Acting

by NYFA Instructor Denis McCourt, MFA
So you’re taking an acting class, have a general audition, or just want to hone your craft, and are looking ...
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Whether you act primarily in theatre or on camera, there will come a time when you are asked to perform a monologue. Instead of dusting ...
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From your physical health to your emotional well-being, not taking care of yourself as an actor will make it hard, if not impossible, to give ...
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With 2.07 billion active users on Facebook, 330 million on Twitter, and 467 million on LinkedIn, many aspiring and established actors are promoting their work ...
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The New York Film Academy knows that acting isn’t just about conveying emotion through spoken words. It’s also about posture, facial expressions, movement, and body ...
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Are you finding it difficult to make the transition from theatre to film and TV? If so, it may be that your training for the ...
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Every aspiring actor dreams of one day playing the lead roles. But whether you went through an excellent acting school or spontaneously gave it a ...
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If you are a current student – or alumni – of NYFA, you understand that auditions are a normal part of life. But, what if ...
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Like most aspiring actors, you’re probably torn on whether you need a demo reel or not. You’ve probably heard the phrase, “No reel is better ...
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If you’re thinking about becoming an actor, there are some basic things like your type, age range, and preferred medium (stage or film, or both) ...
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Ok, so you’ve done the work: memorized your lines backwards and forwards, filled notebooks with your thoughts and backstory, answered the key questions “who am ...
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Actors actually have a great deal of agency when it comes to how they set goals, choose auditions, and decide whether or not to commit ...
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Actors are arguably one of the most important visible elements in the theater or on screen. As a primary collaborator in the art of visual ...
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Words are everything and nothing to an actor. A script is filled with words, all of which add up to a plot, theme, events, and ...
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All the activities we pursue in our daily lives have directions. When you drive on the road there are laws meant to prevent us from ...
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If you want to be a great actor you should know the importance of conveying a character as well as staying in character. Anyone can read ...
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There are so many different acting techniques and books and teachers that finding a process that works for you can be confusing. Ironically, most acting ...
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So here you go, off into the real world you go to become an actor. You just graduated, so now what?  Where do you start? ...
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Modeling and acting are different arts, no doubt. But for being different they are awful similar in many ways and the transition from modeling to ...
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In a city where we continuously elevate our fashion sense, our taste buds, and our little tiny city apartment spaces, why not constantly elevate our ...
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Al Gore may have claimed to have invented the internet, and Barack Obama’s presidential campaign may have used the internet to aplomb, but it is ...
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Part of the allure of acting is the uncertainty, challenge, and endless opportunity. However, those things also make acting a difficult career to weather, especially ...
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Once a year, most cities host a cattle call audition session that lasts for days and includes dozens of theater companies and hundreds of actors. ...
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Let’s talk about type. It’s not who you are, or what you do, or what you know that counts. Type, for an actor, is simply ...
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By the time an actor walks into the audition room, the audition has largely been won or lost based on their preparation. Thorough prep work ...
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You have a resume. You have a headshot, or something close. You have ruthlessly prepared a monologue, or maybe two, just to be safe. You ...
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While voice acting is a legitimate profession, it is still a creative art form, and like any form of creativity, it does not exist in a ...
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Question: What is the acting technique, based on the principles of Stanislavsky that was popularized in 1930’s America by director Lee Strasberg at The Actors’ ...
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In the long line of confounding acting advice, casting directors demand that actors have a demo reel if they are to take you seriously. However, ...
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Konstantin Stanislavsky once said, “There are no small roles, only small actors.”
He was a theatre man and lived before the age of the television commercial. ...
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Headshots get the bulk of the attention because they are the visual cue that immediately informs casting directors and agents of an actor’s type and ...
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One of the most iconic scenes, from one of the most iconic trilogies of all-time, features an actor who is acting alone.
Gollum
Yes, precious, false! They ...
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Imagine for a moment that you are a detective selecting a suspect from a series of mug shots. You would use the description you have ...
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Someone once asked themselves in a monologue, “To be, or not to be?” When it comes to monologues there are things you want to be, ...
