Acting and How to Be Good at It

by Basil Hoffman

Basil Hoffman writes about acting from the inside of the craft in a practical, clear way, without mumbo-jumbo or mystique. He knows what he's writing about and you can feel his years of experience on the pages of this book. Sydney Pollack Academy Award-Winning Director It's obvious he knows his stuff Back Stage & Back Stage West review Acting and How To Be Good At The Second Edition is an authoritative and ground-breaking text that teaches the serious student of acting a proven, comprehensive and effective approach to the craft and to character development. Through revealing, behind-the-scenes anecdotes and dozens of guided, interactive exercises, veteran character Basil Hoffman guides readers through his unique, direct approach to recognizing and understanding human behavior. This approach will lead the actor to discover and demonstrate the specific, individual humanity in every character he or she plays. Over the course of a 40-year acting career, Hoffman has had the good fortune to experience many facets of the profession. During that time, he has personally endured and survived confusing and destructive teachers, while also being able to have observed, first-hand, some of the finest actors (and directors) in the world working at the top of the profession. The broad scope of those experiences and observations have given him a unique insight and perspective that he has endeavored to pass on in his seminars, workshops, classes and private coaching sessions. Now, actors everywhere can benefit from Hoffman's teachings and realize for themselves the impact his approach can have on their careers and their ability to land an acting job. Hoffman's goal is to teach actors therecognition of real human behavior and the experiencing of that behavior in the acting process.

Genres: Nonfiction

220 pages, Unknown Binding

First published April 1, 2007

Reviews

[Natalie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hoffman manages to explain each concept with such precision and diligence without it being too hard to read. i recommend this book to any actor or anyone who wants to learn more about acting.

[Clay Aurther · Rating 4 out of 5]

Though this is not on my typical list of books I planned to read for this year, it is still a book, and a good one at that. The reason I decided to read this book in the first place is self-explanatory; I want to be an actor. And this book has good suggestions, pointers, and critiques for every aspiring actor. It definitely helped me be more confident in myself and my career path for the future and it has helped me conclude the choice of not giving up in what I love to do most.
Since reading this book, I will not expect to become an amazing actor, or even a great one, but I will at least strive to be an actor who does not give up.

[Rachel L. · Rating 4 out of 5]

A well-written book on acting, specifically focusing on character development but also discussing working with directors, other actors, developing a career and various other points of acting. It's written in a question-and-answer format so it's fairly easy to just find the topic you are interested in, if you're not wanting to read the whole thing. I appreciated the fact that it was clean, for the most part, and puts a high value on character and a good work ethic. I'd recommend this for anyone interested in acting.

[Patrick · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think I've about had my fill of acting books.