Five acting tips to help build a character’s backstory

I honestly believe that in order to play any role you yourself need to ‘like’ the character. You need to understand what motivates them and what drives them. Try to find the similarities between you and them. Once you understand what is similar between yourself and them, a lot of the blanks of the backstory might easily fall into place. What could have led you to become this character, what ‘sliding doors’ moment could have meant your path led to their life?

Even if you are playing an evil or ugly character you need to understand them, and in some ways ‘like’ them. I played a serial killer once and in order to give a convincing portrayal I needed to know what made him tick, to understand his motivation to kill. Once I discovered that, I then needed to try in some way and relate to this. I can be slightly anal about details and keeping things tidy – could this drive me to murder? No way! However if I tapped into my desire to keep things ordered and used that part of me to motivate his extreme drive and desire I began to understand him and this ‘similarity’ helped me to like him and empathise.

Use what similarities you have to begin building the backstory, and to begin to ‘like’ them.

Every character will have some kind of emotional issue they are dealing with. Author Elizabeth Lyon in her book Manuscript Makeover calls this the character’s underlying ‘wound’. I think you must try and find out your character’s wound as an actor because this will help you to find out what is motivating and driving them, it can create conflict and problems which your character is trying to overcome.

In smaller roles it is very likely that you will never touch on the character’s wound during the course of your scene, but knowing it will help you to fully believe in your character. The underlying ‘wound’ will help put truth and feeling being your eyes. An audience will interpret the emotion behind your eyes in many different ways so it is important that there is some feeling and truth there, because then you will be believable on screen.

I am not saying turn every little role into some great Hamlet drama, but just know what it is which might be troubling them or in the back of their mind and your character becomes more fleshed out and believable.

Imagine the character dies, what would his or her friends and family say at the funeral? How would they sum up his or her life and accomplishments? What would they say to sum up his or her personality? Thinking backwards can be a great way to build up a backstory, use the eulogy to think up funny little stories and anecdotes from the character’s life.

Also just as useful is to actually write their CV. What jobs have they done up to this point, what schooling did they have, and what special skills and hobbies do they have. This is all a great way to make even the smallest of roles a fully functioning 3D character who has a life before and after the scene or scenes you are featured in.

This is a terrific way to really flesh out any role. Write out a list of questions, a long list is normally best and is actually most fun.

I would start with easy questions: “where were you born,” “how old are you.” etc

Then have more personal questions: “tell me about your first boy/girlfriend,” “tell me about your first job” “tell me about your parents” etc

Then finally write the more ‘in depth’ stuff, think about the stuff you hate getting asked at job or college interviews: “How do you motivate yourself to do things you need to do, but don’t really want to?” “Tell me about a time when you really failed at something and what you learned from the experience?” “Tell me about a serious disagreement you’ve had with someone, at work or in your personal life, and how you handled it.” etc

Next answer the questions, in the order you wrote them. The easy questions ease you into thinking like your character, imagining what its like to be them. When you get to the harder questions you should be able to answer them easily and have a fuller understanding of your role. The answers are going to help you with the backstory but also help you to see motivators and emotional issues which are vital if you are to present a fully rounded human being.

Have fun. Get quirky. Brainstorm some weird fun stuff, quirky hobbies and interests. Maybe they used to steal from bookshops. Maybe they collect Marvel superhero comic books. Maybe they love to bake cupcakes. Maybe they used to be a life model. Write down about a dozen oddball facts, then pick one or two which could realistically be in the character’s backstory and, hey presto, they become ‘true’!

This helps to make sure your character isn’t just nuts and bolts, facts and figures, all business. Everyone has a personal life so by realising what your characters secret little hobbies are you will give them a full personal life making them an actual person with a life outside of the confines of the scenes.