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Before Clark Gable was known as “The King of Hollywood” he spent years rigorously training his voice. His naturally high-pitched voice was lowered with better ...
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In the movie A League of Their Own Tom Hanks says, “If it wasn’t hard everyone would do it.” He was speaking of becoming a ...
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Digitized casting is changing television and film for good. Actors are routinely expected to put themselves on tape for auditions; and often on short notice. ...
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When asked about the biggest piece of advice he could give to aspiring actors, Edward Norton once famously said, “The more you do your homework, ...
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For the purposes of this post, we’re going to put aside the reasons why you want to be famous in the first place. We’ll also ...
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No matter whether you’re an amateur trying to break into the industry, newly graduated or still working towards your BFA in acting, you’ll need an ...
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Let’s not mince words. Going to grad school is a huge investment and for many students already dealing with paying off their loans for their ...
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Did you know that the BFA degree has only existed as we know it today since 1971? As the traditional degree choice for students wishing ...
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Bad crying can make or break a career. An actor or actress may be at the top of their field, able to deftly handle comedy ...
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Some actors swear by it, while others denounce it as a self-indulgent and superfluous part of the craft. But whichever way you slice it, it’s an enduring ...
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When Dustin Hoffman was on set for Marathon Man, one scene in particular called for his character to appear as if he suffered from extreme exhaustion. ...
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Author: Annie Coutu, Filmmaker at Aisha Productions & Author of Dans 10…9…Devenir acteur

Do you need an actor demo? Well if you are an actor or want to ...
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Type·cast
ˈtīpˌkast/
verb

assign (an actor or actress) repeatedly to the same type of role, as a result of the appropriateness of their appearance or previous success in ...
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The following video is the third and final in our three part series about Acting Resumes from America’s Premier Acting & Modeling Career Coach – ...
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The following video is part two in our three part series about Acting Resumes from America’s Premier Acting & Modeling Career Coach – Aaron Marcus. ...
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The following video is part one in our three part series about Acting Resumes from America’s Premier Acting & Modeling Career Coach – Aaron Marcus. ...
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With television’s creativity and talent blossoming in recent years, it’s becoming more usual to see A-List actors and big budgets gracing the small screen. In ...
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There’s no better time to be a movie fan. This year there were plenty of fantastic films released during the summer, which means a number ...
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National Hispanic Heritage Month takes place from Sept. 15 to Oct. 15, and according to the official website is a time for “celebrating the histories, ...
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Some of the most well known lines from movies, and even scenes, are actually ad libbed, or improvised. Improvisation actually has many benefits for actors.
Below ...
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Aspiring actors dream of being on the big screen, just like their favorite movie stars. Or do they? More major actors are creating and starring ...
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Over the last few decades, Hollywood actresses Helen Mirren and Sandra Bullock have starred in so many diverse roles that’s it’s hard to typecast them, ...
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Al Pacino is one of the Hollywood’s best veteran actors and a past NYFA guest speaker, with a successful career spanning over five decades and ...
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People in showbiz tend to be rather multi-talented, or perhaps that’s just a survival strategy. Either way, if you can sing, dance and act, chances ...
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Many people love watching or hearing about a well-done prank. Hollywood is no stranger to outrageous pranks, whether it’s on April Fool’s Day or not. ...
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In this article about the benefits of self-producing as an actor, we considered Orson Wells, who wrote, produced, directed, and starred in Citizen Kane, the ...
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Women around the world have been blazing the trails for equality. As New York Film Academy has previously reported, gender inequality is still an issue ...
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Mae West

In the beginning, there was Mae West — sassy, sexy, and smart. West’s early career in Vaudeville helped her develop a larger-than-life persona that ...
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Actors, like everyone else, have found their lives and careers changed by social media. Few could have predicted the impact social media would have on ...
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There’s something about Australian actors that make us look forward to Australia Day. From Hugh Jackman to Margot Robbie, Hollywood is full of the Australian ...
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The SAG Awards are one of the most prestigious awards out there in the film business, particularly when it comes to acting — and more ...
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The American film and television community awaits the Golden Globes 2017 with bated breath. This year, the awards ceremony will take place on Sunday, Jan. 8 ...
