Does a part of you become your character when you’re taking on a new role? Do you see things the way they see them, and not the way you do? Do you feel what they feel? Do you start to take on parts of this fictional character? There’s more to this than just method acting.

We recently came across an incredible article from The Atlantic archives on how psychology and acting go hand in hand, and how being more in-tune with the psychological aspects of character development can actually help you become a stronger, more authentic, more intuitive actor.

Here are some of our favorite excerpts from this fascinating piece:

The idea that there are psychological consequences to good acting has been espoused so often that it’s easy to assume the science is there to back it up. As a result, the sudden and often surprising deaths of talented actors sometimes inspire fearful, knowing whispers about the dangers of delving “too deep” into harrowing roles. Many theatergoers have a sense that somewhere in the actor’s psyche lays the potential to forget himself when authentically getting into character.

“I think that at their cores, psychology, cognitive science, and theater are all trying to do the same thing, which is understand why people do the things they do, our range of behavior, and where it comes from,” Goldstein says. “It’s just two different ways of looking at the same question.”

As it goes, you always bring bits of yourself to each role. Let that happen. Experiment with your character development. Get down to the bottom of your character’s “whys”.