How to Practice Acting at Home

Acting is a skill that requires continuous practice and learning. Becoming a successful actor may not be easy but it is absolutely possible. With dedication, consistent practice and perseverance, you can make your acting dreams come true. And a great place to start is by learning how to practice acting at home.

There are lots of ways to develop your acting skills, and if you aren’t practicing your acting at home, then where are you practicing?

At an acting class? Great! But classes can be expensive, and you’re limiting your learning to the time you’re in class.

At an audition? Interesting. While auditions will absolutely count as practice towards improving your acting craft, it’s not a great idea to approach them as if they are practice. Y What about all the rest of your time?

Build up the habit of acting exercises that you can do at home and watch your acting skill develop exponentially.

There are so many ways to practice acting at home.

LEARNING HOW TO PRACTICE ACTING AT HOME

PERFECT YOUR WARM UP ROUTINE

READ PLAYS AND SCREENPLAYS OUT LOUD

• What genre of film or play is this?
• What is the protagonist’s journey? What is their motivation?
• What is the antagonist’s journey? What is their motivation?
• What are the obstacles the characters encounter?
• What was the purpose of each character?
• Which characters would be the most fun to play?
• Why do you think the playwright or screenwriter wrote this piece?
• How would you film this piece as a movie? What would be the pace? The tone?
• Who would you cast as each character if you could have any actors you wanted?
• Which role would you best be suited for?

Studying films and plays as a whole is invaluable for understanding audition and acting class scenes. Make this a regular part of practicing acting at home and your confidence in your craft will soar!

COLD READ AUDITION SCENES

WATCH GREAT ACTING PERFORMANCES

• Marlon Brando in “The Godfather” (1972)
• Meryl Streep in “The Iron Lady” (2011)
• Forest Whitaker in “The Last King of Scotland” (2006)
• Kumamoto Nanjiani in “The Big Sick” (2017)
• Daniel Day-Lewis in “Gangs of New York” (2002)
• Robin Williams in “Dead Poet’s Society” (1989)
• Denzel Washington in “Cry Freedom” (1987)
• Misty Upham in “Frozen River” (2008)
• Christoph Waltz in “Inglourious Basterds” (2009)
• Michelle Yeoh in “Everything Everywhere All At Once” (2018)
• Johnny Depp in “Edward Scissorhands” (1990)
• Angela Bassett in “What’s Love Got To Do Wit It” (1993)
• Ralph Fiennes in “Schindler’s List” (1993)
• Viola Davis in “Far From Heaven” (2002)
• Justin Chon is “Gook” (2017)
• Al Pacino in “The Godfather: Part II” (1974)
• Adam Beach in “Smoke Signals” (1995)
• Heath Ledger in “The Dark Knight” (2008)
• Whoops Goldberg in “The Color Purple” (1985)
• Natalie Portman in “Black Swan” (2010)
• Laurence Fishburne in “Boyz n the Hood” (1991)
• Tom Hanks in “Forrest Gump” (1994)
• Hong Chau in “Driveways” (2019)
• Peter Sellers in “Dr. Strangelove” (1964)
• Don Cheadle in “Devil In A Blue Dress” (1995)
• Gil Mirmingham in “Wind River” (2017)
• Dustin Hoffman in “Rain Man” (1988)
• Taika Waititi in “Jojo Rabbit” (2019)
• Ellen Burstyn in “Requiem for a Dream” (2000)
• Steven Yuen in “Minari” (2020)
• Robert De Niro in “Raging Bull” (1980)
• Jamie Foxx in “Collateral” (2004)
• Daniel Day-Lewis in “My Left Foot” (1989)
• Taraji P. Henson in “Hustle & Flow” (2005)
• Bruce Lee in “Enter the Dragon” (1973)
• Jack Nicholson in “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” (1975)
• Gabrielle Union in “Bring It On” (2000)
• Irene Bedard in “Pocahontas” (1995)
• Al Pacino in “Scent of a Woman” (1992)
• Anthony Hopkins in “The Silence of the Lambs” (1991)
• Rosario Dawson in “Rent” (2005)
• Jack Nicholson in “The Shining” (1980)
• Dustin Hoffman in “Midnight Cowboy” (1969)
• F. Murray Abraham in “Amadeus” (1984)
• Philip Seymour Hoffman in “Capote” (2005)
• Robert De Niro in “Raging Bull” (1980)
• Meryl Streep in “Sophie’s Choice” (1982)
• Forest Whitaker in “The Last King of Scotland” (2006)
• Dennis Hopper in “Blue Velvet” (1986)
• Sean Penn in “Mystic River” (2003)
• Al Pacino in “Dog Day Afternoon” (1975)
• Christian Bale in “American Psycho” (2000)
• Kevin Spacey in “American Beauty” (1999)
• Dennis Hopper in “Blue Velvet” (1986)
• Al Pacino in “Scarface” (1983)
• Robert De Niro in “Taxi Driver” (1976)
• Marlon Brando in “A Streetcar Named Desire” (1951)
• Daniel Day-Lewis in “There Will Be Blood” (2007)
• Michael B. Jordan in “Fruitvale Station” (2013)
• Charlize Theron in “Monster” (2003)

RECORD SCENES TO ACT ALONG WITH

• The environment where the scene is happening
• The time of day; how the light hits the scene
• The objects around you
• What your scene partner(s) look like
• The look on your scene partner(s) face as the scene progresses

The more you can engage your imagination, the fuller your scene will become and the easier it will be to tell the journey of the scene.

Play different actions for different beats of the scene, repeat the scene as many times as you want.

Spend an hour or two working this acting exercise at home every week and watch your acting skills get sharper and sharper.

MAKE SELF TAPES REGULARLY

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