Many talented people, including actors, sometimes have insecurities and impostor feelings, the feeling that they are a fraud, that they don’t have much talent, and that they will be “discovered.” But feelings like those can be turned into self-confidence.
These imposter feelings don’t just happen to inexperienced actors.
Kate Winslet has admitted that she sometimes wakes up in the morning before going to a photo shoot and thinks, “I can’t do this, I’m a fraud. I’m going to get fired.”
He made those comments after his Academy Award nominations for Titanic and Sense and Sensibility.
Michelle Pfeiffer said she was afraid people would find out that she doesn’t really have much talent and that “it’s all been a big sham”.
Nicole Kidman admits that she often thinks, “They’re going to look at me to say goodbye.” And Don Cheadle said of watching her performances in movies: “All I can see is that everything I’m doing wrong is a sham and a fraud.”
But these thoughts and feelings are just more extreme versions of the kinds of doubts that can be helpful. If you think you’re not up to what you’re capable of as an actor, you’ll probably be motivated to keep pushing yourself to improve.
Staying motivated and confident, without being swept up in unrealistic or exaggerated insecurity, may require being more aware of your emotional responses.
One way to do this is to read interviews or quotes from other actors you admire and look for comments like the ones above. Then ask yourself if you have similar feelings about your own abilities.
Speaking of Matt Damon, Gwyneth Paltrow has said, “I think Matt places a lot of importance on being an artist or a good actor, and he’ll really beat himself up to get there. You always get that he feels like he doesn’t deserve it.”
And Damon admitted: “I just never know if I’m going to make it. I have terrible, serious concerns about my own ability.”
These “serious concerns” or feelings of cheating can become so strong that they limit themselves, preventing you from attempting roles or depths of a character that you might actually be able to achieve.
A powerful way to deal with these feelings is to use a cognitive therapy strategy of “questioning the evidence” or carefully analyzing your thoughts and ideas about whether or not they are really true.
For example, if you won a role, but tell yourself (like the actors above) that you really don’t have the talent, ask yourself: Would a producer or director really make such an important business decision as casting? simply on your appearance, regardless of your acting ability?
You can also ask if your coworkers say things about your work that imply you’re fake or make any comments that show you’re talented. When you’re feeling like a fraud, it’s sometimes hard to accurately understand what other people mean.
There may also be deeper issues of self-esteem or fear of success that can make any of us feel like a fraud. Those kinds of things can be improved with counseling and increased self-awareness. Read about it, ask other actors if they have similar feelings.
And being objectively aware of your work, beyond your feelings, can help. Notice what you actually do in an acting class or performance, not how “imperfect” or “inadequate” you may feel about yourself.
