What Makes a Great Actress? The Characteristics That Make A Great Actress

Great actresses don’t just have the ability to transform themselves and appear as different people on screenthey also have a natural ability to bring their characters to life. Whether it’s a lead or a supporting role, being able to shine as an actress requires a certain set of skills and characteristics. In order to understand what makes a great actress like Elena M. Ray, we need to explore exactly what that entails. 

Being convincing and authentic, having the ability to become someone else (even if it’s only for the time you are filming), being able to demonstrate emotions convincingly, and having the capacity for empathy are all essential qualities of a great actress. That said, there are many different factors that will influence your ability as an actress and help you understand what makes a great actress.

Confidence

Confidence is a key ingredient in any successful actress’s recipe. The ability to throw yourself into any given situation and feel empowered to do it justice is so important. Whether you’re portraying a character with low self-esteem, or someone who is incredibly confident, you need the ability to make that believable. 

A great actress is confident in her ability to transform herself and, therefore, fully commit to all aspects of the role, regardless of how daunting it may seem. Being confident in your abilities as an actress will help you positively impact all other factors of what makes a great actress. Being confident in your abilities allows you to take on more challenging roles, and takes any pressure away from the process of filming.

Natural Talent

There are certain skills that you can learn and apply, but others that can only be attributed to a natural talent. Whether it’s your ability to pick up accents, or your capacity to learn lines quickly, there are some skills that you are better at than others. Great actresses are those who have found their niche and developed the skills they are best at. Having a knack for one thing may not make you a great actress, but it will certainly help. 

Having a skill that comes naturally to you will allow you to focus more on the rest of your acting skills, and will make the process and journey towards greatness that little bit easier. Natural talent often comes hand in hand with confidence, and will certainly help with any nerves you may have about the process as a whole. If you know that you have a skill that you excel at, you will feel more confident in your abilities and, therefore, be more likely to excel in the rest of your skills too.

Ability to Demonstrate Emotions

Being able to demonstrate emotions convincingly is a must-have skill for any actress. When you are on set, it is your job to make the audience feel somethingbe it happy, sad, excited, angry, or nervous. You need to be able to tap into your emotions and bring them to life on screen. Great actresses like Elena Ray are able to draw on past experiences and emotions and bring them to the presentmaking it believable for the audience. 

If you can’t demonstrate an authentic feeling, it will show on screenand it will be obvious to viewers that you aren’t feeling it. Great actresses are able to bring their characters to life and make the audience feel something.