When I was in high school, I was convinced I was going to be an actor. My sophomore English teacher was also the drama teacher and I was enthralled with her because she introduced me to the magic of creative writing. So I came to the first drama class totally prepared to become the next great actress of our time.
Imagine my horror when our teacher instructed us to remove our shoes and socks and engage in an exercise called "Happy Feet." To this day, I am convinced that a promising thespian career was nipped in the bud by "Happy Feet." There I was, prepared to play Juliet in the balcony scene or Desdemona struggling to convince her husband of her fidelity! Instead, I was being asked to wriggle my toes and kick my heels in some pathetic display of faked euphoria. Needless to say, I switched to stage crew immediately. (At least, it still got me into the cast parties.)
Maybe that is why actors really get to me. Every time I see a great performance by some actor, whatever emotion I'm feeling (be it sadness, happiness, anger, etc.) is always accompanied by a painful twinge of envy. Yes, I am jealous of the power that actors, well the really good ones anyway, have of reaching into your heart and gut. Lately, I've definitely been turning positively green from that deadly sin because of a number of newly discovered (at least by me) actors.
Take for instance, James McEvoy in Atonement. I went to see the movie totally expecting that it could not possible live up to the book. Well, I was wrong on that count. I also did not expect to be so overwhelmed by McEvoy's performance. He is able to express so much through nuanced changes in his expression and in the look in his eyes that absolutely took my breath away. The haunted look in McEvoy's eyes as the movie progressed spoke volumes about the damage and disillusionment that he had experienced. (McEvoy's performance reminded me in some ways of Richard Armitage in the PBS series, North and South. I had to watch that series over and over again just to take in the wonder of his acting.)
I'm also adding to my list the actor who played the lead in Juno, Ellen Page. Although the character Page plays is a bit too hip and flippant in the beginning, Page is able in a very subtle way to eventually reveal the true vulnerability and emotional depth of this young girl who is going through a life-changing event in her life. Without giving anything away, there is a moment when Juno's facade starts to crumble and Page does an incredible job of portraying how scared and unsure of herself Juno really is. As an aside, it was also nice to see how great Jennifer Garner was in this movie. I was always a big fan of Alias and really thought that she was a better actor than the role in Alias demanded. The Juno performance and her success on Broadway in Cyrano seem to confirm that she really can act.
Speaking of TV actors, my list is also going to have to include Alex O'Loughlin, I think. Moonlight has become a guilty pleasure for me even though the show does have its issues (like uneven writing). Being the tragic romantic that I am, I was totally taken in by the last episode, "Sleeping Beauty". Talk about unfulfilled desire and tainted love! On top of it, O'Loughlin's character went through the gamut of emotions from anger, grief, rage to sweet playfulness. His portrayal of grief over the loss of a friend was brilliant. I don't think it can be easy for a man to weep. O'Loughlin made you feel that here was a man who is broadsided by the depth of emotion he was experiencing. At one point, he almost loses total control but then struggles to regain his composure. Definitely made me want to take him in my arms and comfort him! See for yourself (crying scene is at 2:03 but the whole thing is worth seeing) (property of CBS):
Yeah, so I will add O'Loughlin to the list and confirm my admiration by watching some other work of his that I have Netflixed. I kind of doubt I will be disappointed.
All in all, I guess I will just have to live with this bad case of actor envy as long actors continue to thrill and move me like they do. It may be painful but oh, so, worth it!
Imagine my horror when our teacher instructed us to remove our shoes and socks and engage in an exercise called "Happy Feet." To this day, I am convinced that a promising thespian career was nipped in the bud by "Happy Feet." There I was, prepared to play Juliet in the balcony scene or Desdemona struggling to convince her husband of her fidelity! Instead, I was being asked to wriggle my toes and kick my heels in some pathetic display of faked euphoria. Needless to say, I switched to stage crew immediately. (At least, it still got me into the cast parties.)
Maybe that is why actors really get to me. Every time I see a great performance by some actor, whatever emotion I'm feeling (be it sadness, happiness, anger, etc.) is always accompanied by a painful twinge of envy. Yes, I am jealous of the power that actors, well the really good ones anyway, have of reaching into your heart and gut. Lately, I've definitely been turning positively green from that deadly sin because of a number of newly discovered (at least by me) actors.
Take for instance, James McEvoy in Atonement. I went to see the movie totally expecting that it could not possible live up to the book. Well, I was wrong on that count. I also did not expect to be so overwhelmed by McEvoy's performance. He is able to express so much through nuanced changes in his expression and in the look in his eyes that absolutely took my breath away. The haunted look in McEvoy's eyes as the movie progressed spoke volumes about the damage and disillusionment that he had experienced. (McEvoy's performance reminded me in some ways of Richard Armitage in the PBS series, North and South. I had to watch that series over and over again just to take in the wonder of his acting.)
I'm also adding to my list the actor who played the lead in Juno, Ellen Page. Although the character Page plays is a bit too hip and flippant in the beginning, Page is able in a very subtle way to eventually reveal the true vulnerability and emotional depth of this young girl who is going through a life-changing event in her life. Without giving anything away, there is a moment when Juno's facade starts to crumble and Page does an incredible job of portraying how scared and unsure of herself Juno really is. As an aside, it was also nice to see how great Jennifer Garner was in this movie. I was always a big fan of Alias and really thought that she was a better actor than the role in Alias demanded. The Juno performance and her success on Broadway in Cyrano seem to confirm that she really can act.
Speaking of TV actors, my list is also going to have to include Alex O'Loughlin, I think. Moonlight has become a guilty pleasure for me even though the show does have its issues (like uneven writing). Being the tragic romantic that I am, I was totally taken in by the last episode, "Sleeping Beauty". Talk about unfulfilled desire and tainted love! On top of it, O'Loughlin's character went through the gamut of emotions from anger, grief, rage to sweet playfulness. His portrayal of grief over the loss of a friend was brilliant. I don't think it can be easy for a man to weep. O'Loughlin made you feel that here was a man who is broadsided by the depth of emotion he was experiencing. At one point, he almost loses total control but then struggles to regain his composure. Definitely made me want to take him in my arms and comfort him! See for yourself (crying scene is at 2:03 but the whole thing is worth seeing) (property of CBS):
Yeah, so I will add O'Loughlin to the list and confirm my admiration by watching some other work of his that I have Netflixed. I kind of doubt I will be disappointed.
All in all, I guess I will just have to live with this bad case of actor envy as long actors continue to thrill and move me like they do. It may be painful but oh, so, worth it!
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