Hamlet is a difficult play to perform and especially so if the intent is to reach a modern audience that is not accustomed to some of the traditions of the theater involved in the play. It is a difficult part especially for the actor playing Hamlet because he has perhaps the longest part in Shakespeare, meaning the part with the most lines of dialogue. It is also difficult for that actor given the problems that the play presents involving this character, and critics of the play have long been concerned about the apparent indecision of this character. He is given a job to do early in the play, but he seems to avoid doing it for most of the play without a clear explanation as to why. Acting any play means first making the characters believable and understandable. Any production of a play is likely to have a somewhat different interpretation than any other, though certain overall themes will be depicted in any version of Hamlet. The director in any given production will impose certain interpretations, and the actors will bring their own experience and capability to the same task. Any comments on the acting in Hamlet of necessity will be general and would differ if any element in a production were changed.
Hamlet is the central character and should be considered first. Hamlet is known as "the melancholy Dane," and for most of the play this is all that most characters in the play see of him. He is melancholy from the beginning because his father has recently died and his own life has been interrupted to bring him back to Elsinore. His inner turmoil increases when he is confronted by the ghost of his father, a ghost that tells him how his father died and demands revenge, with Hamlet to be the instrument of that revenge. The ghost has to be played believably. The guards are frightened when they see the ghost, but the ghost himself should not be simply a wraith, a frightening presence, but a real and tragic figure trying to co...