Directing Non-Actors

"I tried to mix the non-actors with the actors. I didn't want to come in and tell them what to do. I wanted them to show me what they do."
---Robert Duvall

"So five of the 90 non-actors that you see in the film are people who have actually spent time in the leper colony."
---Walter Salles

"Directing non-actors is difficult."
--- Alejandro González Iñárritu

Directing people that have never acted before or don't act professionally can be an arduous process. You need a lot of patience. You should always try to get the best professional actors you can, but hey, you're in film school and Robert Duvall won't return you calls. Here are a couple of tips:

1) Rehearse, Rehearse, Rehearse: This is your number one priority. If you don't rehearse, you may find your non-actor breaking down and quitting on the set. This is your opportunity to push them and see how good of a performance you can get. This is also your opportunity to prepare your non-actor thoroughly. Tell them that they will be sitting around most of the day and that they will have to do the same scene again and again the same way. Since your non-actor doesn't normally do this, make sure you mention that lunch will be provided and that he'll be a star!

2) Go Easy on Them: Have patience and don't lose yours with non-actors. If you're lucky, they'll be able to deliver their lines without too many mistakes. If you're really lucky, maybe they can even emote a little but you can only expect so much. Make sure they get plenty of breaks and constant reassurance from you.

3) Cast Non-Actors in Roles Close to the Real Person: Cast your firemen friends as firemen and your doctor friends as doctors, not the other way around. If it doesn't matter whether or not a character is married, try to make the relationship status match that of the non-actor. The closer the character is to the actual non-actor, the easier it will be for the non-actor to play the part.

4) Don't Tell Them the Camera is on: Some people are just self-conscious about the idea of being on camera. As soon as you hit the switch, their blood pressure sky rockets and their head becomes jumbled. Try telling them to "go through a run through" but secretly get your camera guy to tape it. (Make sure the other actors are in on it.)

5) Leave the Camera on: This is probably only an option for video camera shoots with plenty of tape and access to a plug in power source, but you may just have to let the camera roll. If you're shooting a 3 to 1 ratio in takes for the other actors, you might have to shoot something like a 10 to 20 to 1 ratio for the non-actors. Hopefully, you can cobble enough footage together to make a scene.

6) Show the Non-Actor how its Done: Some people can't act, but they can mimic what they hear. Also, non-actors may not be familiar with acting buzz words. Seeing you deliver the lines could crystallize it in their own minds and make their performance a lot better.

7) Shoot Line-By-Line Cutaways: If a non-actor is really bad, you may have to make sure you get a cutaway with every line. It's arduous, but it can save your ass in editing. I once shot an interview with a semi-celebrity. He was nearly incomprehensible: starting two sentences and finishing two more. I used cutaways to what he was talking about and then cobbled together sentence fragments so he made sense. Which reminds me...

8) Get Plenty of Coverage and Cutaways: You may have to do the same thing I just described. Make sure you have plenty of extra footage so you can keep a troublesome non-actor off the screen as much as possible. On the set, you have to worry about his feelings, but in the editing room you have to be ruthless.

9) Evoke Real Emotion: This is a little risky, but it can work. If you need a non-actor to get mad piss them off. If you need them laughing, tickle them before the shot. If you need them crying, do something to make them cry. Only do this as a last resort to someone you know won't quit. Non-actors are far more likely to quit because they have even less invested in your student film than acting majors. If you have a good report with the non-actor (since it's probably one of your friends) tell them to remember a specific event that might stir emotion.

10) Let Them Talk in Their Own Voice: Actors put their own spin on dialogue anyway, so there's nothing wrong with your non-actor friend changing a line as long as it means the same thing. If a line is too clunky, ask the non-actor how he would say it.

11) Tell Them What to Expect: Treat your non-actor like a professional, but understand that he isn't. Tell them how to act on a movie set. Make sure he knows that he has to follow your instructors as director, not call you a "dickhead" like he does back in the dorm. Tell him to hold his suggestions until the scene is over and if he hasn't read the entire script, let him know that suggesting things on the set is probably a bad idea.

12) Get the Real Actors to Help: Hopefully, you have at least one or two actors or acting majors on set. They spend most of their day taking classes on the very thing you need the non-actors to do. They will be happy to guide novices. Additionally, once your real actors understand that some of their costars are new to the craft, they can use their own abilities to take up the slack. Long form improv actors will be particularly adept at this, so if you can cast some do so.

13) Treat Them Like a Star: They are your stars. If they get treated like minor celebrities they'll be more likely to endure the shoot and relax. There's nothing worse than having an annoyed cast member on set that has nothing to lose.

We had a couple of kids on set once. (Their dad volunteered them for a scene where we needed extras.) We managed to keep them entertained for a few hours, but by the end of the day they were bored and started running around the set. You don't want things to slip out of control, especially when you're shooting guerrilla-style without insurance, permits and on borrowed equipment.

An Interview with Chuck & Buck director Miguel Arteta where he talks a little about directing non-actors.

Click Here:Miguel Arteta

Director Nicholas Barker of Unmade Beds talks about directing non-actors.

Click Here:Nicholas Barker

Games for Actors and Non-Actors

Click Here:Games for Actors and Non-Actors