Adventures In Acting - Evolution!
- Tom Sawyer
- 6 days ago
- 7 min read
This month's collection of acting-related thoughts and feelings:
"Continuous improvement is better than delayed perfection."
Mark Twain - Writer of "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer"
Evolution - In Acting:
What is this business of showbiz and where is it heading?
Art has always been a mirror of its era, shifting and reshaping to reflect the deep fears and desires of our society and culture.
From the exaggerated gestures of Ancient Greek tragedies to the gritty realism of today’s indie films, via the Hollywood "movie star" style of the 50's & 60's acting has come a long way for better or worse...
Let’s take a little journey through how this craft of ours has changed over the centuries—with a few playful examples along the way.
From Masks to Monologues
Picture this: Ancient Greek actors donning larger-than-life masks to project emotions and stories to an audience of thousands in an open-air amphitheatre.
They had no microphones, no cameras, and definitely no cute Instagram filters.
Acting back then was all about being seen and heard—because subtlety doesn’t work when your audience is 300 feet away.
Think Russell Crowe's "Are you not entertained" in the 1st (and better) "Gladiator"
"Speak the speech I pray you"
Now we can fast-forward to the Elizabethan era, where actors strutted across Shakespeare’s stage. These performers needed to be part comedian, part tragedian, and 100% charismatic. Imagine playing Hamlet one night and Puck the next. Talk about playful versatility!
Of course we now have more attention to the detail of the dress and setting of the story.
The key here was delivering those iconic monologues with enough energy and flair to captivate an audience.
We can still get an idea of this more raw performance if you get the opportunity to visit London's, The Globe Theatre for an open air, maybe standing, show.
Lights, Camera, "Say nothing!"
Then came the dawn of cinema. The silent film era introduced stars like Charlie Chaplin, whose physical comedy brought audiences to tears of laughter without saying a word. But as soon as sound arrived, everything changed.
Suddenly, actors like Humphrey Bogart and Katharine Hepburn had to use their voices to captivate audiences, and the art of subtle expression—a raised eyebrow, a whispered line—was born.
The film "The Artist" is a great example of how the actors had to cope with this shift.
Subtlety and charm was the name of the game.
From reel to even realer: "Do less"
Now to the more modern acting revolution epitomised by the Method Acting masters.
Enter Marlon Brando mumbling his way into acting history with "A Streetcar Named Desire" and "The Godfather", James Dean in "Rebel without a cause" and "East of Eden"
This wasn’t just "acting" it was "living" the role.
Actors like Daniel Day-Lewis and Jared Leto famously staying in character even off-set, ."
Such intensity! but at what cost?
The documentary film "Jim and Andy" is a real good look at the fine line between genius and madness, or performance and split personality.
Tech Takes Centre Stage?
Then came tech.
Green screens, CGI, motion capture and big superhero films have changed what the audience expect from the cinema experience and what projects actors are aspiring to be part of.
Streaming platforms like Netflix and Disney+ have also shaken things up. Shows like "Stranger Things" and "The Crown" demand long-term commitment from actors who must carry characters across multiple seasons. This is no small feat when you’re growing up on camera like the kids from "Stranger Things."
Andy Serkis’s groundbreaking portrayal of Gollum in "The Lord of the Rings" is a perfect example. With just a motion-capture suit and his voice, Serkis brought an entirely digital character to life. And who could forget "Avatar," where actors spent months learning to move like alien creatures for James Cameron’s groundbreaking epic?
Acting in the Age of TikTok
As I write in the year 2025 actors are adapting to the demands of the digital age with social media being a genuine competition for peoples attention and source of entertainment.
The Portrait frame for mobile phone users may be more viewed than the traditional Landscape frame of movies, however restrictive or "uncinematic" it might feel, it seems the frame is changing.
Platforms like Instagram and YouTube are giving aspiring actors direct access to audiences. It’s like having your own personal stage, but with filters and hashtags. Even established stars are getting in on the action, using platforms to connect with fans and show off their range.
Ever seen a TikTok where someone perfectly reenacts a scene from "Friends" or "Breaking Bad"?
Diversity, Inclusion, and New Stories
Another major evolution? The stories being told.
Hollywood and global cinema are finally breaking away from age old stories to embrace a wider audience.
Films like "Everything Everywhere All At Once" and shows like "Pose" are giving underrepresented voices the spotlight.
This means actors are tackling more layered, complex, and authentic roles than ever before.
As proven by the most recent Academy Awards winners (2025), the Oscars have gone internationally and ethnically diverse at least.
Best Animated Feature winner “Flow,” Best Documentary Feature winner “No Other Land,” and Best International Feature winner “I’m Still Here” were the first Oscar wins for Latvia, Palestine, and Brazil (with the latter also the first Brazil-produced Best Picture nominee.)
The Future of Acting: Ready Player One?
What’s next? Virtual reality and AI are already making waves. Imagine being in a VR movie where the actors respond to your choices, or seeing an AI-generated performance so real you can’t tell the difference. But even with all these advancements, the heart of acting—connection, empathy, and storytelling—will never change.
