Almanac of Acting for the rising stars of tomorrow

Have you always dreamed of becoming an actor but don't know how? We'll help you with our section "What Tim still knew ... - Tips and tricks for the film business"! (Self-praise stinks, but many know me from roles such as postman, antique dealer and assistant cook in the series Storm of Love & In the Name of Justice.) [series may not known in other countrys as in germany]

The first tip: relax.  Silvester Stallone's left part of the face has been paralyzed from birth - Oscar winner. Also think of Jason Statham's acting repertoire - millionaire and heartthrob of countless women. You notice: It is not eaten as hot as it is cooked.

An actor must be able to evoke and control feelings from the "turd" (till up rightly decided). These feelings are mainly transported through his nose, eyes, brows, eyelids, lips, forehead and cheeks. The 40 facial muscles must therefore be constantly trained to perfection by the actor and those who want to become one.

Here are facial expressions for independent practice in order to shine in castings, in front of the camera and for the audience:

Universal expression with the same meaning in all cultures, therefore it can be used for productions in Hollywood, Bollywood or Wakaliwood:

Pull the corners of the mouth up, push the upper lip up to the nose, tense the circular muscles of the eyes (create crow's feet), pull the skin of the cheekbones upwards

A difficult emotion to show if you are not really scared. Many actors help theyrselves with tricks. A recommendation to get you in the right mood: You can find a special episode about The Lion King in our podcast archive . In this episode, Tino sings multiple times [no knowldge of the german language by singing parts recuired]. Therefore imprint his "singing voice" and try to mentally recall it at the moment of the representation of fear. In the beginning, listening to the "Songs of Tino" while your at the same time practicing helps, too:

Pull the corner of the mouth down, push the lower lip to the chin, press the lower eyelid to the eye, push the upper eyelid far up, pull the eyebrows towards the middle of the forehead and then press upwards so that frowns are also created, tense as many facial muscles as possible

The director wants you to portray a lack of understanding while still conveying your effort to understand:

Press lips together and inwards, press the tip of your nose down, pull your eyebrows towards your nose and then lift one of the two, hold your upper arm 90 ° towards your upper body, lower your forearm back towards your body until your fingers touch your head, at this point move your fingers as whether you scratch yourself

Form lips into an O, the tongue touches the lower lip, the eyes and lids are relaxed until one can only see blurred, tense neck veins

Tilt your head slightly to the right or left down, the corners of the mouth neutral, eyes look down, forehead slightly wrinkled, with your right or left palm - depending on which side the head is tilted - reach up on the jawbone and cheek with your fingers. On the other Side - which presents the half of the face to the front - place the back of the hand on the top of the head and let the fingers stick out in a relaxed manner

Press the upper and lower lip tightly together, depending on the intensity, curl the lips or open them a little in the middle, open the lower eyelid wide, tilt the head slightly forward, draw the eyebrows towards the middle and downwards 

Let the lower jaw hang down, tense your upper lip a little, relax your eyes, lift your eyebrows up, inhale and exhale vigorously 

Mundwinkel nach unten ziehen, Unterlippe nach außen klappen und Oberlippe in entstandene Falte zwischen Zähne und Unterlippe drücken, mit Kinn zittern, Innenseiten der Augenbrauen nach oben schieben, Außenseiten der Augenbrauen nach unten drücken

Duckface, pulling up one corner of the mouth, bedroom look, pulling up the opposite eyebrows drawn up to the corner of the mouth as well

Open your mouth slightly, move your tongue between the corners of your mouth, pinch the outer muscles of your eyes, look up with your eyes to the left or right 

Have fun exercising regularly!

Tim