Acting

Unit 4

Acting Categories• Extras-

– Used to provide a sense of a crowd

• Nonprofessionals– Chosen because they “look the part”

• Trained professionals– Have trained acting ability– Can play a variety of roles

• Stars– Famous performers recognized by the public

Charlie Chaplin• “Film acting is unquestionably a director’s

medium.”

• All actors’/actresses’ work is shaped by the director.

Film Actor vs. Stage Actor• Natural • Interesting• Must look appealing• Influenced by

director’s choices• Can dub voice• Can change physical

appearance

• Expressive• Must be loud• Must have strong

features• Must be clear• Believable• Sustained energy• Precise movements

Realistic vs. Formalistic Director

• Realistic– More dependent on acting ability

• Formalistic– Less dependant on the acting ability

History of Stardom• Before 1910

– Actors names not included in credits– Stars might demand higher salaries

• Late 1940s- Ingrid Bergman– Private and public life collided– She was quite modest on screen– Her affair with Rossellini shocked audiences

History Cont…

• 1920s Silent Era– Stars grew in wealth and power– Fan magazines sprang up

• After Talkie Revolution– Majors turned to live theater for new stars

History Cont…

• 1930s-1940s Golden Age– Supremacy of Hollywood Studio system– Stars signed with the Majors– MGM, Paramount, Warner Bros., 20th Century Fox,

RKO

• 1962 Marilyn Monroe dies– Troublesome childhood– Sex symbol in public eye– Died of drug overdose

How Majors Affected Stardom

• Gave stars new names

• Taught stars how to walk/talk/look

• Made social schedules for their clients

• Concocted romances to increase name

Hardships of Acting

• Tabloids

• Being in the public eye

• Criticism

• Treated like commodities

• Stereotyped

Typecasting (+ and -)

• Transmits values

• Set up public image

• Acting more natural on screen

• Not great acting

• Less range of roles

• Less variety of roles

Questions to Consider

• What types of actors are featured and why?• Are they amateurs, professionals or pop

stars?• How are the actors treated by the director?

Does the star change radically from film to film?

• If the actor is iconographic, what values does he or she embody?

• What style of acting predominates?• How realistic or stylized is the acting style?