I remember hearing someone say that good acting is more about taking off a mask than putting one on, and in movie acting, certainly that's true. With the camera so close, you can see right down into your soul, hopefully. So being able to do that in a way is terrifying, and in another way, truly liberating. And I like that about it.
Interpretation
Good acting is about revealing one's true self rather than pretending to be someone else.
In this quote, Annette Bening expresses that true acting involves exposing one's inner self and emotions, rather than merely adopting a character. The intimacy of film acting allows viewers to connect deeply with the actor's genuine feelings, which can be both a daunting experience and one that brings a sense of freedom.
In practice
During a panel discussion on film, one can use this quote to emphasize the importance of authenticity in acting.
There's so much of our psychological makeup which is impermissible for us to explore because it's inappropriate or perverse or scary. I'm interested in exploring that in myself. I try to be honest with myself about everything that I feel. I'm not saying I'm able to do that all the time, but it's something I'm interested in.
When I look at women, older than I am, in their 50s, 60, 70s, 80s, and I see women that I admire, I think, 'Oh, I get it; that's how I'm going to be.' I'm not scared. I want to be that.
In no other sport is the connection between performer and observer so intimate, so frequently painful, so unresolved
For me, it's about making art that's not good but phenomenal. James Baldwin didn't want to just stay above the fray. Prince didn't think, 'I wonder what the industry is gonna think about 'Purple Rain.'' It's just, is this honest? Is this real? Does this move me? The rest is icing.
The artist is a member of the leisured classes who cannot pay for his leisure.
The truer the facts the better the fiction.
The capacity to be puzzled is the premise of all creation, be it in art or in science.
...to be a poet, requires a mythology of the self. The self described is the poet self, to which the daily self (and others) are often ruthlessly sacrificed. The poet self is the real self, the other one is the carrier; and when the poet self dies, the person dies.
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