Directing is a craft built on relationships more than anything else.

The relationship that has the greatest effect on your film is the one you build with your lead actor.

You’ve probably heard the expression “The lead carries the film" or been asked if an actor has the ability to “carry a film.” This idea that a film stands or falls on the qualities and performance of its lead is true in many ways.

As the director, it’s your job to get the best out of your main actor and make sure they in fact can carry the film.

Today you and I are talking about how a director can build a powerful working relationship with their main actor and how that builds the foundation for the rest of the film.

Let’s roll.

It starts before they’re even cast

When should you start building a relationship with your main actor?

On set? In rehearsals? In chemistry reads?

Earlier.

The groundwork for building a great working relationship starts in the casting process at the latest. You should be building relationships with actors you want to work with, independent of the film you’re currently working on. It will pay huge dividends when you finally get to do a film together.

The last chance to start building this relationship is in the casting process.

Once you’ve narrowed your casting choices to your top 3-5, it’s time to get to know the people behind the casting tapes.

When we were casting the lead for Wild Boys, Vincent Catalina, my co-writer and one of the titular Wild Boys, recommended his friend Kate for the role. They’d acted in plays and done improv together, and they already had great chemistry.

I loved the idea, but I insisted on getting to know her before making a final decision.

We met for coffee, and after our talk I was convinced she was perfect for the role. In addition to her acting abilities, her personality and character were great for our unconventional filmmaking approach.

But that was just the beginning.

We were still relative strangers to each other. We hadn’t built any trust between us yet.

When you’re working with actors, they put an immense amount of trust in you as the director. They trust you to make them look good, help shape their performance, and let them fail without you taking advantage of it. You’re also trusting them to bring your story and vision to life.

All in all, it’s a big ol’ trust fest!

In pre-production, prioritize time with your main actor. Build trust. I like spending one-on-one time with my leads to go over the story and discuss character. I make the process as collaborative as possible. Rehearsals are another big opportunity to deepen the relationship and build trust with the cast as a whole.

How you treat your main actor and the rest of the cast in this phase sets the tone for how production will go.

Once you step on set, the stress and time crunch of production will test you. Your existing relationship with the main actor will determine how you work together under pressure.

A strong foundation with plenty of trust can lead to a great collaborative experience. A shaky foundation and a lack of trust can spell disaster.

I’ve found the best way to build a strong relationship with actors is to do something a lot of directors fear:

Talk to them.

How to talk to your lead actor

Directors come in two general flavors: those who love actors and want nothing more than to spend time with them, and those who are terrified of actors.

I’ll be honest with you, I’m an introvert. I’m way more comfortable sitting in a dark room working by myself than I am out in the real world talking to actors.

Fortunately, as someone who has been on the “terrified of actors” side of the spectrum, I have good news for you. Talking to actors is a skill you can learn, just like writing, editing, lighting, etc. The bad news is you have to practice to get good at it.

The first thing that trips us introverts up is that we think we need some kind of special language to talk to actors. And I mean, sure, it doesn’t hurt to understand the basics of how an actor works. But you don’t need to be an actor to be able to work with actors.

Want to know the secret of talking to actors?

Talk story.

Actors are storytellers, just like you. There’s a good chance you already share a common love and language around stories. If you’re struggling with how you should talk to your lead actor, engage them in a conversation about your story and their character.

By the time they board the project, you’ve already spent hundreds of hours thinking about the story and how the character develops through it. As we’ve talked about before, your job is to be the resident, world-leading expert on your story.

Use that expertise to help the actor build their character.

Open yourself to questions from the actor and be a resource for them.

Once you and your lead have nerded out on the story and delved deep into the character, it’s time to figure out what else you can do to help them.

A lot of people are afraid to ask simple, straightforward questions of their collaborators. These questions, if asked, could save tons of time and headaches in the future.

Here are a couple of questions you can ask your lead actor:

• How do you like to work? Keep it open-ended and use follow-up questions to dive deeper. Get as specific as you can. For example, if an actor says “I use the Meisner Technique," follow up with “How do you use it?” or “In what way?” Getting them to describe it in their own words is far more useful than a textbook definition.
• What kind of direction is most helpful for you?
• How do you like to rehearse?
• What do you need from me when we’re shooting?

I recently read a biography about world-class soccer coach Pep Guardiola, and in it he talks about how he coaches players. He is known for his strong principles and playing style. That doesn’t mean he coaches each player the same way.

Players, as people, are different.

Some want lots of information and need to know the inner workings of your tactics to be able to play their parts. Some players can only handle one piece of information at a time and need to internalize it before they can be given more.

This struck me as similar to how I think about directing.

We directors have strong visions and clear ideas of how we want our movie to be, but that doesn’t mean we have to direct every actor the same way. It’s our job to figure out what makes them tick and how we can get the best possible performance out of them.

During the “getting to know you” phase we talked about, make it your mission to figure out what kind of direction brings out the best in your lead actor. Rehearsals are an excellent testing ground. Try different approaches and see what works.

And cut!

That does it for this week. Here are the key takeaways I want you to bring with you into your directing career from today:

• Start building the relationship in the casting process
• The relationship you have at the start of the shoot will determine how it develops
• Resolve any “creative differences” before they ruin your film

As always, thanks for reading.

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