The Intent to Live: Achieving Your True Potential as an Actor

by Larry Moss

In many of Jim Carrey’s performances, he exemplifies an outrageous, zany, slapstick kind of comic delivery in which he uses extreme physical body language and even facial grimaces to heighten his comic interpretations of roles. Carrey came to the movies when there was a dearth of this kind of ability, and because he was so gifted at it, and so brave in making a full commitment to it, he became a superstar with the films Ace Ventura, Pet Detective and The Mask. Learn from him, as from Sid Caesar, how to make a bold comic choice, stay truthful to the need of the character, and take the choice to an extreme with no apology.

Only you can make a decision about you and comedy, and you make it based on your own sense of humor and whether or not you are hungry to learn about how to be successful at comedy.

find out what you do well, and do it like Hercules.

Confidence comes from self-knowledge combined with the ability to stand behind your choices

if you have personal problems but no motivation to solve them because you can hide behind your success, then your personal problems can ruin your career and devour your life.

Johnny Depp, despite his playfulness and ease, is one of the most serious, dedicated, and imaginative actors working today.

For fuck’s sake, be hot! Be mad! Be witty! Be loving! Be heartfelt! Be sunny! Be fiercely cold! But, Jesus, don’t be cool!

We write, we compose, we paint, we act, we sing, we create beautiful buildings; we discover life-saving miracle drugs because we want to celebrate the miracle of being alive.