actors in the White House. In the last 70 years there have been more than a dozen others in key positions such as vice-president and secretary of state, not to mention almost every US president since Reagan.

At the same time, we love our actors: the big names, the big stars, those who can draw us into the cinema for 90 minutes and make us believe something we might not want to believe. And yet few of us enjoy being around them; no one wants one over for dinner unless you’re looking for an extra guest to be talked at all night. And that’s if they show up at all – they often don’t.

There must be something about acting that attracts this sort of personality – or perhaps it creates it – but what is it? Why do we love them so much? And why are they so difficult?

In the words of the great poet, Michael Jackson, you are not alone. There are many actors out there who have struggled to find their voice, or even keep a job for that matter. We see you.

This article is here to help those actors who have been told they have a ‘narrow’ range or have been limited because of the way they look. It is also here for those who have felt completely lost in their journey as an actor and could use some guidance from someone with experience in this industry.

It does not matter if you are a man or woman reading this article as it was written for both genders and includes some information that will be useful to all actors.

In this age of social media, we do tend to take things more personally than we used to. Auditions and rejections were once private but now they can be seen by anyone and everyone. If you get cast, then people that didn’t know you were an actor will congratulate you (unless your post displays no sign of congratulations then it’s probably not worth checking). If you get rejected, well then nobody will comment and they may even send love hearts because they feel sorry for you… Maybe?

1. The difference between talent and charisma is like the difference between a violin and a guitar. A violin can make lovely music, but you’d never call it sexy. You can’t break a girl’s heart with a violin. And you can’t play a rock concert with one. It’s not that the violin is worse, just kind of unsexy.

2. Women are not conquests to be made or prizes to be won.

3. No more thinking of yourself as “a nice guy” who just happens to have a girlfriend now, or a wife now, or a mistress now. The idea that you have any right to women is ludicrous and offensive, whether you are “nice” or not.

4. If you don’t know what makes women tick, it isn’t because they are “mysteries”; it is because you haven’t bothered to find out what they are really like, instead of what you want them to be like.

5. Women do not exist for your pleasure or entertainment.

6. Women do not need your protection—not from other men and certainly not from themselves.

7. Stere