Quit Trying to Hit Someone Else's Target: A conversation with Burgess Jenkins about the pitfalls of acting for someone else's approval

“Quit trying to hit someone else’s target.” This is something that we hear again and again in class. Burgess Jenkins, actor and founder of Actors Group studio, explains how actors must start doing the work for themselves. When we constantly try to please the teacher, or get applause from the audience, or do exactly what we think the casting director wants, then our work becomes forgettable.

He says what you should be seeking when you are acting, “…it’s the experience, it’s the creativity that you should be after.” If that’s what you crave or seek, then “by default the viewing audience will be drawn to you.”

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/