By: Laura Bennett
‘Mental Health and the Actor’s Life’ seeks to understand the mental challenges of the industry and provide tools to manage them.
Retrieving a range of emotions on demand, dealing with rejection and being potentially jobless for long periods of time?
Dan Widdowson got his first full-time acting role in 1999. He appeared on Channel 7’s Saturday Disney, Groundforce and more recently Colin from Accounts, and Last King of the Cross, alongside several stage and production credits.
Dan’s next project Mental Health and the Actors Life sees him interview performers across stage, film and screen to understand the mental challenges of the industry and provide tools “creatives” need to manage them.
“Depression, anxiety, general struggles with mental health [do] seem to be prevalent within the creative space,” Dan said.
With guests including Ben Brock (Home & Away, Wellmania), Sarah Monahan (Hey Dad) and Opera Australia’s Todd Keys, a lot of the actors Dan spoke to “struggled with the idea of revealing so much of themselves”.
“They’re tapping into very real personal emotions and memories,” Dan said.
“And playing them on a stage or on a set, [then] cutting and going to lunch before having to do it all over again.”
The nature of the industry is that “you’re being quite vulnerable” and drama graduates aren’t being taught how to deal with rejection and joblessness, they’re taught to “sing, dance, act, sing, dance, act”.
“[Mental Health and the Actor’s Life] is about equipping them with tools and strategies,” Dan said.
“Pointing them toward courses where they can regulate themselves now and prepare themselves now before they launch a career and have to deal with [potential] trauma.”
Reflecting on over 25 years in the industry, Dan thinks “mental health support is getting better, but still has a long way to go”.
“I’ve learnt to read myself quite well”,” Dan said.
“10 years ago, I was not coping at all, my emotions were all over the shop.”
Method acting – a technique where an actor attempts to completely embody the emotional identity of their character to become them – is a style Dan’s had to step away from.
“It’s not for me,” Dan said.
“It’s a tool that I’ve put down to pick up other techniques so I can step in and out of roles without it affecting ‘Dan’ and not the character.”
Taking on the advice of singer Todd Keys, Dan says having tenacity is fundamental to thriving in the arts.
“It’s who you are once you’ve got rejected,” Dan said.
“Who you are when you finish this great gig and you’ve got to look for something else.”
Given the challenges then, what makes acting worth it?
“I just feel alive when I do it,” Dan said.
“It’s what I’m here to do.
“I love telling stories and creating – and it’s not about being on stage being in front of people – it’s about telling tales and revealing truths about our character.
“I’ve tried to walk away from it the past but there’s always something that brings me back.
“I would suck at any other job.”
Article supplied with thanks to Hope Media.
Feature image: Photo by Jakob Owens on Unsplash
About the Author: Laura Bennett is a media professional, broadcaster and writer from Sydney, Australia.