I recently was cast to do a TV commercial. I was sent the copy (words to the commercial) 2 days before the shoot and felt pretty comfortable with the dialogue. When I showed up on set, the copy had changed quite a bit. New lines were added, other lines were edited and others were deleted. I found a quiet spot on the set run my lines.
The other actor in the commercial only had one line at the beginning, and then I talked for the next 28 seconds.
On the first take I got stuck on my second line. The other actor immediately began to say the correct line to me. I know his intentions were good, but honestly, I found it a bit irritating to hear. I very nicely told the actor not to do this, I wanted to remember the lines on my own. He stopped prompting me and let me figure things out in the way that would help me the most.
So, I just wanted to let you know that unless another actor asks for your help, in either remembering the lines or even interpreting the lines, DON’T ever begin coaching another actor on the set.
Let me and others know if you have suggestions when working with other actors or models on a set. Leave your comments below.