• Have you ever finished a role and realised you were still a bit sharp, a bit cold, a bit not quite yourself?
• Has someone who loves you ever asked whether you are okay, when you had no idea what they were seeing?
• Do you know how to get into character quickly, but have no real way of getting back out?

In this episode, I'm sharing what protects you as you step into a character, and more importantly what protects you when you step back out, so you can play anyone without losing yourself in the process.

If you can get into a role quickly but were never taught how to take it off again, this one is for you.

We get into grounding yourself before you start, using a picture as the door into the character's world, treating a role like clothing that you put on and then take off, and the small handwritten note that brings you back to yourself. All of it to help you move from quietly carrying a character home with you, to coming back to yourself on purpose.

I also tell you about the role that followed me home. A character who was not a nice woman, a version of me that turned dismissive and cold, and the friends who noticed before I did and asked, very gently, whether I was okay.

Your one thing this week: before your next role, write yourself a note about who you are. Not the character. You. Then read it when the work is done.

More episodes if this one landed for you:

• 3 Tips to Overcome Anxiety and Protect Your Wellbeing
• Stressed About Balancing Your Day Job With an Acting Tour?
• Think You Blew an Acting Audition? Think Again
• When the Audition Goes Silent: Managing Anxiety and Finding Stability

Questions this episode answers:

How do you get into character on cue?Two moves. Ground yourself first, then go to the picture you have already built of the character's world and use it as a door. It works because the door is built long before you need it.

How do you stop taking a character home with you? Take the role off deliberately rather than just stopping. For me that is prayer, and then reading a note I wrote about who I am before the work began.

Why do you feel strange after a role ends? Sometimes you come out high, sometimes low, and sometimes lost in between, not the character any more and not quite yourself yet. In that state it is very easy to skip the switching off entirely.

Is it normal for friends to notice a change in you? Yes, and they usually see it before you do. If someone who loves you asks whether you are okay, listen to them.

"The character borrowed you, and the character shouldn't get to keep you."

"When you come home, you take your shoes off. You don't wear them to bed. It's the same with your mind, but spiritually."

"You can play anyone, as long as you know who you're coming home to. And that isn't a craft skill. That's stability."

If this episode met you in a moment of feeling not quite like yourself, please leave a short review wherever you're listening and share it with an actor friend who needs the reminder that your worth is not determined by outcomes. Reviews and word of mouth are the main ways this podcast reaches other creatives juggling acting jobs, work, and real life, and it genuinely lights me up to know these stories are helping you stay rooted, steady, and anchored as you go.

Anchored Actor is a podcast about acting, wellbeing and stability, hosted by Miriam Kaerma, a UK based actress, mindset mentor and emotional resilience mentor. Each episode helps actors, performers and creatives working in film and theatre find stability in an unpredictable industry by building emotional resilience, rather than pushing harder.

Topics covered: how to get into character on cue, how to leave a character behind, character bleed, post role decompression for actors, identity and acting, mindfulness for performers, emotional exhaustion, acting and wellbeing, mental health for actors, faith and acting, stability in an acting career, emotional resilience for actors, audition preparation for film and theatre, UK acting podcast.