When an actor approaches a character one of the first things he or she should tackle is what's called the CHARACTER ARC. This is the virtual path of a character’s growth and development over the course 
of the story. It can be internal, external, mental, spiritual, positive, negative, etc, but generally a character starts the story one way and ends another. And when this path is mapped on paper it usually looks something like an arc - hence the term character arc. For example in Batman Begins we find Bruce Wayne (played by Christian Bale) at the start of the film a spoiled yet lost and lonely billionaire, but as we follow him along his journey over the course of the film we see that he becomes a changed man, well in his case, Batman, the vigilante hero. Mapping out how Wayne transforms into Batman will greatly help in understanding the inner workings of the character and make for a great performance like the one Bale delivers.
But this is not always the case. Take for instance Happy-Go-Lucky the award-winning film written and directed by Mike Leigh. Happy-Go-Lucky chronicles a few weeks in the utterly optimistic life of elementary school teacher Poppy played by actress Sally Hawkins who won the golden globe for best actress in a comedy for her performance in the film. This movie isn’t typical in many ways, but from an acting perspective we see a very unique difference: our protagonist doesn't change! At the start of the film we see a Poppy who is happy, centered, silly, confident, light-hearted, caring, and adventurous, and at the end of the film we see a Poppy who is happy, centered, silly, confident, light-hearted, caring, and adventurous. So plotting a character arc probably isn't your best option for a role like this. We see that our protagonist doesn't go through any profound changes in the film, but if nothing changes in the entire story then it definitely wouldn't be interesting! So where are the changes? Looking closer at Happy-Go-Lucky we find that Poppy may not change but the characters around her certainly do. I believe the answer to analyzing a character like Poppy then lies not in plotting her changes over the course of the film, but by plotting the ways 
she affects change in the other characters over the course of the film. Take for example her relationship with her disgruntled driving instructor Scott (played by Eddie Marsan). At first he sits rigidly in the driver seat militantly instructing Poppy on proper driving etiquette. Unyielding and austere, he is disturbed by almost everything about Poppy, particularly her completely "inappropriate" high heeled boots. But over the course of the film we find that he has secretly grown to like, even lust after Poppy. And in the, end when he realizes that she does not reciprocate his affections, he breaks out of his rigid shell and goes ballistic. Not exactly the same Scott we saw at the start of the film! But Scott, though certainly the most obvious, is not the only person changed by Poppy's presence in this film. We also she how she affects her roommate Zoe (Alexis Zegerman), her two younger sisters, a troubled young student in her elementary school class, an
d even the handsome school social worker Tim (Samuel Roukin). So don't be daunted by a role that isn't standard - see if your character changes over the course of the script, and if not, look at the way your character affects the other characters in the script and I bet you will find some interesting inklings to start you off!
of the story. It can be internal, external, mental, spiritual, positive, negative, etc, but generally a character starts the story one way and ends another. And when this path is mapped on paper it usually looks something like an arc - hence the term character arc. For example in Batman Begins we find Bruce Wayne (played by Christian Bale) at the start of the film a spoiled yet lost and lonely billionaire, but as we follow him along his journey over the course of the film we see that he becomes a changed man, well in his case, Batman, the vigilante hero. Mapping out how Wayne transforms into Batman will greatly help in understanding the inner workings of the character and make for a great performance like the one Bale delivers.But this is not always the case. Take for instance Happy-Go-Lucky the award-winning film written and directed by Mike Leigh. Happy-Go-Lucky chronicles a few weeks in the utterly optimistic life of elementary school teacher Poppy played by actress Sally Hawkins who won the golden globe for best actress in a comedy for her performance in the film. This movie isn’t typical in many ways, but from an acting perspective we see a very unique difference: our protagonist doesn't change! At the start of the film we see a Poppy who is happy, centered, silly, confident, light-hearted, caring, and adventurous, and at the end of the film we see a Poppy who is happy, centered, silly, confident, light-hearted, caring, and adventurous. So plotting a character arc probably isn't your best option for a role like this. We see that our protagonist doesn't go through any profound changes in the film, but if nothing changes in the entire story then it definitely wouldn't be interesting! So where are the changes? Looking closer at Happy-Go-Lucky we find that Poppy may not change but the characters around her certainly do. I believe the answer to analyzing a character like Poppy then lies not in plotting her changes over the course of the film, but by plotting the ways 
she affects change in the other characters over the course of the film. Take for example her relationship with her disgruntled driving instructor Scott (played by Eddie Marsan). At first he sits rigidly in the driver seat militantly instructing Poppy on proper driving etiquette. Unyielding and austere, he is disturbed by almost everything about Poppy, particularly her completely "inappropriate" high heeled boots. But over the course of the film we find that he has secretly grown to like, even lust after Poppy. And in the, end when he realizes that she does not reciprocate his affections, he breaks out of his rigid shell and goes ballistic. Not exactly the same Scott we saw at the start of the film! But Scott, though certainly the most obvious, is not the only person changed by Poppy's presence in this film. We also she how she affects her roommate Zoe (Alexis Zegerman), her two younger sisters, a troubled young student in her elementary school class, an
d even the handsome school social worker Tim (Samuel Roukin). So don't be daunted by a role that isn't standard - see if your character changes over the course of the script, and if not, look at the way your character affects the other characters in the script and I bet you will find some interesting inklings to start you off!
What did you think of Happy-Go-Lucky? Let us know in the poll to the right. For more info on Elisa Eliot and Elisa Eliot's Acting Studio please visit www.elisaeliot.com. 
