Can we just talk for a sec about Lupita Nyong'o?
Yes, she's fantastic in '12 Years a Slave' and ridiculously poised and articulate and beautiful and it's incredible that her first job out of college got her an Oscar and boy do I hope she has a great therapist… But none of that is why I want to talk about her.
I want to talk about her because the story of how we all came to know her name is hugely relevant to your career.
Let's set aside all of the wonderfully exotic and romantic-sounding parts of her life story and focus on her path as an actor.
- She's trained. That performance wasn't magic, it came from a solid foundation in the fundamentals of acting. (Take that, Ellen's joke about actors not going to college.)
BTW, here's what her resume looked like when she graduated in 2012 - and look where she is 18 months later. Remember that next time you get angsty about your credits!
- She got the script for '12 Years a Slave' because it was sent to her manager for another actor. Her manager (who doesn't have celebrity clients, just solid, working actors) pitched her for the role of Patsy, and she put herself on tape - just like you or I would. She didn't have any special 'inside' connections, no secret Hollywood strings got pulled - it worked just like it works for you and me.
That taped audition got her called to read for the casting director, which then got her called to read for the director. They were her first major auditions after graduating. How did she deliver an audition that booked a role 1,000 other actors had already read for?
"I decided to go into the audition like I had the part already and it was rehearsal."
That right there is SOLID GOLD. I received the same advice years ago from a guy I trained with who booked like crazy. He said he goes into every audition like he's meeting his new collaborators for the first time. It's an incredibly empowering way to approach an audition. Here's a little more about Lupita's audition philosophy:
“I give myself homework when I have an audition,” she says. “I give myself goals, and that’s how I check how I’m doing. It can be something simple like ‘listen,’ or ‘find your feet.’ And then afterward it’s an assessment, so in a way it’s not about booking the job or not. It’s about what I learned as an actor about that character. And if I can pinpoint something, then I’m in good shape. And if it’s all a blur, then not so good.”
So here's your homework… Approach your next audition like Lupita. Go into the room like you already have the role, and this is your first rehearsal. Set goals for yourself that have to do with your own discovery and embodiment of the character, not with 'being good.' And assess yourself based on how you met those goals, rather than on whether you book the job. (That's all another way of saying focus on the things you can control!)
Will doing that guarantee you an Oscar in the next 18 months? Um, no. But it WILL change your relationship to auditions, boost your confidence and ease your anxiety, and improve the quality of your performance in the room - all of which are milestones on the road to being a working actor.
(And if you DO get an Oscar nomination in the next 18 months, hire her stylist… Because wow.)