Human beings are social animals, and we like to follow what the crowd does. As a result, we often judge the value of something based on how many other people think it is valuable. Popularity matters in Hollywood, and actors with great screen presence are able to capitalize on this popularity by getting paid more money for their movies. What makes an actor or actress popular? It is all about film presence!
What Is Your Film Presence?
For starters, if you have an “average” film presence, you are more likely to get roles that are similar to your appearance and personality. However, if you have a strong film presence, you can play a variety of roles that may be completely different from who you really are. For example, Tom Cruise has played a variety of characters and he is always believable as that character. Additionally, some actors and actresses have such a strong film presence that they can take over the whole movie-even if there are other great actors in the film. These types of actors include: Al Pacino, Will Smith, Julia Roberts and Meryl Streep.
If you want to improve your film presence so that you can land bigger roles (and make more money), it helps to:
Improve your facial expressions-make sure that your emotions
Actors with a strong Film Presence are those who we feel we know, who seem familiar. We feel like we have known them for a long time, even if we’ve only seen them on screen for a few moments. They often have a specific look, or recognizable style of speech, clothing and mannerisms. They don’t all look alike, but they all seem to share some common characteristic.
Actors with a great Film Presence are sometimes referred to as “movie stars,” although the term is not precise. It can mean that they are highly regarded by the public, or perhaps just highly paid or famous for their glamourous lifestyle or tabloid exploits. But actors with a genuine Film Presence have an intangible quality that is hard to name or quantify.
As an actor, you should work to develop your Film Presence. But how exactly do you do that?
To be an actor, you need to be more than a good actor. You need to have film presence. Film presence is not the same as stage presence, which is what actors use in live theater. Film presence is a completely different way of working, and only a few of the great stage actors have this particular sauce.
Film actors are in a movie, they make their face work, they say their words and then it’s finished. And then they have to do it again right away because the director wants to try a different camera angle or lighting. Most of them don’t get very much time to rehearse because film crews are so expensive. The most efficient way to shoot a movie is for the director (and sometimes the cinematographer) to block out all of the shots before filming even starts.
It’s easier for directors and cinematographers if actors know what they’re going to do and where they’re going to move in every scene before shooting begins. But this isn’t easy for most actors; you can’t give them that much direction because then they just become puppets or robots. They need to be free to play around with things and see what happens; the director chooses what he likes later when he’s editing the film together. It’s hard
In acting, there is a term used to describe an actor’s on-screen magnetism: it’s called “film presence.” Film presence isn’t something that can necessarily be taught; either you have it or you don’t. It’s what makes the audience subconsciously choose to focus on one actor over another in any given scene.
For instance, compare Philip Seymour Hoffman and Joaquin Phoenix in the movie The Master. Hoffman plays Lancaster Dodd, the title character, with whom we’re meant to sympathize. Phoenix plays Freddie Quell, a mentally troubled drifter and the story’s protagonist. And yet, despite these roles, Hoffman shares equal “screen time” with Phoenix — they are both in nearly every scene together. Yet while watching the film, your eyes will be drawn toward Phoenix 95% of the time. Why? Because he has film presence and Hoffman doesn’t.
Hoffman is a very good actor — perhaps one of the best working today — but he doesn’t have film presence. This does not make him any less of an actor than someone like Phoenix, who oozes charisma from every pore. It just means you won’t ever see Hoffman starring as Batman or James Bond — or as the star of his own sitcom or romantic comedy franchise.
Film Presence is the quality that sets great actors apart from good actors. It’s what makes the audience notice them even when they’re not speaking and draws attention to the character that they are playing.
There are a lot of “good actors” out there but only a few great ones. What separates the wheat from the chaff? Film presence.
To begin our discussion of film presence, let’s take a close look at three great American actors: Humphrey Bogart, Paul Newman and Robert De Niro. A cast member of Casablanca and many other films, Bogart had great film presence. He was always in control, was never afraid to take chances, and knew how to dominate every scene he was in. As one of the most famous movie stars of all time, Paul Newman also had an enormous amount of film presence. He could create characters that were likeable yet flawed and would always draw you into his story (even if he wasn’t actually saying anything). And Robert De Niro has to be mentioned as well because his performance in Raging Bull is one of the greatest examples of film presence ever recorded on film!
So what exactly is “film presence?” It’s hard to define, but it can be summed up as an actor or actress
“Presence” is what people feel when they’re with you. It’s a combination of your energy, the way you use that energy, and the way you make others feel about themselves. Your presence will be the key to making a strong connection with your auditors, which is absolutely vital to your success as an actor in film.
Answer these questions to determine what kind of presence you have:
1. Are you shy or outgoing?
2. Do people like to be around you?
3. Do people come to you for advice?
4. Do others describe you as “attractive”?
5. Are you often described as having “charisma”?
If you answered “yes” to three or more of these questions, then congratulations! You have a strong presence! If not, don’t worry; there are steps that you can take to increase your presence and help others become more attracted to you as an actor.
There is a particular type of screen presence, or magnetism, or charisma, that is often described by the cliche “star quality.” This mysterious attribute is so crucial to success in Hollywood that people who have it are often paid millions of dollars to appear in movies, even if they have little other talent.
The term “star” originally referred to the brightest objects in the sky. Now it also refers to a certain kind of person who can be seen even when he or she isn’t moving. In some cases this is due to exceptional physical beauty or a distinctive appearance. But in most cases the star has no discernible physical advantage; instead, he or she has an aura that seems to set him apart from his surroundings and make us more aware of him than other people. The effect is not necessarily pleasant; many famous stars have had unpleasant personalities and appearances. But their prominence seems to draw our attention rather than repel it.
To describe someone as having star quality is generally regarded as a compliment. Yet most people are uncomfortable around stars, and if you asked them whether they would like to be one, most would say no. Most people would prefer to be richer than famous; if you offered them a choice between being well known and being well paid, they would
