Level up your script by understanding what your characters ACTORS need and want
By Beverly Nault and Jessica Spring Brown
JESS: To be, or not to be. That is the question for every writer when it comes to taking an acting class to improve descriptions, characters, subplots, and dialogue. I have always wanted to take an acting class to broaden my skills. It is a great opportunity to understand what draws actors to various scripts and stories and characters. I can see the value of learning acting for many reasons. Bev, I’m curious to hear your insights.
BEV: I’m glad you asked because this topic been very much part of my process lately.
I’ve been reading a book for actors called Breaking Down Your Script by Laura Wayth. On page 41 she quotes one of the greatest acting coaches in the world. “‘The writer creates a world. The world that they create has characters, a charged situation, a location, a time and a reason for the scene to take place.’ These are what Stanislavsky refers to as the ‘given circumstances’ of the script…think of them as clues that the writer leaves so that you, the actor, can construct a specific character in a specific context trying to accomplish a specific thing.”
We screenwriters need to remember we aren’t pushing letters around the page for our own amusement or even for a gatekeeper, reader, or producer. We’re doing what Laura Wayth describes as building a story where bad people are having great falls and good people are getting good rewards. So how do we best communicate that to the actors themselves?
Just like our characters, we should be able to clearly communicate to actors who also have needs and wants.
JESS: I have to admit, I do like pushing letters around on the page to amuse myself. LOL. What prompted you to study acting recently?
BEV: Jess, as you know, I’m currently working with a director, Paul A Kaufman, who holds a shopping agreement for one of my scripts, Perfect Misfits. We’re prepping it for him to pitch and he wants it to be production ready.
JESS: Congratulations on the agreement. How exciting!
BEV: Thanks! The step-by-step process is an intense education and is totally what we’re taught >cough< warned about. Lots of rewrites! It’s true the screenplay we pitch is just a blueprint for the script that will be distributed to cast, department heads, and the financial department when it gets the green light. Every line, action, and slug line is judged, examined, considered for its value, humor, depth, relevance and need to be included. Every.one.
But I digress. While we were discussing one of our character’s arcs, Paul suggested that every writer should take acting lessons, and if that’s not possible, in the very least study how actors are taught to break down scenes.
I’ve had years of experience in the back in the black working on stage productions and observing actors, directors, and producers, so I was already actor-adjacent and have a sense what he meant. I asked PSA Member and SAG actress and acting coach Marilyn Swick about her process.
Marilyn says every actor wants to know as much as possible about the character’s background, mannerism, motivation, and goals. Anything that gives a glimpse into their personality such as quirks, fears, and prejudices can help bring that character to life. To do that, they read and reread the script to evaluate their character, how they relate to others, what their arc is and how they grow and change.
Here are some of her pointers and some others I find especially relevant.
- Each actor has a different process, but each one mentioned to me that they must know the story setting, even down to the county if accents are required.
- They need to know the arc, and backstory of their character and the overall story. What does their character want, need, and learn by FADE OUT?
- Actors want to know geographical context, year or era, and locations before and after their scenes.
- Will they be allowed to try different deliveries on a line, action, and reaction, or has the writer written them into a corner? Will they be expected to deliver lines exactly as written or is there latitude to try different deliveries, which can add to the story in a way that writers might now imagine?
- Experienced actors don’t usually need to be told how to handle their props and shouldn’t be directed how to do so. But as they research their character, they do want to know if certain props or set pieces have specific relevance if they’re to be handled in a certain way. Does their character fidget, smoke, or carry an haute couture handbag, which all require specific gestures and mannerisms?
In my script, the main character carries a beat-up old backpack, a callback to an important event in his past. He should hold onto the thing as “tightly as a toddler with a binky.” Says a lot about him and the pack in just a few, short words.
JESS: I try to reduce and eliminate as many parenthetical directions as possible in all my scripts. As writers, if we have done our job well, the actor can then do their job well.
I prompted AI to teach me why writers should want to invest in an acting class. Here is what I got back:
AI: Taking an acting class can significantly improve your screenwriting skills in several key ways:
- Deeper Character Understanding
- Acting forces you to inhabit a character rather than just writing about them. You’ll experience emotions, motivations, and conflicts from the inside out, making your characters more authentic and layered.
- You’ll learn how characters react under pressure, which can help you write more naturalistic dialogue and behavior.
- Stronger Dialogue
- You’ll see firsthand how dialogue sounds when spoken aloud, helping you craft lines that feel organic rather than overly written.
- Understanding subtext becomes second nature, as actors are trained to play what’s not said just as much as what is.
- Improved Scene Structure
- Acting teaches you about beats, pacing, and rhythm, essential tools for writing dynamic, engaging scenes.
- You’ll become more aware of how tension and stakes escalate within a scene, making your storytelling tighter and more compelling.
- Better Emotional Engagement
- By physically performing scenes, you’ll develop a stronger sense of what feels emotionally true, which will help you avoid melodrama or unearned emotional beats.
- You’ll also recognize when a scene lacks emotional depth, pushing you to rewrite with greater impact.
- More Visually Driven Writing
- Since acting relies heavily on physical expression, you’ll become more conscious of how action and movement reveal character and conflict.
- This will help you show, not tell, making your scripts more cinematic.
- Understanding Actor Needs
- You’ll learn how actors interpret scripts, which will help you write roles that attract talent—a crucial skill for selling your work.
- You’ll understand what actors look for in a character arc, leading to richer, more dynamic protagonists and supporting characters.
- On-the-Spot Problem Solving
- Acting classes often involve improv, which strengthens your ability to think quickly and experiment with dialogue and scene direction.
- You’ll gain a deeper appreciation for what makes a scene “work” and how to fix it when it doesn’t.
JESS: OK, I am convinced to take an acting class. Thank you, Bev and AI, for your strong reasons that an acting class will improve my writing and storytelling.
BEV: Jess, I can’t wait to watch you in your debut role! And…scene!
Resources referred to in this article:
- Breaking Down Your Script, by Laura Wayth
- Marilyn Swick – marilynswick.com
- The Scene Study Book, Roadmap to Success by Bruce Miller
- Stagemilk.com: Sept 12, 2021, Script Analysis: How to Get the Most Out of a Scene by Alexander Lee-Rekers and December 10, 2024, How to Break Down a Screenplay
- MasterClass – Natalie Portman Teaches Acting