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Qualities every actor must have
   I sat in on four interviews one recent afternoon. Three perfectly adequate actors (dull, but adequate), four reasonably nice looking people. ONE actor with inner life that was fascinating. It is not conversation. It is not handsome/gorgeous. Inner energy is inner life.
   One of the saddest cases I ever saw was a young actor with a fascinating face, good vocal quality, alive body, who, when he started to "act," turned into a slug (the creepy crawly kind). If you take the effort, you can create inner energy.
   If you are wedded to the notion that Casting Directors have to take you the way you are, go be an accountant. Acting requires fascination, energy, imagination. LIFE. Stop creeping. It is nice to be diplomatic and sweet but on stage let that go and grab on to LIFE and VITALITY, even if the character is mute and paralyzed.

Create an Inner Being
   Few things are more inspiring to watch than a Tina Turner concert or Mick Jagger or Janis Joplin -- and I don't even like their music!! But they have energy that is magic. They are magnetic.
   Someone recently auditioned for a role and the

director said, "That was almost perfect. But there seemed to be a pane of glass between you and the character." Believe me, that was not a compliment.
   Dress in a flattering way which passes for "businesslike." Most important, relax and be yourself!   
   Does Tina Turner have a pane of glass? We think not! Your energy, your being, your vitality, your imagination -- these must thrust through that pane of glass. There are occasional actors whose techniques are so great that you know they are acting but are so enchanted by the acting that the pane of glass does not matter. Think, for example of Jeremy Irons or Maggie Smith. You do not have to admire or like any examples mentioned here. You have a choice, be greatly trained in voice and technique OR exude inner energy. (Ideal is both.)
   A tornado has no self-consciousness. It is what it is. Learn to be an inner tornado. Like Tina, or Mick, or Janis.
—Janus

Submitted by Chad Gracia, author of Becoming a Successful Actor and other related books.
http://www.actortips.com/actingtips