If the name Rory Kinnear doesn’t ring a bell, then you would definitely recognise him if you’ve watched the first episode of Black Mirror where he plays a disgraced Prime Minister, or any of the Daniel Craig James Bond films, in which he is an MI5 aide. Kinnear has also had a thriving career on the stage playing leading Shakespearean roles such as Hamlet, Macbeth and Iago to critical acclaim.
Needless to say, advice from an award-winning actor of his standing is indispensable to anyone who is pursuing an acting career, and this is precisely what this NSDF masterclass provided to young drama students who sent in questions. Kinnear began by advising budding actors to absorb and watch others performances in order to find out what excites and challenges you so you have an avenue to follow. He admitted that he was lucky early on in his career in being offered many different acting avenues and recognises his privilege in having been able to explore many different types of media and roles. However, this was also down to hard work, as he said “acting is fleeting and infuriating but the more you give to it the more rewarding it is”.
Kinnear was then asked for advice about auditioning. He addressed the challenges that tape-auditions bring (which are now more prevalent due to the pandemic) as you don’t have the energy of other people to bounce off. He also spoke about learning lines, and advocated for knowing them as best as you can but not getting anxious if you struggle with memorisation as auditions aren’t a word test. The more you know the lines, the more free and involved you can be with your performance.
For those interested in theatre work, Kinnear delved into the lessons he has learnt while performing Shakespeare. These are his favourite roles to perform as there are “constant discoveries” throughout the run, which always makes him keen to apologise to audiences who attend in the first couple of weeks as “it’s like reading a thesis written by a student in their first term of university”. He also enjoys the sense of continuum with these roles as they have been and always will be rediscovered through performances by other actors and productions. In particular, he is fond of working with actors who interject elements of improvisation into each show that he can react to in real time.
The final section of the masterclass focused on the anxieties of acting as a career. Kinnear acknowledged that doubt is unavoidable in an actor’s working life and that it is made up of two strands. The first strand is getting the job and the second is doing it, and some actors are better at one than the other. He said that it is useful to recognise that acting isn’t important in the grand scheme of things but its purpose of entertaining people is positive and so it shouldn’t affect actors negatively. Kinnear also confessed that he is better at acting when he isn’t self-conscious, and any self-doubt should be compartmentalised, as the audience wants to see the character and not the actor.
The event ended with a hopeful message from Kinnear – drama students are understandably worried about what the industry will look like coming out of the pandemic, but Kinnear promises that they are not being forgotten about and that there will be an industry to welcome them.
You can find the rest of the NSDF’s events here.
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