Philip Seymour Hoffman: "It’s an uncomfortable medium for an actor."

In his bio on imdb.com, there is this quote from Philip Seymour Hoffman:

“Film is a very uncomfortable medium for an actor. It’s just not conducive to doing what actors do. The first few days of shooting are like you just getting over the fact that you are there. These people and the camera over the shoulder and the light and the boom - you’re just going crazy trying to find some kind of center of relaxation and then you can get into a rhythm and it can be very satisfying. If you do good work and it’s on film, that’s a very satisfying thing.” [Photo from "Capote"]

Taking care of yourself - like managing stress and fatigue and overwhelm - is good sense for any artist, but perhaps especially for an actor or performer.

In her article Self-Care for Creative Artists: 5 Ways to Start Today, coach Linda Dessau notes, “Self-care is the path to creative expression. By paying closer attention to your self-care, you can have easier access to your creativity, to your muse and to your inner strength and resilience.”

For many gifted and talented people, including actors like Hoffman, the high sensitivity that can help fuel their outstanding performances may incite or exacerbate a shadow side: the kind of chronic arousal that can lead to stress problems.

See more on this topic in my article Gifted and Stressed.

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Technorati tags: acting . actors . personal development . gifted adults . Philip Seymour Hoffman
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| 01.03.07 |
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