I randomly found this channel..I'm very glad I did. Its really good and gives a lot of insight and perspective from successful and smart people. Thanks for doing what you do.
“What do you want?What is your action?” One of my great acting teachers talks about this all the time. Keep it simple. Action verbs. Jason Alexander talks about this some method.
@@chaelsonnen2747 To scold, to plead, to flirt, etc. So you can take a line and try various action verbs and see which action verbs fits the best in the given context
Yes!!!!!!!! Loved him in that so much!!!! That was my first intro to him lol. My other fave is the British film where they're at a funeral and he gets high. I forget what it's called. SO GOOD!!
I love that actors talking about acting always knows like they know what they'te talking about but they're extremely bad at explaining it Not that he's not right though: You can't just act out the "idea of being sad", you need to actually be the character wanting this or that thing, and when something happens then you react naturally. If you don't feel sad then, then you just did your preparation wrong
I am just finding out now that Alan Tudyk isn't English lol I only ever saw him in A Knight's Tale as a kid and just assumed he was a Brit because his accent was so spot on. Also, is it just me or does he not just....LOOK like an Englishman? I don't know how but he just.....does lol
I love this channel and I like this actor, but the black and white color scheme make his eyes look kinda crazy like he's been hit on the head or something.
EDIT: I'll add a TLDR in case anyone is too lazy to read it lol I just went through this in my acting class. We're doing a comedy and I kept trying to play the joke. I can't remember what it was, but say the scene is two people going back and forth in an argument, and somewhere in the middle he sees a plate with his favourite dessert. What Alan Tudyk is saying is that if you're playing that character, don't play the joke, play the truth. What's the truth? It's what the character wants. In that scene, he first wants to beat his rival in the argument, and they're going back and forth in a very Mexican standoff-ish kind of way, sort of like in those scenes where it's not really an argument, but more like a chess game where the characters are saying "my dick is bigger than yours" "no, MY dick is bigger than yours". Only, that's the subtext. They're saying those things without actually saying them. They're just each trying to one-up each other, know what I'm saying? ANYWAYS sorry I got a little off track there. What I'm trying to say is, picture that scene I just laid out for you, and then picture one of the characters presenting their next argument to their rival, and then all of a sudden going "oooo a coconut cake my favourite!". What Tudyk is saying is play what he wants. In the moment he really just wants to win the argum - LOOK A COCONUT CAKE! Ya see? Don't act is as if you know there's gonna be a joke, because if you do that then it won't be funny. What's funny is the truth and in that moment he really just wanted to eat a coconut cake. Also, what he said he was having trouble with is switching from his comedic writing style of thinking to comedic acting because when you're writing, you always have to be thinking in terms of "Okay there's supposed to be a joke here, and after this character says this, then this character will be sad". But then the other character will say "Haha nevermind i was just teasing ya!" and then the other character's face will light up and go "Wait really!!?" and the other character will go "No." and then the other person's face will go from very happy to being very crushed. That's the writer's point of view, that's the way a writer brain is wired to think. As an actor, that very same scene is looked at with a completely different perspective. Look at it from the perspective of the character that is having his emotions toyed with. First he goes from sad, to kind of like a happy, hopeful kind of person to really crushed and mopey. As the character, you just have to play the truth. The truth there is that the other character is messing with you and you're going up and down on this roller coaster of emotions. So where was I? Oh yeah.. Tudyk, in a nutshell, is saying play it as if it's not funny and it will be funny. See, right there when I just said "So where was I?" that could be an example in and of itself. It's like when a character goes off on a rant and they're just like "wait... what was I talking about?" In that situation you gotta play it like you're genuinely confused as to what the point that you were trying to make was. If you do, then the audience will kind of giggle and it will give them something to watch. If you play it like "Oh, so right after this rant, I have to stop, pause for a minute, and then say "wait where was I?"", then it won't be funny. Holy crap, I gotta get off this shit and get back to my homework. I put more effort into this comment that my work lol! tldr; Alan Tudyk says play it as if it's not funny and it will be funny. Don't think about "Oh this part of the scene is where the joke is, so I gotta start hyping it up because it's gonna be really funny and - " Oh look it's not funny. Acting isn't funny, the truth is funny. It's also sad, happy, dark, angry, etc.
