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Responsibility as an Actor

by Mario A. Campanaro

Responsibility as an Actor

by Mario A. Campanaro

You know, it’s tough to be human. It’s not an easy job to be a human being. What I think the actor has the opportunity to do is examine that—to examine what it means to be human and why we do what we do, why we feel the way we feel. I don’t think many people realize how difficult it is to be an actor. I don’t think they truly understand how complex it is. One of the most paradoxical things about being an actor, or any artist for that matter, is the ability to reveal the work in a way that seems effortless, like you’re just living. But the truth is, there’s a lot of work that goes into achieving that level of ease and excellence in the work.

Many people have an ‘idea’ of what acting is, but they don’t realize what all it entails. As actors, we need to be aware of what it takes. If we go through life sleepwalking, we don’t have anything to truly connect to, nothing to pull from for our work. We need a full awareness of humanity to be able to invest in what life has to offer and then contribute that to our work as artists. I think the more we expand our consciousness and awareness, both in our own lives and in our contribution to the lives of others and the circumstances our world faces—whether in the present or through history—the more we can draw from it in a way that allows an audience to connect to the circumstances we reveal.

At the end of the day, isn’t that what the job of the actor really is? To reveal something that the masses can connect to, so that they can feel a sense of belonging and healing? I think this asks the actor to uphold the responsibility of understanding and being willing to reveal the human condition in a way that’s not always comfortable or painless. It asks us to look at suffering and try to understand why human suffering is the way it is. And then, we must look within ourselves to see where that suffering lives within us, so that we can connect to it, and then bravely, courageously, honestly, and authentically bring ourselves to the most extraordinary circumstances. We are not just ‘storytellers’—we are truly ‘story-livers.’