Trust your guts? What the heck does that mean? (Hint: The word “guts” is not used here to mean “entrails.” Glad we got that cleared up!) Trusting your guts can make you much more powerful as a performer. Here are eight reasons why you should have some faith and trust those instincts of yours.
1. You’ll become more courageous. Ever hear someone say, “You’ve got guts!” That means that you have courage or nerve. It is usually a positive statement complimenting you for doing something others were afraid to do.
2. You’ll develop strong instincts. Instinct is not just for animals in the wild. We have instincts, too! These are the feelings that are often inexplicable, but instincts protect you. When my guts tell me to do something, I always listen—even if it doesn’t seem to make any sense at the moment.
3. You’ll create magic. We think too much and often stop listening to our guts. As an actor, thinking will kill you! You must trust your instincts. Instincts work much faster than thinking. The extra magic in your performance will pretty much always come from your guts. Stay in the moment. Trust the moment. Set it free.
4. Trusting your guts will hone your comic skills. It is especially true in comedy that you must trust your guts to feel the timing. I always tell my students when working in comedy to really work the timing and bits until they’re perfect, and then take a chance to throw it all to the wind and to just have fun when they perform. Trust your guts and just play!
5. It will help you ace auditions. I use my guts to tell me which version of an audition tape I will send into a casting director. I just trust my intuition to tell me which version the director will like best.
If your guts tell you to do something you didn’t plan to during an audition, you must do it. I am sure that willingness to take a chance is what got me into Juilliard. At my audition, there was a stool out in the audience. I couldn't help myself. Something about it looked fun, so I jumped off of the stage and grabbed it without asking, and climbed under it. I got stuck (which was wonderful to push my buttons because my character was stuck). At some point I freed myself and climbed on up and felt like I was on top of the world. Oh my gosh, that was so much fun. I don’t remember John Houseman asking me questions. I don’t remember anything else about that audition, but it is over 40 years later, and I remember having fun with that stool. And I nailed that audition.
6. It will help you make important career decisions. If you have an important decision about agents or career moves, first, look logically at all the options. But your final decision comes from your intuition. Trust your guts above your brain any day! Lots of people call asking me what career choice they should make. I usually end up telling them that they already know the answer. I ask them what their guts are telling them.
7. Your guts will give you the courage to take that leap of faith. Trust your guts and take a leap of faith. That crazy choice is probably the one that will make you a star. Often a student asks if he is ready to make the big move to Hollywood. I give him a lecture about having all of his ducks in a row—housing, money, contacts. After that, I ask him what his heart tells him to do? And then I tell him that sometimes you just have to take that leap of faith and put your belongings into the back of an old car and start driving until you get there. If you’re hungry, you’ll get a job and eat.
8. They’ll help you follow your heart’s true path. All the best advice in the world is never as good as listening to your heart. I don’t care how many people tell you that you’re crazy. I don’t care how many people tell you no. If your heart tells you do something, you must do it. I believe that with all my soul. It is how I live my life. You wouldn’t be reading this article on Backstage.com right now if you didn’t follow your heart here. Please never stop doing that. Be courageous. Trust your guts!
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