Oscar winning actor & writer Tom Hanks gives the Oxford Union an acting lesson

there are no small parts there are only small [Music] [Applause] actors thank you all right wow well thank you thank you all right okay all right um the way in when you have to get over in order to do what I do for a living and a handful of other people in this room also do for a living is you have to get past any sense of self-consciousness you cannot care what you look like or what you sound like you cannot care if if you are sounding AR but you you cannot be artificial you can

only get up hit the marks and tell the truth no matter what the line is no matter what the circumstance is no matter what the emotion is that you must not fake but recreate at that individual moment Spencer Tracy said you have to hit the marks and tell the truth that is a very hard thing to do naturally so we are all going to take part in an acting class tonight every single one of you all right this first this first and probably most precious exercise is called repetitions if you take an acting class which

in all honesty I never did but if you take an acting class one of the ways you break down self-consciousness which is your own concept of what you look like and how you sound you do this this this little ex C exerise called repetitions I'm going to give you a line it's very simple line and what you have to do and we're going to do it out loud so everybody can get past any of that no one's going to be called on the carpet but everybody does have to participate otherwise I'll you um you have

to say these words is there something I can do for you but you can't just say the words you have to ring out every possible meaning every possible Cadence every possible variation of that line of dialogue is there something I can do for you in a repetitions class you would have to stand in front of everybody else in the class and keep saying it again and again and again in a different form and you only lose your chance to do that when you repeat yourself all right so the line is is there something I can

do for you and we are all going to now say that as many different ways as we can all right you're just you you're nobody else you're just who you are okay the line once again is is there something I can do for you all ready ready let's begin in three two one is there something I can do all right fine so you know the words and you've already experienced them okay now I'm going to give you the circumstance you are you all right you are having a magnificent day you're going to go off and

you're going to have a cup of coffee with someone that you have a great crush on and you believe that person has a great crush on you you're at the beginning of a marvelous relationship with someone who you think is going to perhaps give you if not a lifetime of happiness a few weeks or a few months all right you're done with your work for the day you don't have any you get to sleep in late tomorrow it's going to be a lovely lovely evening and you are going to go and have a delightful exchange

with someone you're looking forward to but up in front of you an elderly person carrying a package has tripped and fallen down onto their knees all right what do you say at that moment is there something I going to do for you okay ready so all right now now okay all right you have we have the circumstance it's ass tied it's cold and someone who looks like your grand one of your grandparents or an elderly neighbor has fallen down and landed on one knee and you say in 3 2 1 let's try it again ready

3 2 1 all right let's try one more and must be different from what you just did okay ready 1 3 2 1 do for you okay very good and cut excellent well all right now the same exact words is there something I can do for you except now you are a Civic employee you work in an information booth at City Hall all you do all day long is say those words to everybody that comes in through the door is there something I can do for you these people are idiots they're morons they're clucks sometimes

they don't speak your same language but it doesn't matter because your job the way you earn your living is to sit in that booth and all day long say is there something I can do for you you've said it eight million times in the course of the last three years right not only that your spouse at home you've been arguing with them like crazy your kids are all brats you'd like to go off you haven't been to see a movie in months because you can't afford it you are not a happy person on this middle

midweek exchange your your your your your uh uh your hours that you're putting in you are bored you are tired and you're angry and but guess what you have to say to everybody that comes into the hallway you have to say you're way too passive far too far too interested again you're going to be you're going to be look at the clock realize that it's still 17 minutes to lunch and you're going to look up and say okay ready let's try three two one all right that's not bad can you can you can you be

a little more Angry bored and uh what's the and uh vituperative if I'm using that word properly one two three all right let's change it a little bit someone has stood in front of you for a few minutes and hasn't asked a question you're just going to look up to them and and say 3 2 one something I could do for you all right look at the difference between those two lines the two different circumstances one you're incredibly happy and you feel sorry for somebody who's there this one you're incredibly bored and unhappy and you

have to say this to this person is there something I can do for you has very very very very very different connot ation all right here's the last one you ready for this you're a shopkeeper in a relatively tough part of town and you have to deal with thieves who steal cigarettes from you theft from all of your shelves you come in and you get hassled by some by the the neighborhoods who don't like you essentially you have to deal with people that are going to possibly rob you because as they walk in you don't

like the color of their skin you don't like the clothes that they wearing you don't know that you you don't like that you've seen them around before and you just know this person is going to be troubled and you are not going to let anybody rip you off again because you've worked too hard in order to build this little shop in order to pay for your kids clothes and the house that you live in so the last thing you're going to do is be polite to this person because you know that this person is probably

going to steal from you so what do you say to them in 3 2 1 right right as in you know you sure you want to come in here right now well let's try it again 3 2 1 all right that's not bad but wouldn't it kind of be like hey is there something I could do for you right all right let's try it again one more time you hate this person that walked in ready you're going to call the cops on this person if it gives you any lip whatsoever you're going to call a

policeman three two one that's what I'm looking for all right a third variation on a very simple line is there something I can do for you what have you learned about yourself just in those just in those three iterations one that you can be kind and you can fake it two you can be bored and you can fake it but three you can be angry and suspicious and you can fake it but it's a thousand times better and will hit the audience in a way that is undeniable if you truly are kind to that old

lady who fell down or bored by that person who comes in CU what what you say and how you say it is part of the procedure and the behavior of how we all live our lives right now and you the audience we've all been in we've all sat down and watched a movie and said I don't believe that and the reason you don't believe that because those people didn't really go there so if you see a movie in which somebody says can I help you because an old lady or is there something I can do