Acting’s evolution is a wild ride, full of surprises, challenges, and groundbreaking moments. Whether you’re strutting across a stage, mumbling through a monologue, or acting your heart out in front of a green screen, one thing’s for sure: the craft will continue to adapt, inspire, and entertain for generations to come
Keep evolving,
Stay Playful
Adventures In Acting New HQ
We have a home! Come say hi!
What better place to play than Playhouse East!
An incredible hub for creatives in the heart of lively/lovely Hackney, right by Haggerston station on the Overground (Windrush line).
Self tape help, Personal Acting Coaching, Script analysis sessions and more offerings that are still to be discovered.
Let's Play!
The ABC of Acting
Acting Book Club:
This wonderful little book follows Michael, a business owner struggling with burnout, who crosses paths with an insightful carpenter. Through their conversations, the carpenter shares timeless lessons on leadership, perseverance, and the art of creating something truly valuable.
The book is packed with practical wisdom, emphasizing that love, service, and care are the real cornerstones of success.
Send me your best acting book recommendations.
Please email: Connect@tomsawyeractor.co.uk
What's my motivation?
The scene for this month's analysis is chosen by Philip Wolff.
Philip Wolff is an actor, writer and director. He is Senior Lecturer in Screen Acting at Leeds Conservatoire where he facilitates and explores, with his students, approaches to screen acting that afford actors the greatest degree of authentic expression within the creative framework of the film-making medium.
Phil says about the scene:
"The context of this scene is key to appreciating the acting brilliance of Daniel Day Lewis and Paul Dano.
Both play characters whose status is entirely reversed at this juncture in the film.
In order to build his oil pipeline (and protect himself from a murder rap) relentless and insatiable oil prospector Daniel Plainview (Day Lewis) must submit to his most loathed adversary, the arch-hypocrite preacher, Eli Sunday.
Forced to admit his greatest shame in front of an entire church community, Daniel Day Lewis commands the defiance and vulnerability of Milton’s Satan in Paradise Lost. The kid gloves are entirely off as these two remarkable actors match each other, punch for punch - and quite literally in Dano’s case!
It’s impossible to take your eyes off Daniel Day Lewis’ unreconcilable internal conflicts, but Paul Dano is equally mesmerising in his sheer fanatical commitment and joy at having seemingly been handed the opportunity to bring his persecutor to heel."
Some context on the film:
There Will Be Blood (2007) is a riveting historical drama set in the American oil boom of the early 20th century. Daniel Plainview (Daniel Day-Lewis), an ambitious and ruthless oilman, clashes with charismatic preacher Eli Sunday (Paul Dano) as both men seek power in a rapidly changing world. Through greed, faith, and betrayal, the film explores the cost of ambition, the illusion of success, and the corrupting force of unchecked capitalism.
Click on the video link below and then check my short interpretation underneath:
*Themes of sexual abuse, viewer discretion advised
The There Will Be Blood baptism scene is an all-out cinematic smackdown—an acting masterclass so intense, so visceral, that you could watch it 100 times and still find a new grimace, a fresh bead of sweat, or a deeper level of psychological torment lurking beneath the surface.
For the sake of fun (and sheer accuracy), let’s assign these titanic performers the monikers they so richly deserve:
Daniel Day-Lewis will henceforth be known as:
OIL BARON (Overlord of Intense Line-readings & Bare-knuckle Acting)
And Paul Dano shall be referred to as:
FALSE PROPHET (Fearless Actor Losing Every Scene to Emotional Pummeling)
We drop into this scene with FALSE PROPHET holding all the spiritual cards. He’s got the congregation. He’s got the holy water. He’s got the moral high ground (or so he thinks). But OIL BARON, slathered in desperation and seething resentment, is about to give the performance of a lifetime.
Watch closely: his body fights against submission every step of the way. He stiffens, his eyes dart around the room, his hands twitch—this is a man who does not bow to anyone. And yet, here he is, forcing the words, “I am a sinner” out of his gritted teeth like he’s chewing gravel.
FALSE PROPHET, sensing his moment, doubles down. He sees the power shift and relishes it. He milks the moment for all its worth, making OIL BARON repeat himself, louder, and LOUDER—"I have abandoned my child!" The words are spat out in pain, in rage, in something unnameable, a confession that is both performance and purgation.
But here’s where the true genius of this scene lies: for a moment, FALSE PROPHET thinks he’s won. He bathes in the adoration of his flock, the small triumph of making OIL BARON kneel before him.
Oh, sweet summer child.
Because OIL BARON isn’t just giving in—he’s taking notes. And as soon as the baptism is over, as soon as the hands leave his forehead, that flicker of submission vanishes. What remains is a deep, simmering fury that will one day explode with a bowling pin and an iconic milkshake metaphor.
This scene is a brutal, operatic tug-of-war between pride and power, faith and capitalism, submission and dominance. It is Shakespearean, it is Biblical, it is Daniel Day-Lewis, drenched and fuming, preparing his next move.
Stay ruthless. Stay ambitious.
And drink your milkshake.
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Thanks for your attention - stay playful people.
Tom
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