True actors are not created in one day. Training with acting coaches or participation in acting classes can help actors to acquire much needed skills to aid them in improving in their craft. To reach this goal, an actor must delve into his soul and discover who he truly is as a person.

Both human persons and created characters share a multi-dimensionality and depth. These facets include the inherent insecurities and fears that are integral in forming our personalities, the persona that we adopt to conceal these vulnerabilities, as well as the tragic flaw. Training with an acting coach can both aid the actor in discovering these dimensions in himself as well as allow him to utilize these personal traits to create very real characters.

Our public persona, according to Carl Jung, is the image that we present to the rest of society and is designed to mask our true feelings, emotions, and insecurities. This persona is exemplified in all areas of our lives, from how we move to the way we speak and interact with others. Characters also have personas that they create to protect their true selves from the rest of the world and actors must learn to utilize their own personas to create those of their characters.

There is no question that an individual\’s vulnerabilities are often buried deep beneath the surface, making the public persona seem like the dominant characteristic. However, the true identity of a person dwells within the difficulties, insecurities, and vulnerabilities that inevitably work to form each individual. Acting classes are designed to instruct actors in identifying these difficulties in themselves so as to form multi-dimensional characters that audiences can relate to on a personal level.

Our childhood challenges and situations mold us as adults and remain with us for the duration of our lifetime. Both actors and the characters they create form their public personas as a means of defending themselves from these insecurities. Covering up these vulnerabilities under a shield of stability is our means of appearing strong rather than helpless to others.

The mark of a great actor is his or her ability to dig past both their own and their character\’s public persona to the actual person within. This is key to producing real characters for the audience.

Every audience member, whether he knows it or not, has both a deeper identity based in past life situations and issues as well as public persona that he has created to combat these weaknesses. Although many audience members may not be aware of the fact, creating multi-faceted characters is guaranteed to form a relationship between viewer and character. The exceptional actor is one who is able to create such a character.