Has anyone else ever heard the following quote? "Consistency is the death of good acting."?

Question

What do you take that to mean?

I agree with the idea of reading characters differently. I have been in theatre long enough to see some people using the same voice (inflection, tone, volume) for each of their characters. But I know that there are other areas in which an actor can be "consistent."

Good discussion. Thanks for responding!

Answer 1

I've never heard it before but it's a good quote. What the person meant is that for an actor, being consistent means you're playing the same parts the same way, or even different parts the same way, rather than testing your boundaries and experimenting with the roles, approaching them in different manners.

Answer 2

Never heard of it, but I was once told as a young student actor that I was not getting cast because my readings were all the same. So, yeah, I understand it to mean that each of your characters has to be individualized. This will happen of course if you do what an actor is supposed to do and react true to the character and his environment in each role.

Answer 3

when you're acting, you need to change it up with different performances. if your character is the same everytime you act, you'll be boring, and it won't seem like you're a good actor if you can only portray one type of character.

Answer 4

no