Good explanation. My acting teachers continue repeating "What do you want in this scene?" and it's such a weird sounding question. But it's huge for how the intention of your voice sounds when you deliver the line and how it then takes over your body/movement. My acting teacher does a basic exercise where after you say something positive in nature you say "Yay!'" after delivering your line, or "Yuck!" if it's negative. It seems to work to get the initial intent of the lines down, though playing it down slightly for realism is probably necessary too haha.
@@ab20_ True, you could have just said "play the truth, rather than the comedy" but you clearly understood that this is a process, and a process is something that needs to be unpacked to really be understood. What you did was say "Fold your shirts like this, roll your pants into a tube shape, slide your toothbrush in here, etc..." whereas someone else would have just said "Heres a suitcase". You actually took the time to share the thought process in what you learned, and probably helped someone else learn (me, definitely) So... thank you. 👍🏽💯
@@danmeadowsmusic Yeah... I saw a similar technique used for actioning in another video, except I think they said the "action/verb" before the line. Thanks for this, though.
This dude is one of the most under rated actors of all time....hes a fuckkgn legend
”An idea of an emotion.” Repeat this.
“IDEA of an emotion.” I have never heard anyone sum up bad acting so perfectly! I am now a major fan.
Holy shit! Finally, a actor talking about what the character wants.
I like this guy a lot, we don’t see enough of him. He’s a great character actor.
He is hilarious as clayface in the harley quinn show (it’s animated but still)
Alan is incredible!
I randomly found this channel..I'm very glad I did. Its really good and gives a lot of insight and perspective from successful and smart people. Thanks for doing what you do.
Glad you like it. Tell your friends!
The way Alan finishes this video with gradual change in tone is true acting!
He’s such a good actor. Truly brilliant! Adore Resident Alien 👽 His laugh is so funny!
Ha haha ha ?
Great interview. Loved him in 42. Thanks for the post here
I watched a number of these. I think this one is truly helpful in trying to be a better actor.
“What do you want?What is your action?” One of my great acting teachers talks about this all the time. Keep it simple. Action verbs. Jason Alexander talks about this some method.
WHat's funny, is even if you're learning method, or maybe the Meisner "technique"...this applies to both. "What do I want?" I love it.
True. It all stems from there.
Without establishing the objective there is nothing to drive you. 💯
can you explain more?
@@chaelsonnen2747 To scold, to plead, to flirt, etc. So you can take a line and try various action verbs and see which action verbs fits the best in the given context
Alan you gorgeous man!! 🙌🙏
Alan Tudyk is one of the best, funniest actors! My favorite role was Wat in a Knight's Tale....I'll fong you...blood and pain, lots of pain. So Funny!
Completely forgot about the Fonging! :)
Yes!!!!!!!! Loved him in that so much!!!! That was my first intro to him lol. My other fave is the British film where they're at a funeral and he gets high. I forget what it's called. SO GOOD!!
Watch Firefly....that is his best character by far
@@MessagesFromAurora Death at a funeral
He'll turn your entrails into your extrails!
"What does the character want?" What a great idea of finding motivation.
Great video...👍
Really instructive Alan ! Thank you ! It is going to help me a lot with my next role 😊🦆
Love ya alan and you are a wonderful actor
‘Tucker & Dale VS Evil’ is a Tudyk gem. A ‘must see’ for fans of ‘horror/comedy’ (comedy/horror?).
I love that actors talking about acting always knows like they know what they'te talking about but they're extremely bad at explaining it
Not that he's not right though: You can't just act out the "idea of being sad", you need to actually be the character wanting this or that thing, and when something happens then you react naturally. If you don't feel sad then, then you just did your preparation wrong
ALAN TUDYK AAAALLLL DAAAAYYYYY!
he's a Yank that can actually pull of an English accent...it's impressive
I thought he was English that's how good he is
Yes I thought he was English too when I say Knight's Tale the first time
I was surprised he was from my Hometown in Texas. Wonderful Actor.
So true
I am just finding out now that Alan Tudyk isn't English lol I only ever saw him in A Knight's Tale as a kid and just assumed he was a Brit because his accent was so spot on. Also, is it just me or does he not just....LOOK like an Englishman? I don't know how but he just.....does lol
Mr Nobody himself Speaks !
Fuck, this guys is a genius
the link to your facebook is wrong
WHERE'S MY GODDAMN ELECTRIC CAR BRUCE?!
Wait what play is he talking about?
Who’s Steve the pirate?
From Dodgeball
I'm so sorry you're about to do a play with Amy Schumer.
I really admired him as an actor until her name came up. I may have to rethink that.
