Weβve all seen it: the actors are handed a scene with sky-high stakes and brutal emotional warfare, but instead of leaning into the fight, they try to “soften” the blow. They politely talk over each other, gently wave their arms, and try to make the argument “nice.”
But acting isn’t about being nice.
Conflict is the absolute engine of drama. If you shy away from the ugly, messy, aggressive truth of a scene because you are afraid of the conflict, you are cheating the audience out of the story. You have to be willing to fight for what your character wants, even if it gets uncomfortable.
Don’t back down from the fire. Lean into it. 
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