How does one become an actor? What kind of training does an actor need to be successful? What makes a great performance? Do British and American actors approach their craft differently? How do actors interact with other creatives in a film or play? What are the different ways actors approach the text, and which roles were most meaningful to them? How does a role become a means of self-exploration for an actor? Don't Think. Be. 20 Actors Talk About Training, Technique and Process seeks to answer these, and many other questions about the acting process, in a series of 20 original conversations with some of the most remarkable actors of the last 50 years. Actors (and directors) interviewed in this volume include Helen Mirren, Tommy Lee Jones, Sydney Pollack, Alan Bates, John Lithgow, Miranda Richardson, Fiona Shaw, Judi Dench, Eileen Atkins, Stephen Rea, and many others. These insightful, free-flowing conversations are a treasure trove for anyone interested in film, television and theater, and the extraordinary contributions actors make to our cultural life.