True actors are not created in one day. It is only through rigorous study and training that actors can reach their goals. To reach this goal, an actor must delve into his soul and discover who he truly is as a person.

Every character that an actor creates is multi-dimensional as are the actors themselves. The three dimensions, in particular, that compose the human person are the tragic flaw, the public persona, and our ubiquitous lifelong insecurities and difficulties. Working with an acting coach has been shown to be highly effective in helping an actor to see past his own exterior and that of his character to reveal the heart of the person within and create characters that are both real and relatable.

According to the works of Carl Jung, humans form their exterior or public personas as a means of exuding a feeling of strength and stability to the world so as to conceal weaknesses buried within. Expression of this persona occurs in all areas of our lives. 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.

Although the public persona is the dimension that is the most easily recognizable and obvious in a character, it is only an exterior facade and not the core of the individual. The root of a person\’s character is grounded in their growth and development from childhood. 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.

That which affects us in childhood remains a part of our lives until the day we die, whether we allow it to surface or not. 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.

In order to become an exceptional actor, a student must learn to remove the superficial exterior of both his and his character\’s public persona in order to uncover the true self. The best coaches will aid their students in both uncovering and portraying the inner workings of the human condition.

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. Regardless of whether or not they are aware of this fact, creating a dimensional character will never fail to hit a chord with the watcher. All great actors must learn to succeed in this form of character creation.