A verb list looks like the dullest page in an acting book. In practice it is one of the most useful, because the right verb can fix a line that has been dead in rehearsal for a week. "Say it like you mean it" gives you nothing to do. "Warn him" does.
This page covers what action verbs are, where actioning comes from, what makes a verb playable, a list of 150 grouped by what they do to the other person, and how to use them without turning your performance into a recitation of verbs.
What is actioning?
Actioning means choosing a transitive verb for each line, or each thought within a line, that names what your character is doing to the other person with those words. The verb has to fit the sentence "I ___ you." I reassure you. I test you. I needle you.
The point is that dialogue on the page only tells you what is said. People talk to get things, and every sentence they say is an attempt to change the person in front of them a little. The verb names that attempt. Once you know you are trying to shame someone with a line, you know where to look, how fast to go, what to do if they laugh it off, and the line stops being a sound you make.
Actions sit underneath your objective. If Lady Macbeth's objective is "to get my husband to go through with it," the actions are the individual moves: I mock you, I dare you, I shame you, I embolden you. They change line to line. The objective holds.
Where actioning comes from
The roots are in Stanislavski's emphasis on action, the idea that a character on stage is always doing something to get something. The specific practice of writing a transitive verb against each line is most associated with British theater, where the director Max Stafford-Clark is widely credited with popularizing it through his rehearsal process. It is now taught at many UK drama schools and used by directors in the UK and elsewhere. American training covers the same ground under the name tactics, usually with fewer, broader verbs per scene.
Actors who use it a lot often keep a thesaurus of actions to hand. Marina Caldarone and Maggie Lloyd-Williams's book Actions: The Actors' Thesaurus is a widely used one.
What makes a good acting verb?
It is transitive. It does something to someone. "I worry" fails; "I alarm you" works.
It aims at an effect on the other person. The verb names what you are trying to make happen in them. "I inform you" is technically transitive but has almost no effect built in. "I warn you" or "I enlighten you" or "I unsettle you" each carry a different effect on the same piece of information.
It is physical enough to play. Good verbs suggest a shape in the body. You can feel the difference between pushing, coaxing and pinning someone even before you speak.
It is specific. "I hurt you" is fine. "I sting you," "I crush you" and "I belittle you" are three different hurts.
It avoids emotions and adverbs. "I am angry at you" and "I say it sadly" describe states. Find the action that the anger would make you take: I scold you, I confront you, I freeze you out.
150 action verbs for actors, grouped by direction
These are grouped by the broad direction they push the other person, which is the most useful way to find a verb in the middle of rehearsal. Every one fits "I ___ you." Many could sit in more than one group, and the shading changes with context.
To build someone up
encourage, praise, flatter, inspire, reassure, embolden, champion, validate, celebrate, honor, admire, rally
To draw someone in
charm, seduce, entice, tempt, woo, beguile, coax, lure, invite, court, enchant, hook, disarm
To comfort and protect
comfort, calm, soothe, console, cradle, shelter, protect, nurture, steady, ground, hush, pacify, placate
To push someone away
dismiss, rebuff, reject, repel, deflect, block, shun, snub, freeze, stonewall, dodge, refuse
To cut someone down
belittle, humiliate, crush, shame, mock, patronize, deflate, undermine, demean, wound, scold, chastise
To provoke
provoke, goad, taunt, needle, bait, tease, prod, challenge, dare, rile, incite, sting, poke
To test and probe
test, probe, quiz, question, interrogate, examine, gauge, study, scrutinize, assess, corner, trap, pin
To control
command, order, direct, instruct, steer, manage, restrain, silence, dominate, overrule, discipline, lecture
To mislead or manage
mislead, distract, fool, con, manipulate, humor, appease, sidetrack, bluff, dazzle, hoodwink, lull, misdirect
To plead and persuade
beg, implore, beseech, petition, urge, press, nag, pester, hound, badger, persuade, convince, sway
To lighten
amuse, entertain, delight, tickle, cheer, enliven, brighten, rib, surprise, indulge, spoil
To unsettle and threaten
alarm, frighten, threaten, warn, intimidate, menace, rattle, unnerve, jolt, unsettle, confront, accuse, blame
How to apply action verbs to lines
Work in pencil, and work thought by thought. A long speech may hold four or five thoughts, each with its own verb; a short exchange may be one verb a line. Here is a stretch of Macbeth, Act 1, Scene 7, actioned for Lady Macbeth, with each verb in parentheses above the thought it belongs to. Duncan, the king, is a guest in their castle tonight. Macbeth has just told her he will not go through with killing him. The excerpt is cut where marked.