Yup. She really is trash. Tudyk is a legend.
hmmmm, my spear is looking a little dirty...
I love this channel and I like this actor, but the black and white color scheme make his eyes look kinda crazy like he's been hit on the head or something.
Its not the black and white. You can see it in his movies too
That's probably just his face, the poor guy.
I have no idea wtf he's talking about.
beatz04 do you act ?
EDIT: I'll add a TLDR in case anyone is too lazy to read it lol
I just went through this in my acting class. We're doing a comedy and I kept trying to play the joke. I can't remember what it was, but say the scene is two people going back and forth in an argument, and somewhere in the middle he sees a plate with his favourite dessert. What Alan Tudyk is saying is that if you're playing that character, don't play the joke, play the truth. What's the truth? It's what the character wants.
In that scene, he first wants to beat his rival in the argument, and they're going back and forth in a very Mexican standoff-ish kind of way, sort of like in those scenes where it's not really an argument, but more like a chess game where the characters are saying "my dick is bigger than yours" "no, MY dick is bigger than yours". Only, that's the subtext. They're saying those things without actually saying them. They're just each trying to one-up each other, know what I'm saying?
ANYWAYS sorry I got a little off track there. What I'm trying to say is, picture that scene I just laid out for you, and then picture one of the characters presenting their next argument to their rival, and then all of a sudden going "oooo a coconut cake my favourite!". What Tudyk is saying is play what he wants. In the moment he really just wants to win the argum - LOOK A COCONUT CAKE! Ya see? Don't act is as if you know there's gonna be a joke, because if you do that then it won't be funny. What's funny is the truth and in that moment he really just wanted to eat a coconut cake.
Also, what he said he was having trouble with is switching from his comedic writing style of thinking to comedic acting because when you're writing, you always have to be thinking in terms of "Okay there's supposed to be a joke here, and after this character says this, then this character will be sad". But then the other character will say "Haha nevermind i was just teasing ya!" and then the other character's face will light up and go "Wait really!!?" and the other character will go "No." and then the other person's face will go from very happy to being very crushed. That's the writer's point of view, that's the way a writer brain is wired to think. As an actor, that very same scene is looked at with a completely different perspective. Look at it from the perspective of the character that is having his emotions toyed with. First he goes from sad, to kind of like a happy, hopeful kind of person to really crushed and mopey. As the character, you just have to play the truth. The truth there is that the other character is messing with you and you're going up and down on this roller coaster of emotions.
So where was I? Oh yeah.. Tudyk, in a nutshell, is saying play it as if it's not funny and it will be funny. See, right there when I just said "So where was I?" that could be an example in and of itself. It's like when a character goes off on a rant and they're just like "wait... what was I talking about?" In that situation you gotta play it like you're genuinely confused as to what the point that you were trying to make was. If you do, then the audience will kind of giggle and it will give them something to watch. If you play it like "Oh, so right after this rant, I have to stop, pause for a minute, and then say "wait where was I?"", then it won't be funny.
Holy crap, I gotta get off this shit and get back to my homework. I put more effort into this comment that my work lol!
tldr; Alan Tudyk says play it as if it's not funny and it will be funny. Don't think about "Oh this part of the scene is where the joke is, so I gotta start hyping it up because it's gonna be really funny and - " Oh look it's not funny. Acting isn't funny, the truth is funny. It's also sad, happy, dark, angry, etc.
Good explanation. My acting teachers continue repeating "What do you want in this scene?" and it's such a weird sounding question. But it's huge for how the intention of your voice sounds when you deliver the line and how it then takes over your body/movement. My acting teacher does a basic exercise where after you say something positive in nature you say "Yay!'" after delivering your line, or "Yuck!" if it's negative. It seems to work to get the initial intent of the lines down, though playing it down slightly for realism is probably necessary too haha.
@@ab20_
True, you could have just said "play the truth, rather than the comedy" but you clearly understood that this is a process, and a process is something that needs to be unpacked to really be understood.
What you did was say "Fold your shirts like this, roll your pants into a tube shape, slide your toothbrush in here, etc..." whereas someone else would have just said "Heres a suitcase".
You actually took the time to share the thought process in what you learned, and probably helped someone else learn (me, definitely)
So... thank you. 👍🏽💯
@@danmeadowsmusic
Yeah... I saw a similar technique used for actioning in another video, except I think they said the "action/verb" before the line.
Thanks for this, though.
Who?
Said absolutely nothing
But as an actor, does what he said not ring true for you?