The late Alan Rickman was easily one of my favourite actors. There was never a role in which, in my opinion, he was not utterly spellbinding and brilliant. I loved the versatility with which he played such diverse characters, from the Sheriff of Nottingham to Colonel Brandon to Professor Snape, each time encapsulating a completely new, plausible and memorable entity. As is the case with many famous film stars he had training in the Alexander technique. He once said, 'With the

Of all the many different groups of people who train in the Alexander technique, the acting community is possibly the largest. This has a lot to do with the fact that FM Alexander was himself an actor. His physical training technique was initially devised in order to solve the problems that he himself was struggling with on stage. For over 100 years famous film stars have extolled the virtues of lessons which they very often receive as an integral part of the curriculum at th

Actors often talk about an 'outside eye' looking at them and judging them. It can prevent them from being present in the moment and therefore spoil their work. The outside eye is an imaginary critic and it's not just actors and other performers who feel it's gaze. People sometimes refer to a monkey or a parrot sitting on their shoulder, watching and whispering a negative commentary to them in their ear. It all amounts to the same thing - a destructive emotional force which le

In her drama school training Natalie Dormer studied the Alexander Technique: 'When you work the unnatural hours that actors work, and when you fly as much as we do, you have to pay attention to your body—or else you’re a disaster ready to happen' All celebrity performers know the value of body language; of viewing their own body as a musician would view an instrument, which is why so many train in the Alexander technique. Training in the technique allows you to infinitely fin