Director James Cameron’s 6 Tips for Working With Actors

James Cameron is a Canadian filmmaker, director, screenwriter, editor, production designer, executive producer, and environmental activist. Cameron was born in Kapuskasing, Ontario in 1954. At 17, he moved with his family to California and studied physics at Fullerton College, but it wasn’t until he saw Star Wars in 1977 where he was inspired to pursue a career in film. At 24-years-old, James directed his first movie with a budget—a $20,000 sci-fi short called Xenogenesis—which opened doors to a number of jobs in the entertainment industry: James worked as a model maker, an art director, a special effects artist, and a production designer.

James is known for directing big-budget hits like Terminator 2, Titanic, and Avatar, all of which broke box office records and pushed the boundaries for special effects in the entertainment industry. He earned an Academy Award for Best Director for Titanic in 1998 (along with the year’s Best Picture award), and won the Best Director again in 2010 for his work on Avatar. His work on Avatar also made Cameron an outspoken environmental activist, particularly relating to efforts to protect the Amazon rainforests. Cameron also produced several documentaries based on his deep-sea explorations, including Ghosts of the Abyss (2003) and Aliens of the Deep (2005). James co-founded three production companies and is a National Geographic sea explorer.

James has been working with actors for over 40 years. Here are just a few of his valuable tips for collaborating with your stars.

1. 1. Cast an actor who brings you something unexpected. James calls casting a “mystical process” where your characters—who up until now have been alive only in your mind—come to life all over again. “The actor is going to change that character,” he says, “and that change should be positive for you as the filmmaker. In fact, you should cast somebody who brings something you didn’t expect—something that not only epitomizes what you imagined but maybe even challenges you a little bit.” James adds that he has much more respect for the casting process now than he did when he was starting out. “As I look back over my own movies, I think, ‘How could that film ever have worked with anybody else?’”
2. 2. Hear each actor through their unique frequency. Before making your final decision on an actor, James recommends getting to know them so that you can gauge how well you will work together. “One of the things I look for is, is there a give-and-take?” he says, before explaining that every actor has their own unique frequency. “Some actors are very prepared, some of them come to the set and say, ‘Direct me.’ Some actors need a lot of praise, some actors aren’t interested in that at all.… Most actors have a mixture of confidence and vulnerability. You have to key into: What frequency are they receiving on, and what frequency are they broadcasting on?”
3. 3. Put yourself in your actor’s shoes. Part of being able to direct an actor is to understand exactly where they’re coming from. “I would encourage any aspiring filmmaker to get in front of a camera,” James says, “to get into an acting workshop, to understand what it feels like to be standing naked in the spotlight in one’s mind in front of millions of people, and to disabuse oneself of the notion that top actors are going to come in and take care of themselves.” When you explain the character’s motivations in the scene to your actor, you want to be able to put yourself in the actor’s shoes. It can make you a better director.
4. 4. Establish a rapport in rehearsal. James is not a huge fan of rehearsals that crystallize every nuance and beat of a script. Instead, he sees rehearsal as more of a workshop. “I like to have rehearsals so that we can talk through ideas—not lock them in but stand them up. And often I’ll find that dialogue shakes out.” He offers an example from Titanic, where Kate Winslet suggested during rehearsals that Rose spit at her fiancé Cal rather than, as was written, stab him with a hatpin. “It was so brilliant,” James says, “because it was a callback to a previous scene. Poor Billy Zane didn’t particularly like having a big ol’ loogie shot into his face 50 times, but I think it turned out to be a nice moment.”
5. 5. Be ready to throw your plans out the window. Not every shoot will go exactly as planned. Different ideas may arise, characters may change, or entire scenes may need to be reworked. You need to collaborate with and listen to your actors. “Actors hate it when directors say, ‘Yes, but the shot only works if you walk from there to there,’ ” James says. “The actor will then say, ‘Well, why am I walking over there?’ And it’s a legitimate question.” Avoid getting too attached to the scene looking a certain way, and think of it more as a work in progress. “You need to be ready to throw out your preconception, to throw out your storyboards, and shoot the most authentic choice.”
6. 6. Know what to protect and what can change. Certain moments in a script may be subject to customization, but others may need to be performed as written. You want to protect the parts of your vision that are non-negotiable while collaborating with other people bringing the world of your movie to life. “Let’s say an actor changes a line,” James says, “but that line has a resonance later where someone repeats that line verbatim. You have to ask the actor, ‘Please say the line the way it’s written, because in Act 3 that line is going to resonate a certain way.’ It’s so much more helpful for them if they know why you’re trying to do something.”

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