In childhood, a crucial part of growth in overall mental development is the ability for children to “play pretend.” Kids with vast imaginations are rarely scolded due to their capability to assume the role of a different frame of mind, but rather, they’re praised for their ability to create and imagine.
In acting, stepping into another character’s shoes for a time truly reflects this childlike, inward desire to explore the unknown and develop one’s imagination.
For many centuries, performing as an actor through a variety of different genres of art including film, theatre, radio, and television has captivated the minds and hearts of a variety of audiences all around the world.
Focusing on the development of television in the last century, actors have assumed a multitude of different roles and frames of mind to perform their part in hundreds of movies. Many people do not realize the true depth of what an actor must endure before even being considered able to perform an acceptable function of a film.
Interestingly, when thinking about the implications of preparation for a film, an actor must come to terms with the ability to fully embody another frame of existence involving a character many times completely different conceptually from themselves. Perhaps, being an actor may merely be an adult-like career choice for maintaining the once important desire in childhood to fantasize and be one’s own artist in their own head.
Furthermore, tests have been conducted in the later process of development to show kids who were the most creative in childhood were healthier mentally and maintained an increased level of empathy for other individuals later in life.
With spending that much time delving into the psyche of a character real or not, it seems as if actors are the truest form of understanding the complete depth of what it means to be a human.
Related to the ability of an actor to change one’s frame of mind and body for a time, the childhood desire for imagination in early development establishes the foundation for which actors assume creative roles through various genres of art. Truly, actors echo the inward desire born in a child’s beginnings to maintain an imagination.
