Get Acting Tips From Professor Kevin Spacey Online
Academy Award-winning actor Kevin Spacey will soon be teaching an acting class online and anyone who’s interested can tap into his special genius for a small fee.
As part of the MasterClass franchise, the House of Cards star is offering aspiring actors the opportunity to learn his unique approach; students can expect to ask lots of questions, even if they don’t get all the answers, reports IndieWire.
“Keeping things ambiguous is sometimes much more interesting to watch for an audience, than things that are just black and white. I think it’s one of the reasons audiences have always embraced complexity.”
The online class features five hours of lecture by Kevin Spacey covering 29 different lessons, a 40-page workbook, interactive assignments, and Skype time with the American Beauty star who will critique some assignments himself. There’s also assistance from Masterclass’s less well-known online coaches.
The Hollywood star told the San Francisco Chronicle, he wants to pass on his passion to acting students to help them hone their craft.
“The craft of acting is to step into someone else’s shoes, someone else’s ideas; to look at something in a mirror and not see ourselves and not feel ourselves and not feel weird but feel free.”
Spacey’s online acting course will be offered starting May, 2016, for $90. Students who pre-order the online class or give it as a gift will be given an advance look at Spacey’s online teaching videos.
Launched earlier this year, MasterClass gives aspiring artists the opportunity to learn from famously talented actors, writers, singers, and athletes from the privacy of their own home.
Each online class costs $90 and comes with a minimum of three hours of training
Masterclass offers tennis lessons from Serena Williams, vocal coaching from Christina Aguilera, a writing guide from James Patterson, and a performance guide from Usher.
The San Francisco-based company also offers acting lessons from two-time Academy Award winner Dustin Hoffman, who told IndieWire the best way for an actor to learn their lines is by writing them down.
“We’re students. The first year. The first five years, the first 10 years. We’re students after 50 years. I never like to give advice, but I wanted to teach what I wish someone had taught me.”
His 24 lessons on character research, actor collaboration, and how to make a living helped the company launch operations in May.
While most online classes are boring, stuffy affairs, MasterClass offers prospective students the chance to learn from famously-talented stars and even interact with them online via Skype.
The company offers students the chance to improve themselves artistically and academically without the fees or paperwork associated with a college or university.
Classes are non-transferable and can’t be used toward college credit, but for a mere $90, aspiring actors, musicians, and writers can learn from well-known stars including Kevin Spacey.
Kevin Spacey & SF company @masterclass team up to present online acting classes: https://t.co/Eg0ef4pcfT pic.twitter.com/Y9KO5iEWb0
— SFGATE (@SFGate) December 11, 2015
The Usual Suspects star told NewsMax his MasterClass course offered him the chance to pass on his special acting method to the next generation of actors.
“The teachers, mentors, and those who gave me opportunities along the way have made me feel blessed because they taught me the value of striving to be your best. Now MasterClass takes my experiences and combines them in a way that now allows me to give back to others.”
[Photo by Imeh Akpanudosen/Getty Images for Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz]
