The Outstanding Actor - Seven Keys to Success

Drawing on Ken Rea's 35 years' teaching experience and research, as well as interviews with top actors and directors, The Outstanding Actor identifies seven key qualities that the most successful actors manifest, along with practical exercises that help nurture those qualities and videos to demonstrate them

Featuring contributions and insights from Ewan McGregor, Jude Law, Judi Dench, Al Pacino, Lily James, Rufus Norris and many more, The Outstanding Actor gives you techniques that you can immediately put into practice in rehearsals, classes or private preparation

It also shows you how to increase the chances of having a more successful career

This new edition covers topical issues such as the #MeToo movement, gender balance and race issues, and how these affect working conditions and careers

There are also brand new links to video resources that bring the valuable exercises to life

The book also includes forewords by Damian Lewis and Lily James

CONTENTS

Foreword by Lily James
Foreword by Damian Lewis

PART ONE: OUTSTANDING IN YOUR WORK
1. Warmth
2. Generosity
3. Enthusiasm
4. Danger
5. Presence

PART TWO: OUTSTANDING IN YOUR LIFE
6. Grit
7. Charisma

PART THREE: OUTSTANDING IN YOUR CAREER
8. The science of success
9. Going For It

REVIEWS

"Ken taught us to be dangerous, to abandon any sense of failure and to take risks that's where to find creativity. A lesson we can never stop learning" ~ Orlando Bloom

'Ken's classes were some of the most interesting that I was lucky enough to attend at drama school. He opened the mind to what acting could be" ~ Ewan McGregor

"This is a wonderful book with a unique take on how actors can get better and improve their chances of success. If we can all perform with half the warmth and generosity with which Ken has been teaching for the last 30 years, then we will have fulfilled our responsibility as story tellers and audiences all over the world are in for a real treat" ~ Damian Lewis

"A handy resource for the struggling young actor, and something that will make him or her feel empowered"~ Melia Bensussen, Chair, Performing Arts Department, Emerson College, Boston, USA

"The classes with Ken at Guildhall, I consider to be the most important part of the acting training. They are exercises in patience, unpredictability and encouraging students to make utter fools of themselves vital for any actor embarking on a life in the profession" ~ Michelle Dockery

THE AUTHOR

Ken Rea is the senior acting teacher at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama and artistic director of Koru Theatre

He has taught in national academies around the world and worked with many theatre companies including the Royal Shakespeare Company

He was also for 15 years a theatre critic for the Guardian