Adventures In Acting - Flexibility!
- Tom Sawyer
- Jun 3
- 8 min read
This month's collection of acting-related thoughts and feelings:
Finding our way to truth can feel like juggling with infinite objects - Flexibility is key!
"The man with a new idea is a crank — until the idea succeeds."
Mark Twain - Writer of "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer"
Flexibity - In Acting:
As actors, we are tasked with finding a way to make sense of the words we are given — and then to make those words feel as if we have spoken them from our very own authentic self.
Some believe this skill is too closely associated with the dark art of lying.
Personally, I believe in the attempt to "make believe," we are actually revealing more of our own self than most dare.
By exploring how we might adopt the feelings and opinions on offer from the script, we find out — in a very real sense — what we truly think and feel in our "real" life.
How each individual actor gets themselves to that rarefied air of saying what you mean and meaning what you say on stage and screen is completely unique and often ever-changing.
Some actors immerse themselves in the Meisner repetition to stay present and reactive; some find "substitution useful, others analyse their characters’ objectives like a text detective. Some swear by breathwork, some by journaling. There’s no single route — just your willingness to stay open and curious.
However you get there, it seems like staying open to new ways might serve you in your quest for an improved method for the magic.
Embrace the Weird, the New, and the Unexpected
You might find yourself in a rehearsal room where half the session is spent making strange animal noises or rolling on the floor. Why? (you might be thinking). A team-building exercise? A test of your humiliation capacity? You could protest — or you could just go with it. The weirder the exercise, the more it might teach you.
You might learn to let go of judgement — or at least have a funny story for your autobiography.
Fun fact: Carey Mulligan and Bradley Cooper took part in shared "dream workshops" as part of their preparation for Maestro.
Why Flexibility Matters (and Not Just in Your Spine)
Acting is a collaborative art.
Every rehearsal room, film set, or audition space has its own dynamic, rules, and personalities.
Being flexible means being able to adapt your process, your levels of comfort, and sometimes even your expectations.
Each project or production requires every member of cast and crew to be onboard for the journey — and for the actor, this can often involve a trust that, as a team, you will get to where you need to go, however big the bumps or waves may feel.
That said, flexibility does not mean tolerating malpractice or neglect in the name of ‘art’. If a company isn’t providing basic equity, accessibility, or care, the pressure falls unfairly on the artists. It’s essential to know your rights, maintain your boundaries, and protect your well-being — physically, financially, and emotionally.
Know what you’re willing to adapt — and what is non-negotiable. You are your business, and your health and values must be at the centre of how you work.
Adapting to New Environments
Once upon a time, many moons ago, while at a (now non-existent) drama school in London, I went for a drink after class with my classmates. While there, my mum called. After a quick chat, my fellow thespians looked at me with suspicion in their eyes — it turns out I had totally changed my whole personality whilst on the phone with my mum. And not just my phone voice either — a fully different person had answered the phone than the one sat drinking with them in the pub.
Why do I mention this slightly embarrassing tale?
Well, we all already understand the necessity to transform ourselves to suit our surroundings naturally — and sometimes subconsciously — but in our work, we can help that process along by having a useful method and a clear goal in mind.
Working with Different People, Different Ways
Every director has a different style. Some will give you line readings. Some will ask deep, philosophical questions. Some will say nothing at all and expect you to figure it out.
And then there are the other actors — some who rehearse meticulously, and others who love to surprise you in every take.
Being flexible means you can meet all of them where they are.
Tom's Tip: Try to get more curious about others' ways of working and really look at how someone finds their confidence on stage or screen. See if any of those ways might work for you. The more tools you have, the more flexible you become.
Final Thoughts
Flexibility in acting is less about changing who you are, and more about staying open to how you work.
From unpredictable rehearsal rooms to diverse directing styles, the best actors are those who can adapt without losing their core values and deeply held principles.
Being curious about others’ processes and willing to shift your approach is one of the ways that keeps your craft growing.
But flexibility without boundaries is not sustainable. The power of saying “no” is a skill all actors need — especially when your wellbeing or values are on the line. You are your business, and protecting that business means knowing your limits, asserting your needs, and trusting your instincts.
The path of any actor is rarely straightforward, but it gets richer when we explore it in good company.
If any of this resonates with you, you’re always welcome to join me in the work.
Stay Flexible!
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.
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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, emphasising that love, service, and care are the real cornerstones of success.
For Actors the lessons in here point back to our "why" when it comes to our own career path, helping us to keep sight of our reasons to embark on this rocky road.
Enjoy!
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’ irreconcilable 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
This is a screen acting masterclass so intense, so visceral, that you could watch it 100 times and still find a new delicious acting choice or a deeper level of psychological torment lurking beneath the surface (trust me, I should know).
For the sake of wackiness let’s assign these two titanic performers the monikers they so richly deserve:
Daniel Day-Lewis will henceforth be known as:
DDL
And Paul Dano shall be referred to as:
Rev Eli
This scene is a brutal, operatic tug-of-war between pride and power, submission and dominance. It is Shakespearean, it is Biblical, It’s unforgettable. It’s unsettling. It’s DDL and Rev Eli at full throttle.
We drop into this scene with Rev Eli seems to be holding all the spiritual cards and holding DDL by the head in quite a close, close up shot, which clearly rattles our prideful DDL.
With some very obvious seething resentment, DDL's face contorts as he struggles to hide the fact he would rather be anywhere else in the world other than here.
Watch closely as Rev Eli first mentions the abandonment, DDL very subtly hangs his head in shame almost in slow motion as tears start to form in his eyes, 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.
Moment of appreciation:
Actors! Let us take a pause to really capture what magic we are witnessing here!
So we know DDL is a fan of the 5 P's:
(Prior Preparation Prevents Piss Poor Performance)
But even with his extensive character work, line learning, collaboration with all the relevant departments that make a movie, the power with which he heard the line from Rev Eli "you have abandoned your child!" that is the tiny detail that comes from a lot of work on the part of the actor.
To personalise that line involves such a deep dive into how you feel about abandonment personally, the relevance of your own feelings on that theme for the service of this role then the ability to turn that feeling up or down depending on the required response.
It for that reason that we get this most human moment on screen and it's for that reason i will never get tired of watching great actors work.
Rev Eli, sensing his time to shine, doubles down. He sees the power shift and relishes it.
He milks the moment for all its worth, making DDL repeat himself, louder, and LOUDER—“I have abandoned my child!”. The words are spat out in pain, in rage until it seems DDL is about to pass out through sheer humiliation.
Then the slaps!
It can be easy to overlook the level of intensity required to serve this scene, the heightened listening, emotions and physicality on both sides, take after take all served up in under 2 min.
As DDL reluctantly accepts the baptism and the mania of Rev Eli gives way to the end of the ceremony we can take a breath after a seriously electric 2 mins of venomous attention and energy exchange.
Stay safe people.
And drink your milkshake.
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Thanks for your attention - stay playful people.
Tom
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