Meryl Streep said, “My job is usually to express emotion as freely as possible.”

This quote is a good reminder that emotions aren’t just something we show—they shape how people think, speak, and act. In real life, if someone’s angry, their thoughts might get sharper or more defensive. If they’re sad, they might start remembering other moments that felt the same. It’s the same for characters. When you get curious about what your character is feeling, it helps you understand why they do what they do—not just the words they say, but the behaviour behind it.

“Emotions are seen as crucial in motivating behaviour. People generally do what they feel like doing rather than what reason or logic dictates. It follows that to achieve behavioural change, people need to change the emotions motivating their behaviour. Emotion also influences thought. When people feel angry, they think angry thoughts; when they are sad, they recall sad memories. To help people change what they think, therapists must help them change what they feel.” ―Leslie S. Greenberg (Emotion Focused Therapy)

As actors, you don’t need to push or force emotion. In fact, you shouldn’t. It’s about working safely and letting the feeling inform the thinking and action. When you connect with the emotional truth of the moment—gently and in your own way—it brings clarity, honesty, and depth to your performance. That’s what makes it land.

Ways Actors Can Connect with Emotions

Use sensory memory – recall a physical sensation (heat, cold, tension) linked to an emotional experience.
Tap into personal memories – draw from your own life, but only if it feels safe and helpful.
Create imagined circumstances – vividly imagine what it would feel like to live in the character’s world.
Use substitution – replace the character’s situation with a similar one from your life that stirs emotion.
Explore music – play tracks that evoke the emotional tone of the scene while preparing.
Use breath – shift your breathing to match the emotion (shallow for anxiety, deep for calm, etc.).
Speak inner thoughts aloud – externalise the character’s inner monologue to build internal connection.
Play with physicality – find the emotion in the body: posture, tension, movement, stillness.
Work through objectives and stakes – focus on what the character wants and what’s at risk if they don’t get it.
Connect to other actors – allow emotional truth to come from genuine connection and listening.
Ask “What if…?” – use imaginative empathy to place yourself emotionally in the given situation.
Experiment with opposites and masked emotion – explore how emotions can live underneath contrasting behaviours (e.g. smiling while heartbroken).
Let yourself drop in – loop lines with different emotional lenses to discover surprising connections.
Use emotional recall lightly – revisit the feeling tone of a memory without fully reliving the event.
Anchor the emotion to a prop, gesture, or place – let objects or movements carry emotional weight.
Stay in the moment – trust that if you’re listening, reacting, and present, emotion will show up.

When the scene is over, create rituals that ensure you do not need to take the emotion or a painful personalisation home with you.

Ways to Deroll / Transition Out of Emotion

Shake it out physically – release tension with a shake, stretch, or movement pattern.
Use breath – take slow, deep breaths to regulate the nervous system.
Change your environment – step outside, get fresh air, or move to a different space.
Speak in your own voice – say your name, where you are, or what time it is to ground yourself.
Use a closing ritual – create a consistent “end cue” (e.g. clapping your hands, removing a costume piece).
Drink water or eat something grounding – helps signal to your body that the work is done.
Talk it out – debrief with a coach or trusted peer if needed.
Use humour or levity – laugh, watch something silly, or do something mundane to reset.
Return to routine – do a familiar task or habit that brings you back to neutral (e.g. walking, tidying, journaling).
Remind yourself it’s a role – consciously separate the character’s feelings from your own.