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The American Music Awards are arguably one of the biggest music awards show of the year — so much so, that they are still buzzing ...
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Elvis Presley. Clint Eastwood. Charlton Heston.
These may be the first few names that spring to mind when you think of famous actors who served in ...
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Though the art of acting dates to the Ancient Greeks, Acting for Film is a far newer discipline and few schools provide specialized training that ...
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What better way for aspiring actors to glean valuable insight about their chosen trade than by watching acting movies: films about people trying to make it ...
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Seth Rogen might be your spirit animal if you’re an aspiring actor who enjoys making people laugh. Before the numerous awards and nominations, he was ...
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Make no mistake about it: the technique known as method acting has played a huge part in the history and evolution of the acting profession, ...
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With the 73rd Venice Film Festival rapidly approaching, it’d be remiss to waste the opportunity to highlight a familiar face on the scene: former NYFA ...
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Seth Rogen is on something of a winning streak, and it seems that just about everything the Canadian-born comedian touches of late turns to gold. 

Having ...
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This past weekend, Paul Feig’s remake of the 1984 supernatural comedy, Ghostbusters (Ivan Reitman), is hitting theatres. Unlike the original film, which starred Bill Murray, ...
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Who doesn’t love Shark Week? As usual, here at New York Film Academy, we’re thinking about our favorite films. This week, in particular, check out ...
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Each dad is one-of-a-kind. Whether he’s silly or serious, completely embarrassing or way cooler than us, we’ve got to love him. In honor of Father’s ...
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Mothers: we salute you.
You’ve cooked us countless meals. You’ve put up with our laundry-strewn bedroom floors. You’ve been a shoulder to cry on when we ...
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It’s that time of year again—the days are longer, people’s calendars are filling up with more and more parties, and outdoor festivities are popping up ...
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People love to pick the brains of experts in hope of uncovering some secret recipe for success in a given field. Have a political question? ...
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Every year there are only five nominees in each of the four acting categories at the Academy Awards. As such, there is always disagreement among ...
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The presidents of past and present have afforded screenwriters with a lot of solid writing material, both in terms of their political careers and personal ...
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Paparazzi, autograph hounds, and Hollywood socialites flock to the busy, over-priced clubs and bars on the Sunset Strip in hopes of meeting a famous face ...
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All great characters don’t have monologues; but all great monologues come from the mouths of great characters. Some of the most famous lines of dialogue ...
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January 2016 will be remembered primarily as a month in which we lost too many treasured artists. David Bowie and Lemmy Kilmister were among the ...
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The end of the year is an exciting time in the entertainment industry. There are holiday parties, major film releases, and a buzz of anticipation ...
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Not all actors are lucky enough to be discovered by a talent scout and launched to instant stardom. Some actors have to put in years ...
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Game of Thrones fans know that Sean Bean was a Hollywood star before he portrayed Ned Stark in the first season of the HBO series ...
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Ah, the glitzy Golden Age. The Golden Age of Hollywood lasted from the late 1920s to the 1960s and was a time when technology in ...
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Sometimes good things come in small packages, both in terms of gifts and art. In the case of these five examples, a great performance came ...
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“My dear boy, why don’t you just try acting?”
A famous quip from Lawrence Olivier regarding Dustin Hoffman’s dedication to method acting on Marathon Man, the ...
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Action films are the bread and butter of Hollywood, grossing billions of dollars and spurning franchises that last decades. For actors, action movies present an ...
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If acting is hard, comedic acting is in a league of its own. There is a delicate balance when acting comedy; too much and the ...
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Method acting is a much-revered practice that has received its fair share of attention for producing naturalistic, award-winning acting performances. Not coincidentally, some of the ...
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It’s called the small screen, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t big performances on television. Recently, we entered the Golden Age of TV, where Hollywood ...
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Everyone loves a good ‘Where are they now?’ story, and nothing is more intriguing than an actor who seemingly disappeared from the face of the ...
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Some actors are born great, some actors achieve greatness, and some actors have greatness thrust upon them. No matter which of the three categories you ...
