Every role that an actor takes on demands something from them. Comedic roles require an excellent sense of timing and a willingness to laugh at yourself. Dramatic roles push actors to the brink emotionally.
Action roles add another dimension to the demands placed on an actor. Besides the emotional toll it takes to inhabit another human being’s personality, action roles place a physical toll on the actor. Even actors who work with stunt doubles need to meet the physical demands of a role and are often required to look a certain way.
These are a few of the preparations that actors use to help them get ready for an acting role. If you’re taking on your first role in an action movie or just curious about how the process works, here is what you need to know.
Taking Specialized Acting Classes
No matter what stage of their career an actor may be in, acting classes are a useful step. Even actors with some experience benefit from guidance from a more experienced professional or by learning a technique that they were unfamiliar with earlier.
For action roles, studios that emphasize real-world transferable skills are important. “Our heart is to educate students about the film industry as a whole,” The Class Acting Studios, one of the top studios in Charleston and Summerville, explains. Action movies are complex sets with plenty of moving parts, so it’s important that you’re familiar with how the industry and set work to do the best job.
Some studios or private coaches offer acting classes specializing in action roles. Although some people dismiss action movies as flicks for dumb jocks, these movies require a level of complexity from their actors that you don’t find in other genres. Actors are expected to push their bodies to the limit without compromising on emotional integrity. Acting classes for action roles help you find that balance.
If you can’t find a class specializing in acting for action movies or are on a deadline so tight that you don’t have time for extra classes, find someone to learn from anyway. Watch other action movies and pay attention to the choices that the actors make, or call a colleague with experience in the action genre and ask to pick their brain for advice.
Improving Their Overall Fitness
Depending on the role, you will have to train specific disciplines such as martial arts or different evasive maneuvers. If you don’t know the specifics of the role yet or don’t have a role, the most important thing you can do is improve your overall fitness.
Being in shape will help you pick up the skills you need for an action role faster. Once you have a base of strong physical fitness, training in additional disciplines will be easier.
Improving your fitness will also prepare you for the demands on set. You will have to perform stunts over and over again until the director captures the right shot. Filming days on set can last 12-15 hours. Getting in shape makes it easier to endure these demands with minimal stress on the body.
If you’re just beginning the casting process for action roles, then improving your fitness is the most important thing you can do. Looks play an important role in getting cast in action movies. You want to convince the director and producers that you can look the part as well as play the part. Moviegoers are looking for people who seem convincing as soldiers or superspies.
Learning Specialized Skills
Action stars are expected to demonstrate some skills that go beyond the basic repertoire for other genres.
One of the most common skills actors in action roles need to know is martial arts. Plenty of stars take special martial arts classes once they book action roles, such as Kevin James and Scarlett Johansson. Even if a stunt double does the more intense fight scenes, knowing some martial arts makes an actor seem more convincing in an action role.
Other skills that action stars often need are basic weapons training, shooting, horseback riding, and motorcycle riding. The skills your role will need depend on the script and the director’s vision. Once you’ve been cast in a role, ask about your character’s skills and begin practicing.
If you’re still in the process of building your action career, take some classes that work on common action movie skills, even if you aren’t trying to book a specific role. Actors who have specialized skills on their resume, especially those that are relevant to the genre of movie they want to produce, have a higher chance of succeeding at the next audition. Producers are always desperate for actors who already have some knowledge of physical skills, so they won’t have to spend as much money on training and preparation.
Learning How to Fall
One overlooked skill that action stars need to have is knowing how to fall. Even the best stars who do their own stunts sometimes fall. There’s a reason that Jackie Chan movies tend to end with compilations of all his bloopers, including injuries, during filming—mistakes are inevitable.
Your goal as an actor is to make sure that falls and accidents don’t result in injuries. You want to protect your own well-being and career. Preventing injury is also important for production because delays while an actor recovers can be quite costly.
Most martial arts senseis or coaches teach people how to fall in the first lesson. Even though the force of the fall is the same, the right technique can keep your body safe. Martial arts falling techniques are even linked with better health results for seniors who can reduce their risk of injury, so they should help you as a young, strong actor.
When it comes to acting, it’s important that you learn how to fall safely and convincingly. Even if you’re keeping your body safe, the audience needs to believe that you suffered a serious blow. Stunt acting classes teach participants how to make a fall or injury look real while protecting their own well-being.
Taking Dance Classes (Yes, Really)
Dance doesn’t seem like it belongs in training for an action star, unless they are preparing for a movie about ballerina assassins. It’s true that there’s not a lot of dancing in most action roles, but there are a surprising number of transferable skills between the two disciplines.
Dancing teaches you how to add fluidity and grace to your movements. Many action roles don’t just require brute strength. The director may want an actor to show quick reflexes and a graceful fighting style. Some of the most memorable action roles, such as Matt Damon’s Jason Bourne, emphasize lithe fighting rather than brutal muscles. For actors, dance adds this type of movement to their repertoire and helps them prepare for the demands of a scene.
Taking a dance class also gives actors practice when it comes to memorizing choreography. Learning choreography is a skill that requires a strong working memory and understanding of movement. Once you know how to learn dance choreography, picking up fight choreography is easier.
Most fight scenes on film are planned by a fight choreographer rather than being spontaneous. The director needs to know how the fight will look, which angles to use to capture it, and which emotional beats to hit during the fight. Knowing how to fight in a bout of martial arts is important, but on a movie set, you will not be participating in a real fight, so understanding how to go through choreography and take direction is important.
Talking to Directors and the Rest of the Team
Once actors book a role in an action movie, the most important step in the preparation process is talking to the director and the rest of the team on set. Professionals on action movie sets include producers, fight choreographers, and stunt coordinators.
During an initial conversation, the action finds out what the demands of the role include. These can be specific stunts, types of movement, martial arts or fighting styles, and demands for the actor’s overall appearance and physique. During initial discussions, the director will tell you if you will be performing all stunts or if there will be a stunt double.
Once you know what is expected from you, you can create a plan for preparing specifically for this role. The professionals on the film set will work with you to create this plan and connect you to resources, whether they are available on set or from their colleagues.
Getting Ready for Demanding Action Roles
Actors who want to focus on action movies or land an exciting action role face a long journey ahead when it comes to preparation. They are expected to be physically fit and know important skills for action sequences while protecting their bodies. They also need to be mentally ready to balance the demands of a physically intense scene with memorizing choreography and hitting emotional beats.
Actors undertake a lot of this preparation through self-study and training. However, all good action stars have a team of people helping them get ready for a role, from martial arts trainers to acting coaches. Seeking help in the right places and learning from experienced professionals is the best preparation for an action role.