Acting is illusion, as much illusion as magic is, and not so much a matter of being real.
We have all, at one time or another, been performers, and many of us still are – politicians, playboys, cardinals and kings.
The actor should be able to create the universe in the palm of his hand.
Surely we have always acted; it is an instinct inherent in all of us. Some of us are better at it than others, but we all do it.