Acting Mastery Sydney

Years ago when I was living in Los Angeles, I got an audition for a Coen Brothers film.

I put down the tape, sent it to my manager and gave him a call to ask what he thought.

He said:
“Yeah, it’s good.”

And I remember thinking:
“Good?”

Then he said:
“Ben, there are a lot of good actors in this town. If you want to have a career, good isn’t good enough. Your work needs to be exceptional. And this isn’t exceptional.”

Honestly, it was a bit of a punch in the gut.
But it completely changed the way I thought about acting.

I went back, redid the audition and ended up getting a callback.

But more importantly, I got a lesson that I’ve carried with me ever since.
Most actors are trying to be good enough.

The question I became obsessed with was:
What does exceptional look like?
What does undeniable look like?

Because I think that’s one of the biggest things that separates actors who break through from actors who stay stuck.

That’s exactly what we’re unpacking in our free workshop:
How To Breakthrough and Become a Full-Time Actor in 2026

Comment WORKSHOP and I’ll send you details.

Imelda Staunton and her real-life daughter, Bessie Carter, in 'Mrs. Warren's Profession'

“What’s the difference between committing and pushing in a scene? It’s the distinction between being more interested in how you look, rather than interested in what you’re doing as the character in your scene. When you push, you’re likely focused on yourself and your performance, and what the audience thinks. So it becomes external, effortful, and results in overacting”

"The arts are for everyone, and will only make you better at whatever you do. It should be part of everyone's daily life. If you want to learn about parts of yourself that you didn't know exist, you go to the arts - because it will gently guide you to a higher level of yourself" - Laura Linney

One moment we were watching our short film screen to 30,000 people at Tropfest.
A few days later, we were on a plane to Los Angeles.

In Episode 2 of 'In The Making', we share everything that happened after Tropfest — the awards, the trip to LA and Las Vegas, the networking opportunities, the lessons we learned from John Polson, and how we're preparing our next slate of film and television projects.

One of the biggest takeaways?
People want to work with people they like.

The full episode is available now 🎬

"A big missing piece in actor training is that most actors are taught how to perform - but very few are taught how to build a career. Actors can spend years working and training hard, but still feel completely lost with no roadmap, no momentum, and no direction"

"You have to play your emotions like they're an instrument. You have to learn how to play each chord beacuse these scenes are coming you're way. I don't want to have to do a process every time each emotion comes, to be ready to do it. So I try to stay tuned in a slightly uncomfortable place" - Jason Segel and the cast of 'Shrinking'

Harriet Walter performs 'All the world's a stage' from 'As You Like It', marking 50yrs of the

"Bad acting looks like acting, but good acting looks like real life. If someone walks past you rehearsing and thinks, ‘Oh they’re actors and they’re acting’, we’ve already failed. Sometimes just letting the lines fall out means there’s no pushing involved or trying to show emotion"