for you because someone fell you the actor that is in that place has to be the conduit of that reality and that true procedure and behavior because at the end of the day you can have as many humps and different makeup styles and hair and wigs and costumes but if you're not actually adhering to the procedure and behavior of the moment you're faking it and therefore you're not part of the great social purchase that goes between the audience and the storytellers because that's what we all are all right now we're going to flip it now

all right we're going to have another line we'll start with a repetitions exercise the line is it's all right right I'm okay all right let's it's all right I'm okay say it once it's all right I'm okay now let's have a few minutes of repetitions work out that line in as many different ways as you can it's all right I'm okay ready go ahead it's all right [Applause] all right very good very good all right it's all right I'm okay same scenarios except this time you're playing the other character you're the elderly person who fell

down you're oh you're who you are that you fell down you're embarrassed you were trying to juggle all these things you're trying to get home in a period of time you hit a a slippery part of the sidewalk you went down you know what and you actually did hurt your knee a little bit all right but what you hear from behind you is is there something I can do for you right was that the line what was it how can I help you was it how can I all right so I will give the line

how can I help you and you tell me it's all right I'm okay but this first time you're embarrassed you don't want anybody to help you you just want to get out of an uncomfortable social circumstance ready all right I'll give you the line and the you'll say it's all right I'm okay and what was the line is there something I can it's Away by the way this is a problem when you get a little bit older you start forgetting the is there something I can do for you thank you all right ready hey is

there something I can do for you let's try that again all right you're falling down feel the pain in your knee right now that's actually be rubbing your knee as I say this okay ready in 3 two 1 hey is there something I can do for you that's a little loud guys I think you know you could bring it down just a little bit just almost be saying it to yourself is there something I can do for you okay all right good all right so what have you learned about yourself there you could be humiliated

at the same time you could be helpful okay now the next scenario the board person at the off you have come into City Hall you know exactly what room you have to be in uh and yet you're not quite sure if you have all the correct papers and you'd like to ask this person in the booth whose job it is to help you get through your day when you're right there but this person has been looking down at their watch and you are waiting for them to acknowledge you and they don't they don't they don't

until they look up and say is there something I can do for you all right and you're going to say all right now why would you say that in this circumstance why would you say that because you're intimidated because you've been ashamed by this person person you've been embarrassed by this person you don't have the social confidence in order to say yeah I need some help no you actually got you don't want to be in more trouble from this lady okay ready is there something I can do for you again way too confident folks imagine

imagine you're saying it and backing away at the same time ready is there something I can do for you good all right all right you've been in another incredibly uncomfortable circumstance and if you actually felt uncomfortable while you're doing that you've told the truth okay now it's the last one you are exactly who you are you look exactly the way you do you're going into you're just going to pick up you know a packet of crisps and a soda to a a shop that you're not familiar with and the person who owns this shop obviously

hates your guts for some reason you have no idea why you're just a customer wanting to do it and as soon as they as soon as they hit you with this line is there something I can do for you you realize it this person looks at me like I'm the enemy I'm the enemy so the fact is is that no I'll just pick this stuff up and I'll pay I'll get out of here as soon as I can all right so that's your that's your circumstance right now your line again is it's okay what is

it it's all right I'm okay ready okay ready is there something I can do for you one more time okay uh maybe add just a tiny bit of moment because it's almost like he slapped your face you're not quite sure why you're getting this why you're getting this attitude from this person ready is there something I can do for you then I'm just going to follow you around so okay so there you just had this little acting lesson that leads into a couple of territories I think that are undeniable if you're open to uh the

qual the the ne necessities of telling the story it's not only an examination of a social circumstance but it is also a situation where you the individual the character gets to participate in an empathetic process because the old the the person who said can I help you to the old folk that's just caring for somebody that's actually kind the person at the information booth might at the end of that night come back say why was in such a cranky mood with that guy last night maybe I should examine what my own Parton is and the

shopkeeper said I jumped all over that guy and he turned out to be a pretty cool guy he wasn't one of the people that kind of RI me off likewise the old the old person who hurt their knee came to would go home and say um a young person just was so kind to me today and they didn't have to be and I really appreciate that you actually made my day the person uh in the uh uh in the city hall that was bringing in the papers to say well I ran smack dab into the

man today and guess what the patriarch is still taking something out of me so uh I'm I'm going to avoid that person from now on not have to do it again and the last one the guy walked into a shop just said so long em I love you so much no we're all very busy Emma Watson ladies and gent I love [Applause] you we made a movie together called the circle was one of the most magnificent times we've ever had yeah take care [Applause] darling all right now everybody please be cool don't try to search

Emma out you know just just acknowledge the fact that she's here studying and and advancing the the cor the nature of story tellers just the same way we all are so what I was what I wanted to do in that that basic exercise is you know there's this old saying that there are no small parts there are only small actors and if you go back in the great lexicon of film you end up can if if you study old movies you can find these tiny moments where someone who is great actually has a very small

part in a very big movie you could you look at Turner Classic films you probably know know all these yourselves sometimes there is just somebody in a film you just say who is that and they end up being something huge and big why because they told the truth because they actually stretched the concept of the empathetic moment that anybody can have in a movie if they say something so beautifully and so truthfully so accurately and is so real even if the lines are only is there something I can do for you or it's all right

I'm okay you can move mountains just with those two lines thanks everybody so now we'll talk [Applause]