You might be thinking the same thing as me… WHAT DO YOU MEAN, it’s not difficult? That was exactly my first thought. But, as I thought about it more, not only did it make sense, but it gave me a sense of freedom and relief. Hopkins explained that as he gets older, he always attempts to simplify the process. “I don’t analyse too much, and when you have a really great script, it’s like you have a road map. So I just followed the road map. It was that simple.” 

This speaks to the collaboration between the writer and the actor. As actors, we sometimes (wrongly) feel isolated while we do our preparation, sitting in the pressure of ‘doing it right.’  We forget that we are always in collaboration with the writer. The audition sides that we hold in our hands are a road map exactly, full of clues that the writer has *intentionally* left for us to find… because they are deeply invested in us having as much information as possible, in order to bring their character to life. These clues come in the form of exposition, parentheticals, punctuation, etc. Good script analysis is essential to decipher them, but that is a skill that is easily learned.

So, next time you feel the pressure, relax, follow the road map, and then bring your own artistry to the piece!

Easy peasy – thank you, Sir Anthony Hopkins.