Ask Judith: Submission #17

Submission Number: 17
Submission ID: 101
Submission UUID: b63daff9-c1a5-404c-9941-314f58c76ccd
Submission URI: /web/ask-judith

Created: Wed, 07/20/2022 - 07:48 AM
Completed: Wed, 07/20/2022 - 07:48 AM
Changed: Tue, 12/26/2023 - 12:58 PM

Remote IP address: 138.207.226.38
Submitted by: Anonymous
Language: English

Is draft: No
Webform: Ask Judith
Submitted to: Ask Judith
Name Robert
Email (optional) memorare.members@gmail.com
Question Dear Judith,

I have an idea I'd like to ask your opinion on. In the case of a love story in which the actor can't work well off his love interest leading lady, what if we brought in his wife or loved one to stand beside the camera so he could deliver his lines with sincere affection?

Thanks so much!
Reply Hello Robert. Thanks for your question. Usually actors do this kind of work -- it's often called "substitution" -- via their own imaginations. You could ask the actor if he thinks this tactic might be worth trying. But, to be honest, the most helpful thing would be to have cast actors who are responsive to each other. If it's too late for that, I would take each actor aside and tell them frankly there is a problem in their connection, and that it needs to be resolved in order for the story to work. I don't quite understand an actor who say he "can't work well off his love interest leading lady" -- if he took the role, that's his job. You may need to tell him, tactfully but firmly, that you need him to step up. Best wishes, Judith
Approved Yes

  • “I am eternally grateful for your help.”

    TAIKA WAITITI, writer-director, JOJO RABBIT, THOR RAGNAROK, HUNT FOR THE WILDERPEOPLE, WHAT WE DO IN THE SHADOWS, BOY, EAGLE VS SHARK, FLIGHT OF THE CONCHORDS

  • “I took a seminar with an acting teacher named Judith Weston. I learned a key insight to character. She believed that all well-drawn characters have a spine, and the idea is that the character has an inner motor, a dominant, unconscious goal that they’re striving for, an itch that they can’t scratch. I took to this like a duck to water.”

    ANDREW STANTON [from his Feb 2012 TED Talk] writer-director, FINDING DORY, WALL-E, FINDING NEMO, A BUG’S LIFE; director, BETTER CALL SAUL, STRANGER THINGS; writer, TOY STORY, TOY STORY 2, TOY STORY 3

  • "Judith's method is wonderful because it is practical. She has given me numerous tools to solve problems on the set and to earn the trust of actors. Her classes and her book are invaluable resources to any director."

    LAWRENCE TRILLING, director, GOLIATH, RECTIFY, PARENTHOOD, MASTERS OF SEX, PUSHING DAISIES, DAMAGES, BROTHERS AND SISTERS, NIP/TUCK, MONK, SCRUBS, INVASION, ALIAS, FELICITY

  • "Thank you for teaching me how to direct actors. Taking your classes made me believe I could direct. Taking your classes gave me a base, a foundation, a framework to find my own style. To step out on faith. I'm forever grateful. Love and respect to you, magnificent Judith Weston." 

    AVA DuVERNAY, director, WHEN THEY SEE US, QUEEN SUGAR, A WRINKLE IN TIME, SELMA, SCANDAL, MIDDLE OF NOWHERE

  • "Everything you taught me was more than useful. I am deeply grateful."

    ALEJANDRO GONZÁLEZ IÑÁRRITU, director, THE REVENANT, BIRDMAN, BIUTIFUL, BABEL, 21 GRAMS, AMORES PERROS