One of my favorite parts about being offered a new movie role is really digging into my characters and learning all that I can about them! Being an actress is so much more than memorizing lines, it’s about getting to know your character so thoroughly that you can really become them inside and out to the point where you almost lose yourself to them. For this week’s blog, as I find myself enthralled with work on my upcoming acting roles, I thought it would be fun to share my process of how I really become the characters that I am blessed enough to portray in the feature films I am a part of! One of these characters is the incredibly dynamic (and very intimidating!), Elsa Sharpless!
Believe it or not, I had the lines I was to audition with for less than twelve hours before I sent in my audition tape to the director! I did all that I could in this short amount of time to really try to understand the essence of Elsa and what made her into the daunting casting director that she was at this point in her life. In this short amount of time, I thought up a whole biography of Elsa in my head and used these “facts” to say the lines for the audition tape with what I determined to be Elsa’s “truths.” As is the case with all auditions, whether they are in-person or submitted across the country over the Internet, I was on pins and needles waiting to hear back from the people in charge of casting. When I was offered the role of “Elsa Sharpless” in the film-noir thriller, “Day for Night,” I was ecstatic and the hard work began!
Really dedicating yourself to learning your character provides for an incredible experience and a very exciting journey! As an actress, it is my duty to understand my characters so thoroughly that there is no trace of JamieLee Ackerman when I step onto the movie set. Every step I take, every word spoken and every breath has to radiate authenticity of the character, so it is extremely important that I know all of the small little details about what makes Elsa Sharpless the force that she is!
Elsa Sharpless is a Casting Director in Hollywood. She’s been on the scene for a long time and you could definitely say she’s jaded when it comes to finding talent that she deems “worthy” of one of the roles she is casting for. Elsa has had to fight so hard to get to where she is and believes that actors and actresses today don’t know the first thing about hard work. Nobody will ever be on “her level” and she makes it a point to let them know that!
I can honestly say that I really enjoyed getting to know Elsa. There is so much more to her than what is on the surface and I love getting to bring these underlying truths to life. It is these truths that inspire every line she says and every movement Elsa Sharpless makes.
Like I mentioned before, one of the first things I do when I am offered a role is create the back-story for my character. To really understand her, I need to figure out what happened in her life that brought her to the point she’s at in this film. This is not easy to do because I am literally building a backstory to make sense of everything she does – and for such a deep and twisted character, this was no easy feat! By digging through Elsa’s eerie and complicated past which she keeps so neatly contained, I was able to become her and allow her to take me over to the point where JamieLee was nowhere to be found. The amount of time and hard work put into figuring these things out gives me such a deeper connection and understanding to this fictional character that I am bringing to life!
To help me really FEEL Elsa Sharpless I spent a lot of time AS her. I dressed the way she would dress and even walked and talked in my regular life as if I were Elsa and not JamieLee. This really helped me to understand her more and figure out her mannerisms. This is extremely important for when I am on set because if the Director decides to make any changes that I don’t have time to prepare for – I can be confident in knowing that I am already in character so this new direction is easy to carry out. Through being in character, I hear the direction as the artist but am able to translate the new direction flawlessly through the character because I am already embodying them.
I put a lot of work into finding songs that resonate with me through my own past experiences and emotions that I can translate into things that Elsa is experiencing herself. This music helps me to transition and lose myself to the character for each scene.
Since I was also acting as the stylist for her, the director had asked that when I choose the wardrobe for Elsa that I incorporate the color red into each outfit. Because I had already associated this color with her from my deep understanding of her, this thrilled me because I knew I was on the same wavelength as the director and his visions for Elsa.
From my constant dipping into character, I came to realize that wearing the color red helped me to transition into Elsa. I got my nails painted “blood red” and had them shaped with a point because that is how I envision Elsa would have her nails. Having Elsa always present on me, even if just through nail polish, allowed me to live with her even when I was JamieLee!
Another way I helped get ready for being the most authentic version of Elsa I could be was by doing a lot of research on casting directors! While I can say with confidence that most actresses and actors have come across their fair share of “Elsas,” I wanted to learn as much as I could about being on the OTHER SIDE of the table! I read interviews and articles and anything I could get my hands on!
As is the case with almost all characters, there are parts of my personality and experiences that are very similar to Elsa Sharpless and there are parts that are drastically different! I really enjoy how every part of Elsa’s being is structured. From her clothing to her hair to her mannerisms, everything is clean and calculated! One of the many aspects of Elsa that is very different than JamieLee is how slow and calm she is. I like to work fast and speak fast, but Elsa believes that the world is on her schedule and that nobody has anything more important to do than speak with her so she really takes her time. It sounds simple, but early in the process while I was still getting familiar with the script I had to put a lot of work into not speeding through the lines!
This is just a quick glimpse into all of the work I do to prepare for upcoming films I’m in! Like I said, there is SO much more to being an actress than memorizing lines! Your entire being has to BECOME this new person so that even the slightest movements are authentic to them and not you. While everybody has their own method of preparing for films, the end goal is to bring truth to the character so that the people watching the movie believe that you’re really the character and not somebody acting like the character. As with all professions, this requires a tremendous amount of work and dedication in order to do it the right way and to the best of your ability!
I truly feel so blessed for each role I am offered and to be living my dream of being a working actress. I am so fortunate to LOVE what I do to the point where my work completes me and makes me whole. I feel so blessed to have found my calling and I could nearly pinch myself! For any of you who are still looking for that career that will make you feel like this – don’t be afraid to trust your gut and try new things. If you give yourself the chance to try new things you never what doors may open! I hope that you can all find careers that bring you this much fulfillment and inspiration to work as hard as you can to be the best that you could possibly be!
Stay tuned for Part Two of "The Road To Becoming My Character, Elsa Sharpless" blog series where you'll learn all about my filming experience and what it was like to have Elsa Sharpless on set! Trust me : YOU DON'T WANT TO MISS THIS BLOG! Look for it next Wednesday, June 10th, and subscribe to my blog at the bottom of the www.jamieleeackerman.com/blog-page to ensure you never miss a future blog! XO