Post by bladestarr on Mar 4, 2007 0:05:59 GMT -5
I'm putting this thread here because the subject could apply to any form of media, not just movies. I see two types of people on the big and small screens, Actors and Pleasing Personalities.
Actor is the obvious one to define, from Websters Online:
2 a : one who represents a character in a dramatic production b : a theatrical performer c : one who behaves as if acting a part.
Now Pleasing Personalities is a term that I've invented to describe a person that others just simply like to see on the screen. When you see them, you don't see a different character, you see that person in a different circumstance. Let me give you an example of each.
Actor: Johnny Depp - in every movie he plays an almost entirely different person, he changes his manner of speaking, his non-verbal cues, and BECOMES a different character. Notable examples: Edward Scissorhands, Willy Wonka, and J. M. Barrie (creator of Peter Pan). In all these roles, he became the person.
Pleasing Personality: Arnold Schwarzenegger. People don't hire Ah-nold for his acting ability, they hire him because the public as a whole LIKE to see him on the screen. He couldn't act his way out of a paper bag. Examples: Predator - Arnold chasing an alien assassin. Twins - Arnold as Danny DeVito's long lost twin brother. Total Recall - Arnold as a p'ed off guy who's had his mind wiped one too many times. But in every case, it's very clearly Arnold in a different situation, but not as a different person really.
So now I'd like to make a list of the people that you respect as Actors and those that you respect as Pleasing Personalities. I do think you can respect them, because hey, 6 billion people can't be wrong right? But at least we can put them in their place and point out the fact that these people don't act. So I will get the ball rolling with some obvious ones. If you list Actors, then you need to provide proof of why he/she is not a "Pleasing Personality".
Actors:
Johnny Depp (see above)
Robin Williams (funnyman in most things, but very serious and different types of roles in Dead Poet's Society, Insomnia, and What Dreams May Come)
Robert DeNiro (gangster in quite a few films, but also a cuddly AND creepy dad in Meet the Parents, and a raging psychopath in Taxi Driver)
Dustin Hoffman (anything he does, just go look at his iMDB profile! Rainman anyone? Tootsie? Captain Hook? Need I say more?)
Pleasing Personalities:
Arnold Schwarzenegger
Will Smith
Sandra Bullock
George Clooney
And the floor is now open for everyone's replys!
Actor is the obvious one to define, from Websters Online:
2 a : one who represents a character in a dramatic production b : a theatrical performer c : one who behaves as if acting a part.
Now Pleasing Personalities is a term that I've invented to describe a person that others just simply like to see on the screen. When you see them, you don't see a different character, you see that person in a different circumstance. Let me give you an example of each.
Actor: Johnny Depp - in every movie he plays an almost entirely different person, he changes his manner of speaking, his non-verbal cues, and BECOMES a different character. Notable examples: Edward Scissorhands, Willy Wonka, and J. M. Barrie (creator of Peter Pan). In all these roles, he became the person.
Pleasing Personality: Arnold Schwarzenegger. People don't hire Ah-nold for his acting ability, they hire him because the public as a whole LIKE to see him on the screen. He couldn't act his way out of a paper bag. Examples: Predator - Arnold chasing an alien assassin. Twins - Arnold as Danny DeVito's long lost twin brother. Total Recall - Arnold as a p'ed off guy who's had his mind wiped one too many times. But in every case, it's very clearly Arnold in a different situation, but not as a different person really.
So now I'd like to make a list of the people that you respect as Actors and those that you respect as Pleasing Personalities. I do think you can respect them, because hey, 6 billion people can't be wrong right? But at least we can put them in their place and point out the fact that these people don't act. So I will get the ball rolling with some obvious ones. If you list Actors, then you need to provide proof of why he/she is not a "Pleasing Personality".
Actors:
Johnny Depp (see above)
Robin Williams (funnyman in most things, but very serious and different types of roles in Dead Poet's Society, Insomnia, and What Dreams May Come)
Robert DeNiro (gangster in quite a few films, but also a cuddly AND creepy dad in Meet the Parents, and a raging psychopath in Taxi Driver)
Dustin Hoffman (anything he does, just go look at his iMDB profile! Rainman anyone? Tootsie? Captain Hook? Need I say more?)
Pleasing Personalities:
Arnold Schwarzenegger
Will Smith
Sandra Bullock
George Clooney
And the floor is now open for everyone's replys!
