"If You Can't Play an Emotion, Fake It"-Alfred Hitchcock, Hollywood

Ingrid Bergman giving emotions or faking it?

Legendary director Alfred Hitchcock

To many, acting is a difficult and arduous journey of self development. An actor not only has to control voice, but also body posture, facial expression and also memorize their lines. However, one of the hardest steps in the journey of becoming a skilled actor is developing the ability to convey emotion. So for those of you finding that sad scene a little difficult or the scene where you are meant to be terrified but everyone else thinks you look constipated.
What can you do?

On few occasions, actors may find it extremely difficult to give a particular emotion as desired by the director. As an actor, I too faced this problem. But fortunately I came across long back what this great actor Ingrid Bergman said and followed it whenever I could not show  a difficult emotion.

“I said, "I don't think I can give you that kind of emotion." And he [Alfred Hitchcock] sat there and said, "Ingrid, fake it!" Well, that was the best advice I've had in my whole life, because in all the years to come there were many directors who gave me what I thought were quite impossible instructions and many difficult things to do, and just when I was on the verge of starting to argue with them, I heard his voice coming to me through the air saying, "Ingrid, fake it!" It saved a lot of unpleasant situations and waste of time.” ― Ingrid Bergman

Author Kiran Pande, giving an emotion (Faking?) in film "A reasonable Compromise"