The Intent to Live
Larry Moss's inspiring guide to finding purpose and passion in acting
Overview
The Intent to Live by Larry Moss draws on his decades of work as one of Hollywood's most sought-after acting coaches. The book explores how actors can bring deeper intention, emotional truth, and personal connection to every role they take on.
Moss shares anecdotes from working with top actors and provides exercises designed to help performers access their emotional instrument more fully. His approach combines rigorous technique with a deep respect for the actor's humanity.
How It Works
Valuable for actors at all levels who want to bring more depth and personal investment to their work. Moss's warmth and wisdom make the book both instructive and deeply motivating.
Available in paperback and digital formats, typically priced between $14-17. Often recommended by acting coaches as supplementary reading for their students.
Who Uses It
Highly recommended for actors who want to reconnect with the passion and purpose that drew them to acting. Moss's love for the art is evident on every page and is genuinely contagious. The book's greatest gift is its ability to remind actors why they chose this difficult profession in the first place, reigniting creative fire that audition fatigue and industry rejection can extinguish. Moss draws on his work with Oscar-winning actors to demonstrate that even the most accomplished performers must continually fight for authentic connection in their work. His combination of high artistic standards and genuine compassion for the actor's journey makes this one of the most emotionally nourishing acting books ever written.
Pricing & Plans
The Intent to Live is available in paperback from Bantam Books, typically priced between $14 and $17 at major retailers including Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and independent bookstores. Digital editions for Kindle and other e-readers are generally available for $10 to $13, offering a more affordable entry point for budget-conscious actors. Used copies can be found through online resellers for as little as $5 to $8, and the book is commonly available at used bookstores in cities with large acting communities. An audiobook version is not currently available, which is unfortunate given the deeply personal and passionate nature of Moss's writing. The investment is modest for a book that many actors describe as career-changing, and it makes an excellent gift for fellow performers or aspiring actors.
Pros & Cons
What's Great
The Intent to Live excels at connecting acting technique to deeper human truths, making it far more than a dry instructional manual — it is a passionate argument for why acting matters and how it can transform both performer and audience. Moss's anecdotes about working with actors like Hilary Swank, Helen Hunt, and Leonardo DiCaprio bring his principles to life and demonstrate how the same fundamental truths apply whether you are preparing for an Oscar-winning role or a community theater production. The book's structure, which moves from foundational principles to specific scene work and preparation techniques, creates a coherent learning journey that builds understanding progressively. Moss's warmth and generosity as a teacher come through on every page, making the reader feel personally coached and encouraged rather than lectured at. The exercises and approaches he describes are immediately applicable, giving actors practical tools they can use in their very next rehearsal or audition.
What Could Be Better
Some readers may find that Moss's intensely passionate and emotional writing style, while inspiring, occasionally lacks the analytical rigor that more technically minded actors prefer in their training resources. The book's reliance on anecdotes from celebrity students, while illustrative, can feel intimidating to actors working at less exalted levels who wonder whether the principles truly scale to their everyday professional reality. Certain sections assume familiarity with Stanislavski-based technique that beginning actors may not yet possess, making parts of the book more accessible to intermediate and advanced performers. The book does not provide a complete, systematic acting technique from start to finish but rather illuminates principles and approaches that supplement existing training. Moss's passionate advocacy for his particular approach to the work, while compelling, occasionally reads as though there is only one correct way to access emotional truth, which may not resonate with actors who thrive using different methods.
Our Recommendation
Actors who feel burned out, disconnected from their artistic purpose, or stuck in mechanical performance habits should pick up The Intent to Live immediately, as it functions as both a technical guide and a creative renewal experience. The book is particularly valuable for actors transitioning from training into professional work, when the gap between classroom inspiration and audition-room reality can feel discouraging. If you are looking for a complete, systematic acting technique, pair this book with a more structured text like Uta Hagen's Respect for Acting or Ivana Chubbuck's The Power of the Actor. Moss's work is also an excellent choice for actors who learn best through story and example rather than through abstract principles and exercises. We recommend reading this book at least twice — once for the broad inspiration and once to extract the specific techniques and apply them to your current projects.
Pro Tips
Before reading The Intent to Live, identify a role or audition piece you are currently working on, and use Moss's principles in real time as you encounter them in the text — this transforms passive reading into active artistic practice. Pay special attention to Moss's discussion of objectives and the concept of fighting for what you want in a scene, as this single principle can elevate your work more than almost any other technical adjustment. Keep a journal while reading and write down every moment where Moss's words trigger a personal memory, creative idea, or emotional response, as these connections are the raw material for deeper performances. After finishing the book, choose one of Moss's exercises or approaches and commit to using it exclusively for two weeks of scene work or audition preparation before evaluating its effectiveness. Share the book with your scene partners and acting class peers, as discussing Moss's ideas collaboratively will deepen your understanding and create a shared vocabulary for giving and receiving notes.