Arts & Entertainment

Conclusion

Lesson time 07:17 min

When you finish this MasterClass and continue your career in acting, Sam urges you to remember your responsibility to your audience—and to the world at large.

Students give MasterClass an average rating of 4.7 out of 5 stars

Topics include: Student Q&A: Final Thoughts • Parting Wisdom

Preview

So, wow. Thanks, guys, for being here today and for suffering through whatever it was I was throwing at you, and trying to see if I could pull out of you or whatever. Hopefully, you got something out of this, something that will be beneficial that you can use going forward in this business called show. See how that works for you. At least things to think about. Things to try and do, things to enhance your thought process when you're looking at a script or looking at a character and trying to figure out how you want to go in a room and present your best self to them, you know, whatever. Or if you look at these films again and say, what was he talking about? That's not what they're doing. But, you know, it's a tough business. You know, there are a lot of things that go your way, a lot of things don't-- mostly don't. You know, we here know a lot. We learn how to deal with it, you know. You guys are still going to auditions, so you know that, you know. That that's just the nature of the beast. It's designed to defeat you in a way. - Is there anything, like, in particular, that you can think of, like one thing that you wish that you could go back and, like, tell yourself? - The one thing I wish I could go back and tell my young self is be patient, you know. Everything happens in its own time. I lost sight of this because I was doing Pulitzer Prize-winning plays. I was working with actors and directors who were helping me find my way inside of a character to develop and create a method of working that serves me well now. The kinds of things that we talked about in here today, were things that I learned how to explore character, and explore the meaning of what I was doing, and what was going on inside the story. And not wish for what this was, but that's it. I will teach myself patience, you know. But it's all about, it's all about getting up and going to work, you know. Don't be afraid to get up and go to work. Well, you guys are great. Look forward to seeing you, hopefully somewhere on a movie set. - Agreed. - There is no formula for success. If there was and we could put it in a can, a lot of people would buy it. And that person would be rich. But the one thing for sure is success is, you know, the byproduct of hard work, you know. Or what is that? Luck is the perfect meeting of preparation and opportunity, you know. If you're not prepared and opportunity knocks, I don't care how wide the door open is, you're not gonna get through it, you know. Gotta be prepared. So it's all about that and understanding the mechanics and fundamentals of what we do and how we do it. Those people tend to be more successful than the others, you know. You can't be a great basketball player if you can't dribble and you can't shoot, you know. You can't be a great actor if you can't understand and dissect the emotions of the people you're trying to interpret and interpret them in a way that people understand and recognize. So what...

About the Instructor

As a kid, Samuel L. Jackson stuttered so badly that he stopped talking for almost a year. Today he’s one of the world’s most successful actors, with roles in over 100 films, including Pulp Fiction and The Avengers. In his online acting class, the Oscar-nominated star shares how he creates memorable characters, powerful performances, and a long-lasting career. Learn to master auditions, analyze scripts, and find the truth in every role you play.

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Samuel L. Jackson

One of the most successful actors of our generation teaches you how to elevate your acting.

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