In Hollywood, you've got to stay on top of your game if you want to reach and maintain
A-list status, so the use of an acting coach is very common.
While it may sound surprising that a Hollywood star would need a coach right there on set
with them, it happens more often than you'd think.
Sometimes an actor admits they need the help, but studios have also been known to force
acting coaches onto their leads to make sure they're getting what they paid for.
The following stars all needed to work with a coach right there on the film set.
"You and I are drowning, slowly."
"Good, good."
Nicole Kidman
During the filming of the 2003 drama The Human Stain, it was no surprise that Nicole Kidman
had her acting coach Susan Batson with her on set.
Batson became revered in Hollywood after transforming Kidman into a serious actress, but the coach
credited her client's divorce from Tom Cruise as the motivating factor in her turnaround.
She told The Independent,
"I think that what truly happened is that in the transition from the divorce from Tom,
the solace that Nicole found in the work was extremely gratifying to me."
Kidman claims she wouldn't be where she is today without Batson.
In a quote on Batson's website, Kidman said,
"She's helped me to nurture and protect truth in myself and in the characters that I've
played.
What I've learned from Susan is how to keep the truth alive no matter what."
Lauren Conrad
When Family Guy aired its Lauren Conrad episode in 2009, Conrad provided her own voice — but
she needed a little help to get it right.
"It was cool to see myself as a character."
"You're Lauren Conrad, from The Hills!"
"Yeah, you seem surprised."
The twist in the episode is that while characters assume she's not too smart, she's actually
been a genius all along.
In order to handle some complex dialogue, Conrad relied heavily on an acting coach.
The former star of The Hills told the Washington Post,
"[I had] a lot of big words.
[...] I had to research some of [the words] because the acting coach I worked with told
me if I really understood what I was talking about, it would come through a little more
true."
John Cena
Pro wrestler John Cena got his start in Hollywood the way many wrestlers do — kicking ass
and taking names amid a bunch of bullets and explosions.
For his debut performance in 2006's The Marine, Cena used an on-set acting coach.
When The Baltimore Sun asked if he would be taking the same approach to his follow-up
project 12 Rounds, he replied:
"Absolutely.
I tell people this is like having my second match, and by the time I had my second match
I needed a lot of coaching.
I had a coach in pre-production and I had a bunch of great coaches on set."
Mariah Carey
2001's Glitter was supposed to be Mariah Carey's star-maker vehicle on the big screen, but
it tanked hard at the box office.
According to The A.V.
Club, Carey was prone to diva-like outbursts on set, where her acting coach Sheila Gray
would never be too far away.
Carey and Gray reportedly become close after the pop superstar went through a messy divorce.
Judging by the numerous high profile clients listed on Gray's website, Carey was in great
hands.
Chuck Norris
With every B-movie that actor and martial artist Chuck Norris released, he came closer
to becoming a parody of himself — but that doesn't mean he isn't 100 percent serious
about his acting career.
In 1995, he starred in Top Dog as a cop who gets partnered with, well, a police dog.
"What makes you think I'm gonna work with a mutt?"
Together, they take down a group of neo-Nazis.
With a premise this bizarre, it's no wonder Norris needed an on-set acting coach.
The film's editor told SlashFilm,
"He may not be Robert De Niro, but he busts his ass.
And he takes his craft seriously to the best of his ability.
[...] He puts the work in to be as good as Chuck can be, and he has an acting coach on
the set at all times."
LeAnn Rimes
Grammy-winning country singer LeAnn Rimes was just 15 when she starred in a made-for-TV
adaptation of her book, Holiday in Your Heart.
The Mississippi-native told the Los Angeles Times back in 1997 that an acting coach got
her through the tough times on set.
When asked about the emotional scene in which she sings "Amazing Grace" for her terminally
ill grandmother, Rimes said that the tears came "very naturally" to her.
She explained,
"[The actress] really reminded me of my grandmother when I started singing.
I started crying, so that was not acting at all.
There was an acting coach on the set and after a while, with his help, I got really comfortable."
Thanks for watching!
Click the Nicki Swift icon to subscribe to our YouTube channel.
Plus check out all this cool stuff we know you'll love, too!