Empathy: Who Needs It? A conversation with Burgess Jenkins on the importance of being empathetic in our acting.
Acting: Conversations on Craft
English - January 15, 2020 00:00 - 14 minutes - 9.68 MB - ★★★★★ - 32 ratingsPerforming Arts Arts acting act auditions auditioning actor actress Homepage Download Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Overcast Castro Pocket Casts RSS feed
When we talk about actor training we don’t immediately think about how much empathy we have (or should have) for other people.
Actor and acting coach, Burgess Jenkins, says that empathy is one of the more important components of being a better actor. He says the more empathetic an actor is, the more nuances there are in the performance and, he states, “nuances are the difference between good and great.”
He also states, “The more empathy you have (for your character), the more you can discover things about them that you can then relate to, and like, and appreciate, and then be able to portray.”
Burgess has been in a myriad of projects ranging from arthouse independents to blockbuster films. He is best known for his role as Ray Budds, in Remember the Titans, opposite Denzel Washington. He was Hilary Swank’s husband in The Reaping and most recently worked with Shirley McClean and Mira Sorvino. He’s had several recurring roles on such shows as the Young and the Restless, Army Wives, and One Tree Hill.
When he is not acting, he is an instructor at the Actors Group studio in Winston-Salem, which is a training ground for film and television actors.
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Find out more about Actors Group: https://www.actorsgroup.net/
Find out more about Burgess Jenkins: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0420792/