MACBETH We will proceed no further in this business: He hath honour'd me of late; and I have bought Golden opinions from all sorts of people, Which would be worn now in their newest gloss, Not cast aside so soon. LADY MACBETH (I mock you) Was the hope drunk Wherein you dress'd yourself? hath it slept since? And wakes it now, to look so green and pale At what it did so freely? (I brand you) From this time Such I account thy love. (I dare you) Art thou afeard To be the same in thine own act and valour As thou art in desire? MACBETH Prithee, peace: I dare do all that may become a man; Who dares do more is none. LADY MACBETH (I shame you) What beast was't, then, That made you break this enterprise to me? . . . MACBETH If we should fail? LADY MACBETH (I dismiss you) We fail! (I embolden you) But screw your courage to the sticking-place, And we'll not fail.
Read the speeches alone and you could play them as one long note of fury. Actioned, they have a shape: she mocks him, brands his love as worthless, dares him, shames him, and when he finally asks the practical question, she swats the fear away and then builds him back up. That last switch is the one that wins. Notice "brand," which is not on the list above. Lists are a starting point. If the right verb is somewhere else, use it.
Change verbs at beat changes especially. When a tactic fails, the next verb should be meaningfully different, often from a different group entirely. Three verbs in a row from the same group usually means the scene will sit on one note.
How to use actions without becoming mechanical
The common complaint about actioning is that it makes acting cerebral: actors start playing the verb on the page and stop listening to their partner. That risk is real, and it has a simple fix. Do the actioning in rehearsal, then let it go.
Play the verb on the person, never on the line. The question is "is it working on them?" If you are trying to reassure someone, watch whether they look reassured. If not, the next moment is a reaction to that.
Hold the choice lightly. If your scene partner does something new, respond to what they did, even if it means abandoning your verb. The verb was a plan. The scene is what happens.
Use verbs to fix problems. Plenty of actors only action the lines that are not working: the one that keeps coming out wrong, or the speech that sounds the same all the way through. That is a perfectly good way to use the tool.
Try an opposite. If a line feels obvious, try an action from the opposite group. Saying a cruel line while trying to comfort someone, or a kind line while trying to wound them, often finds the subtext the writer put there. Write your final choices in the margin alongside the rest of your notes; see how to score a script for one way to lay that out.
More questions
What is actioning in acting?
Actioning is assigning a transitive verb to each line or thought in a script, describing what the character is trying to do to the other person with it. It is a rehearsal tool, closely associated with British theater, and is often done around the table before a scene goes on its feet.
What is a transitive verb in acting?
A verb that takes a direct object, so it does something to someone. "I comfort you" is transitive. "I cry" is not, because nothing is done to the other person. Acting verbs need to be transitive so they point your energy at your scene partner.
What is the difference between an action and an objective?
The objective is what you want across the scene, such as Brody trying to get the mayor to close the beaches in Jaws. Actions are the line-by-line moves you make to get it: you warn him, then you press him, then you shame him. One objective, many actions.
Are actions and tactics the same thing?
Mostly. Tactic is the more common word in American teaching and usually describes a strategy that lasts a stretch of the scene. Actioning in the British sense tends to be more granular, one verb per thought. Both use transitive verbs aimed at the other person.
Do you have to action every line?
No. Some actors action every thought in rehearsal and then let it go; others only action the lines they are stuck on. It is a tool for finding variety and specificity. Use as much of it as helps.