Use this function if you only need need to access the player once in a script. Otherwise, use an actor property named "PlayerREF" as demonstrated below since properties are literally 1,000 times faster (See: CK Forum Thread) than this function. The CK will auto-fill said property with the player's hardcoded reference, ACHR:00000014. While it's true that filling a property will make the reference persistent, the player (and most actors for that matter) are already necessarily persistent.

Actor Property PlayerRef Auto

Event OnInit()
    Debug.Trace("Player is " + PlayerRef)
EndEvent

In the event you are referring to the player more than once, sometimes you can minimize use of GetPlayer, utilizing an event's arguments as a free way to cache PlayerREF and in turn expedite your script.

Event OnActivate(ObjectReference akActionRef)
    If akActionRef == Game.GetPlayer()
        Int iCount = akActionRef.GetItemCount(kWidget)
        If iCount
            akActionRef.RemoveItem(kWidget, iCount)
            akActionRef.AddItem(kBauble, iCount)
        EndIf
    EndIf
EndEvent

• Game