Bernard Hiller - The Revolutionary Guide to Acting: A Transformational Journey to Achieving Success in Show Business and Life

Contents

Praise for

The Revolutionary Guide to Acting

April Webster, Emmy AwardWinning Casting DirectorStar Wars: Episode VII, Star Trek Beyond.

In the many years that I have known and also taught with Bernard, I have witnessed many actors and others that have attended his Masterclasses undergo amazing transformations. His book has insights that have helped artists attain success as well as a healing of the heart.

Costa Ronin, ActorHomeland, The Americans, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.

Bernard has had a tremendous influence on my career. Studying with him enabled me to reach and understand the deepest of human emotions through the study of self. It is because of his intimate understanding of human nature and its relation to storytelling that I see my personal and professional life as before and after I started working with Bernard. I will be forever grateful for his guidance.

Bruce Dern, Actor, Two Time Academy Award Nominee

Bernard has the courage to develop the best acting class in America. I havent seen something like this in 50 years!

David Oyelowo, ActorSelma, Star Wars: Rebels

I see that you dont do this work for money, I can see, that acting is at the core of who you are!

David Dinerstein, Academy AwardWinning ProducerSummer of Soul, A Private War, Kidnap

Acting is about dedicating your heart and soul to something that is greater than yourself. It is what I have done with my life as a producer, and this book will inspire and teach you to do the same.

Shira Haas, ActressUnorthodox, Shtisel.

I remember the first time we talked, and Bernard told me about the meaning of being grateful and the power in believing in miracles. I remember how blown away I was by that. It made me realize that not only is he a brilliant advisor and talented artist, but he is also a sensitive, compassionate, and humble human being. He has the most excellent combination of being professional and delicatestubborn, yet thoughtfula perfectionist but also empathetic.

Fernando Cayo, ActorLa Casa de Papel (Money Heist).

Working with Bernard is an experience that an artist cannot miss. Bernards exercises and methods are transformative, as they work on your conscious and subconscious. His techniques enter your hard drive and change your destructive and limiting beliefs. Your negative fearful experiences will disintegrate, and youll connect with your heart, making you a better actor and a better human being.

Joanna Kulig, ActressCold War, Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters.

Acting is an art of living. To act and to live, you need to have courage. To get courage you must develop yourself every day. Having inspiring people around you, like mentors and coaches, is crucial. You should learn their techniques and methods through classes or personal meetings. Reading this amazing book is the next best idea. When you read The Revolutionary Guide to Acting you will get better every day.

Carlos Bardem, ActorScorpion in Love, Assassins Creed.

Bernards classes are totally unique! A space for experimentation in freedom and ideal to feed what you need most in acting: imagination and creativity.

Dan Hubbard, Casting DirectorKing Kong, Downton Abbey.

Bernard is a tsunami of knowledge, advice, positive energy, razor-sharp direction, and foresight. Having worked with the most talented and well-known actors, producers and directors in the industry, Bernard is a star in his own right. He has an encyclopedic wealth of knowledge and he not only teaches with his powerful mind but has a heart of gold shining through in his work and teachings. I have never met anyone like him!

THE

REVOLUTIONARY

GUIDE

TO ACTING

THE

REVOLUTIONARY

GUIDE

TO ACTING

BECOME THE ARTIST

YOU WERE BORN TO BE

BERNARD HILLER

Matt Holt Books

An Imprint of BenBella Books, Inc.

Dallas, TX

The Revolutionary Guide to Acting copyright 2022 by Bernard Hiller

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.

Matt Holt is an imprint of BenBella Books, Inc.

10440 N. Central Expressway

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Dallas, TX 75231

benbellabooks.com

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BenBella and Matt Holt are federally registered trademarks.

First E-Book Edition: August 2022

Library of Congress Control Number: 2022935021

ISBN 9781637742204 (hardcover)

ISBN 9781637742211 (electronic)

Copyediting by Michael Fedison

Proofreading by Lisa Story and Michael Fedison

Text design and composition by Aaron Edmiston

Cover design by Bernard Hiller Production

Cover photography by Taili Song Roth

Special discounts for bulk sales are available.

Please contact .

In Loving Memory of a True Hero

Hershel Schuster

19222020

CONTENTS

I have always had an aversion to writing the foreword for a book, and, fortunately, Id never been asked. But when Bernard Hiller called and asked me to write one, I quickly said yes and then politely asked him to remind me who he was. He assumed I was kidding. So I googled him, and I immediately recalled that he was the world-famous acting coach and motivator, and that Id known him for years.

Bernard makes me happy. He is the kind of guy who you wish would follow you around all day so that when you sagged, he would be there to pick you up. The first time I met him he was so unfailingly positive that I looked into having him roughed up. By the tenth time we crossed paths, I finally had to admit he is the real deal. Bernard is inspired and inspiring. He is a natural motivator and yet hes not really about motivation at all. Simply put, Bernard teaches truth-telling, which, as it turns out, is what acting, and probably all art and most of life, are in fact all about.

When you watch a movie, see a play, or look at a painting and you recognize something truthful, thats good art! When you read a book and go, Oh yeah, to something that you hadnt thought of but recognize because youve seen it a thousand times, thats art! Even broad comedies have to have a sliver of truth in them to work. No matter how stupid or misguided or wrong a characters actions might be, if you believe that that character would do that at that time, then its honest, and the viewers can lose themselves in the story.

I feel this book is not just for actors or artists, but for everyone! Whether you are a junior in art school or a fifty-year-old partner at a Big Four accounting firm. Bernard knows that, no matter what you do in life, self-honesty and authenticity are the core to happiness and success. Yet being honest with yourself is hard. When youre honest, you put your true self and, more problematically, your ego on the line. You feel fear because you risk failing at something that really matters to you. Unfortunately, most people put aside their dreams and goals because they cant handle this fear.

Bernard understands that this fear is the great separator. It is the enemy of truth, and his techniques help you overcome that. Those of you who have the courage to NOT protect your egos, to face fear head-on, and who are honest about your desires... only YOU have the ability to create great things. This book will make your journey easier.