No matter how talented of an actor you are, no matter how well you can recite and memorize essay writing online lines and move your body fluidly throughout the stage or set, if you do not have a strong character development backing your words and movements your performance will be lacking. Throughout my years of working as an actor for the stage and screen, I have learned many tips for actor character development.

One of the most important steps during the character development stage of role preparation is doing your homework regarding the script and your character.

Doing your homework allows you to have a full picture of your individual character, and the better you understand your character, his role within the script, his relationship with others and his personal objectives and obstacles, the more detailed and realistic your character will be.

Read the Script

The first step in performing your homework for character development is to read the script in its entirety. While this may seem like an arbitrary tip, I cannot tell you how many actors only thoroughly read the portions of the script he is in, and then skims over the rest of the script.

When you first read the script, digest the information as if you were an audience member. Don’t delve too deeply into your character, but rather, read the script to gain a detailed view of the entire plot, all the characters and all the objectives.

Allow yourself to respond to the script. Take notes while reading the script. Detail how the story makes you feel, how the story affected you and the afterthoughts of the entire story.

Personalization

Read the script again, but this time, personalize the story and your character. Write down how the story not only makes you feel, but what YOU would do (not the character) if you were faced with your character’s dilemmas. What would you do if you were the character?

Developing Character Blueprint

Read the script once more. This time, create a basic character biography based on the information you read within the script. Use your imagination when detailing “your” character. Ask yourself why the character responded to a certain situation, and really delve into the reasoning behind his actions and thoughts. Write down facts based on the script – this is solid personal history information derived directly from the pages of the script.