Actors are often told that their bodies are their tool.

I always thought that was kind of a load.

I think my brain is my main tool and after that my voice.

I can see, if you are doing a specifically physical role – like having to dance, fight, do something really physical onstage – your body is a tool, but otherwise?

But in my ripe old age (and getting riper by the minute), I realize that my body is a tool. 

It’s not as finally honed as some, but I do know how to use it.  I can become a believable man.  I can become a rich matron or a mean drunk or a sweet old lady … you get it.

Every person has their own physicality that is part of who they are.

I love watching (and sometimes copying) how people walk, stand, move.  I love staying aware of how I naturally live in my own body. 

These things informs my acting and the choices I make. 

Just like in real life, movement and physicality has a gender fluidity that can add to your character. Where on the gender spectrum does your character exist and how do you want to express that (or not)?

Each character I play has a part of me in it, but they are also their own person – in thought, movement and deed. 

So when you have the chance, take some time to pay attention to how you move; and how others around you move – and try out different things to see what feels natural and what doesn’t; and store it all away for future reference. 

Let’s get physical, physical …. Never mind.