On Wednesday I met with Dev Patel at The Groucho Club. In case you don’t know Dev, he played the young male Indian lead in ‘Slumdog Millionaire’.
It was interesting because very quickly it became apparent to me that he possessed many of the traits successful actors demonstrate.
He was enthusiastic, positive, polite and a joy to be around.
You benefited from being in his company. How many people can you say that about?
This is something I bang on about all the time. It’s not enough just to be a good actor you have to be charismatic and the best way to develop charisma is to cheer up. Be energetic and happy, it’s often construed as charisma.
People don’t want to be around pessimistic people with a chip on their shoulder. If you were at a party and came across such an individual you would run a mile.
It’s no different in the acting industry. As an actor you have meetings with agents, casting directors and directors and you need to develop your personality so that they are attracted to you. Simple as that.