The Brokenness in Characters

The Brokenness in Characters

by Mario A. Campanaro

When a bone breaks, we know why it breaks. There is an event that literally causes the bone to break. And very often, when we see someone who has broken their leg or physically hurt themselves, the common response is, "Oh my God, are you okay?" or "Oh my God, what happened?" We see someone physically in pain, someone struggling in the present moment with a visible wound. Take a moment to think about that. That's the "norm"—the empathetic part of us, the compassionate part of us, sees someone in pain and wants to understand the events that led to that break.

But a lot of the time, we forget that awareness emotionally. We see a character's actions that may be broken, and we automatically judge the actions. We don’t always ask, with a compassionate heart, "What were the series of events that led to this brokenness?" Instead, we just see the actions without understanding—or without being willing to understand—the events that led to the person executing those specific actions. We don’t ask why.

As actors, we have an obligation to artistically connect to the pain and brokenness of the character. We must connect to that brokenness as a means into the character's life, so we don’t get stuck in a world of judgment. We must not block ourselves from inhabiting the character’s world with judgment, resentment, or bitterness. We need to ask ourselves: Where did the break happen? How did the break happen? When did it happen? What were the events, the relationships, and the circumstances that caused this human being to behave or react the way they do?

With a compassionate heart, we must justify—whether the actions are right or wrong—why someone does what they do. And we must explore how everything this person is doing is an attempt to improve their existence, their life, moment to moment. How did they formulate the way they go through life, how they function in life, based on the relationships, events, and circumstances they've experienced? What defense mechanisms have they created to get them through, and how are they searching for solace, for peace, or an improvement in their world through their actions?

We have to remember that the way in is not through our judgment of the "unmentionable." The way in is through our willingness to enter with a compassionate understanding of the historical origin of someone’s pain and suffering, which has caused them to behave in ways we may deem unmentionable. Just like a broken leg, all "brokenness" has its own story that caused the break.

Copyright © 2025 Mario A. Campanaro, All rights reserved.