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Let’s be honest. All movies are not created equally. Some films stick with you long after you are finished watching them. A good film can ...
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Before they were pulling down millions of dollars and working with the finest directors in the world, George Clooney, Channing Tatum, and Renee Zellwegger worked ...
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Actors must familiarize themselves with the greatest works, analyze them, and learn from them to develop the timeless skills of the classically trained. Plus, odds ...
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Stories of seemingly overnight success abound in show business. From living out of a car parked on a Hollywood side street one day, to headlining ...
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All across the land, one competition is taking filmmaking by storm. The 48-Hour Film Festival challenges production teams to make a short film in only ...
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Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines a craftsman as, “a person who makes beautiful objects by hand” or “a person who is very skilled at doing something.” The ...
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History is riddled with the names of professional athletes who turned to professional acting after their playing careers. Arnold Schwarzenegger, Michael Jordan, Dwayne “The Rock” ...
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Much has been made of the recent flood of British-trained actors being cast in American roles. In the last few years, Henry Cavill was cast ...
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Laurence Olivier, Meryl Streep, Daniel Day-Lewis, Marlon Brando, Judi Dench, Paul Newman…
The list of actors goes on and on, but what do they all have ...
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New York City and Los Angeles couldn’t be more different in terms of location and culture, but one thing they have is a thriving entertainment ...
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Making a movie or television show requires many different people with many different talents, but actors are the ones in the spotlight. If you want ...
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It’s a question many prospective acting students consider at some point in the college decision making process – when it comes to MA vs. MFA ...
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Robert De Niro, considered one of Hollywood’s greatest performers—living or dead—is something of an acting paradox. While some of the best actors completely disappear into ...
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By now you’ll have already heard the massive furore that was caused by Seth Rogan’s The Interview, the North Korean-lampooning movie which sparked an international diplomatic ...
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Given that there’s only a single letter between them, it’s not surprising that many people have trouble discerning the difference between a BA vs a ...
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From extremely dangerous stunts or shooting in warzones and/or environmentally hostile locations, there are more than a few things that can threaten a film crew’s ...
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Given that we run one of the country’s best acting camps for kids, we’re naturally keen to promote child acting in a positive way and ...
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Oscar-winning—no, scratch that, EGOT-winning Mike Nichols died this week at the age of 83. A great loss for the world of stage and screen, Mike ...
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Rumors are coming in thick and fast for Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, quite possibly one of the most anticipated comic book movies to ...
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Let’s face it: Australian actors are hot. And I don’t just mean physically. Australian actors are all the buzz from Broadway stage icon Hugh Jackman ...
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For over a century, the Actors’ Equity Association (frequently referred to as simply Equity) has been one of the most prevalent labor unions in the ...
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“No matter what people tell you, words and ideas can change the world.” – Robin Williams
The world is reeling from the news that Robin Williams, ...
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At fifty years old and with three decades of acting history behind him, Johnny Depp’s career has been unparalleled in terms of its breadth and ...
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Click Image To Enlarge
Although movie audiences are taught to root for the good guy, everyone loves those characters who indulge in the darker end of ...
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Author: Lance Carter, Actor & Owner of DailyActor.com

Let’s face it, at some point in our career most of us are going to need some type ...
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New York Film Academy acting for film student Dustin Ardine has seen a lot of success in his short career. Ardin won the best actor ...
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An actor plays many roles in the course of a career, but Alice Dessuant is also interested in roles behind the scenes. After completing her ...
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NYFA: Can you tell us a bit about yourself, your background, and what first got you interested in acting (and graphic design)?
Corey Scott Rutledge: I ...
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_hi0XzGh9E8
Below is the transcript from the Q&A with actors Michelle Monaghan and Gbenga Akinnagbe following a private screening of their new film Fort Bliss which ...
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The New York Film Academy had the privilege of attending the world famous Edinburgh Fringe Festival this year, conducting Acting for Film and Filmmaking workshops. ...
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NYFA: How has your training at institutions like NYFA helped you to develop as an actress? What advice would you give to students looking to ...
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NYFA: What is your personal background and what in your own history drew you to acting?
Camilla Luddington: I grew up in the UK and starting ...
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