Some of the greatest performances I’ve seen recently have involved an actor taking a big risk. Putting aside all of the prep work that centered around plans and strategic choices, pushing down all of the nagging little voices inside that try to dictate a safe way of doing things, tossing all logic and common sense out the proverbial window in order to just “do the damn thing” and do it big.

Now, there are certainly less-than-wonderful performances I’ve seen that have come from a “big risk” place too, so it’s not a guarantee, but it sure is fun, isn’t it? And — considering the whole reason most performers get into performing is for the love of bringing characters to life, sharing that ride with an audience, helping the world escape from reality or maybe think more deeply about something for a moment — it stands to reason that there is at least joy happy to spring from within, when an artist takes a big risk.

Regular readers might recall that I’ve talked before about Risk Assessment as an element of the casting process. Heck, it’s probably the majority of what my job as a casting director is all about! Producers are consistently looking at the bottom line, attempting to determine which combination of actors will cost them the least amount of money but yield the highest return on investment, come opening weekend. Risk-taking is not a favorite activity of these folks, who are dealing in the millions of dollars.

Of course, you want to see casting directors who are open to taking a risk on you, right? CDs who will: Consider you for a guest star when all you’ve done so far are co-star roles. Let you read for the lead in a comedy when your resumé is filled with dramatic supporting roles. Be open to your potential, be willing to at least look at what you can do, be able to see past a list of one-liners you’ve booked to know that a series regular lies beneath it all.

And how can you do that? How can you convince casting directors who are hired by producers to manage risk (and who won’t get hired again if they didn’t balance well the task of managing risk and taking calculated risks on the last project) that you are worth that risk? That you — that your work, your choices — are both bold enough to be really exciting and safe enough to be really marketable? And how do you convince anyone of that while in a tiny session room without all of the benefits that you would have on a set? When you’re trying to stop doubting that this was the right outfit to wear today? When you’re working really hard to try and stop the blah-blah-blah of your doppelganger in the lobby or the, “You were GREAT!” from the casting director, who gushed over the last version of you to leave the room? When you’re busy trying to tune out the little voice inside who won’t shut up about the parking ticket you’re probably going to get for having dared to brave the pet store lot outside 200 South LaBrea?

Well, that’s just it, isn’t it? That’s the moment at which your instinct should just kick in with a choice to do something really risky. Take a chance. Be bold. Go for it in a way you’ve never considered going for it before. And then commit so hard to it that you don’t even show a crinkle on your face that might be tied to a momentary pang of, “Oops. Should I have gone for the safe choice?”

It’s amazing how liberating that risky stuff can be, sometimes.

Now, I’m not talking about the antics that can get you blacklisted. I’m not talking about totally bizarre behavior just for the sake of being “out there” somehow. I’m talking about something like deciding this character is from some place where a thick accent you can actually do at an expert level could work really well. (And now you’re the only actor who delivered that character’s read in that strange accent. But that was enough to set you apart. It may be wrong, but it’s enough get you on the radar.) Putting your character in an emotional state that has less to do with the scene you’re using at the audition and more to do with the ones elsewhere in the script just to show the CD that you actually have bothered to do your homework and have learned what the tone of this show is about. Maybe something like giving the character a layer of subtext that has nothing to do with what’s in the sides but somehow provides us with a really good idea of the nuances you can bring to even a small role. (Note: I’m not talking about getting “one-line fever,” wherein you decide you need to telegraph your character’s motivation all over the place in that one big line you have to deliver, as this character. That’s the surest way to be like one of those horrific background artists who brags about being able to pull focus from the principal performers, saying, “Look at me! There’s me! See! I’m making eyes at the camera right behind Julia Roberts! Ha ha!” Yeah… that mess won’t get you cast as a principal performer, ever.) Make a choice when it counts. That’s the bottom line.

To commit at some level deeper than that at which most of the other actors aren’t committing, sometimes that’s risk enough. BULLETIN: Almost everyone chooses vanilla. Sit in on auditions on a regular basis and you’ll realize that almost everyone goes the safe route. Hell, call it “two roads diverged,” if you really want to get literary and philosophical about it. Point is, if you can embrace SOMETHING that separates you from everyone else, you’re going to stay on our radar more than those who just do a good job.

“A good job” is baseline, here. Being talented? That’s expected. So to make a bold choice is what separates you from everyone else. (And being smart enough to know that “making a bold choice” is not the same as “schmacting” is very important.)

If you’re not ready to do that in a session room, at least do it on a safe (or safe-ish) stage. Find an open mic night. Find a staged reading group. And if that’s still too scary, find a way to take a risk in your acting class. This is the place where you’re paying to get the opportunity to push yourself, so please do! Find out where you can go with your choices before it gets too weird for your audience and then you’ll feel more confident “going there” (and pushing right up to the line — and sometimes past it) in situations that are “less safe” than your class.

Anyway, point is this: Have fun. Take a risk. Push yourself beyond your comfort zone every now and then. A producer I’m working for actually asked me how it felt to put out an offer letter for so much money to such a famous actor, recently, and my response was: “It’s terrifying!” That’s a good thing. There is nothing wrong with pushing against the limits you thought existed for you, because really, they’re all yours anyway. The rest of the people who see you, who know you, who know your work — we have no clue how scared you might be. So just kick ass and be bold. It can make all the difference sometimes!

Bonnie Gillespie is living her dreams by helping others figure out how to live theirs. Wanna work with Bon? Start here. Thanks!

Originally published by Actors Access at http://more.showfax.com/columns/avoice/archives/000854.html. Please support the many wonderful resources provided by the Breakdown Services family. This posting is the author’s personal archive.