Unlock Your True Potential as an Actor with Larry Moss' The Intent to Live

Greg: The book is very inspirational and very informative. I suggest this to anyone that would like to self educate themselves in the art of acting

United States on Nov 08, 2023

Leopoldo: Chegou não parecia um livro novo

Brazil on Apr 18, 2023

Timur: A must read for every new and experienced actor. A goldmine of techniques and life wisdom in an easy-to-read language. Highly recommended.

Canada on Nov 05, 2022

Nuparth chaudhry: Very Clear and Easy to Understand. Perfect for Actors

India on Aug 28, 2022

Diane25: The book was in perfect condition

Canada on Jul 20, 2022

Oaks: You feel as if you're getting personal acting lessons from the author who knows his stuff. Very interesting and helpful.

Canada on Mar 29, 2022

Michael: I've been taking acting classes for years, and have also read basically all the acting books. Most of the books are pretty useless, because most of what you need to learn comes from *doing* in classes which you can't get from reading, and the books treat aspects of acting either too superficially (e.g. a single page on substitutions) or else are too opinionated and polemical (you *must* do it this way and not that way).

This is the book to read *after* you've taken classes for a year or two. Larry covers *everything*, describes everything with tremendous detail and justification, and tends not to take sides but explain how different techniques work for different people. Basically, he goes a level deeper that most acting coaches do, so you get a lot of the "why" you might be missing from class, or just fills in gaps of knowledge you have.

So, it's just a masterpiece.

BUT... the book bothers me because the cover is SO, SO, SO bad, SO cheesy. I had refused to buy it for years because with a cover so tasteless -- looks like it's from 1985, with the blood-red handwriting, the super-dramatic author headshot, that I couldn't believe any good coach would ever approve...

United States on Oct 20, 2019

Little Mack: Buy Larry's book. It will not only enrich your acting, but it will also enrich your life. I have had this book for two years now and am constantly referring back to it (I especially love the "Monologue Workout Program" near the end of the book). I keep it on the bookshelf next to my bed so that it's always within reach.

Along with Betsy Polatin's The Actor's Secret and Bill Connington's Physical Expression on Stage and Screen (both books on the Alexander Technique that are the perfect complement to Larry's book), The Intent to Live is as good as it gets outside of actually taking classes with him. Just wait and see what his approach does for you.

United States on Feb 16, 2019

eOrsino: I graduated from the Yale School of Drama I also have a BFA from a four year conservatory. I'm not giving away any secrets by telling you that Larry documents just about everything you would learn in the best schools and maybe more. He gives you the best parts of the famous tools from.. Stanislavsky, Meisner, Adler and even Strasberg and shows you how to apply them together as one powerful technique. Throughout the book you can feel his love for the actor and the craft of acting through every chapter and his whole goal is to challenge you to take it seriously to become all you can be.

I will admit that I was slightly bored through lots of it but that was only because for me these lessons were more reminders than enlightening new skills. But, if I was to recommend any book as a starting point for someone interested in becoming an actor, a REAL actor, I would definitely hand them this book. It's all in there! He covers pretty much everything.

The only reason that I'm giving it a four star instead of five is that it could have been a little more of a fun read. Being someone that studied most of this already I would have loved to chuckle more. Sometimes, there were too...

United States on Sep 03, 2015

Gladys Y. Caro: Wow! This is a great book

One of the jobs of an actor when interpreting a part is to put into place his or her experiences, to take advantage of the past in the present moment. In his book, Larry Moss not only gives us, actors, tools for acting, for the technique of acting, but he shares his personal experiences, showing that acting is also living and being able to re-create specific moments in your life. That is the secret that makes this book different from many other acting books.

Moss's personal experiences tie The Intent to Live together with a thread of powerful emotional content. I responded particularly strongly, for example, to his account of a dinner party with Stella Adler. The conversation and inspiration felt so personal and true that I found myself weeping together with everyone around the table.

In addition, Mr. Moss offers many exercises that, as a professional actress, I believe useful, creative and unique: "The System of Wants" and "Thesaurus" exercises are a couple of my favorites.

Larry Moss tells us his truth. He reveals himself as a human being and as an actor who benefits from lived experience. When he talks about his life, it...

United States on Jun 11, 2005