David Thompson on the culture of acting

Acting is storytelling, and any child knows the delight in distinguishing a “real” story about what Dad did at work, and a fantasy—a pretend job—about what he wished he had done. (Of course, there are family situations where neither Dad nor the kid can tell the difference—and that’s dysfunction.) A culture of acting is disconcerting, too, but everyone understands the basic energy in acting—let’s pretend—because it’s the same energy that carries us to the movies.

• David Thompson in the Wall Street Journal