I didn't like Oprah in "The Butler."
But I should mention that there was probably nothing Oprah could do to make me like her in "The Butler." And here's why--
Turning in a good performance requires a certain amount of distance from the audience. People can't know too much about you or it becomes difficult to make them forget that you're the character and not just, you know, you.
That's why, after having watched Oprah's talk show for years and years, I found it really hard to believe her as anybody other than Oprah.
Oh don't get me wrong, I could see she was trying. She gave it her all. And I applaud her for taking on a role that's pretty far from who people perceive her to be, but at the end of the day, it was like watching a little kid put on a fireman's helmet and run around the backyard spraying things with a hose--You can appreciate what he's going for, but that doesn't mean you believe he's a fireman.
It's something I've been thinking about a lot because of the current state of celebrity culture. We know more about our celebrities today than ever before, and--I don't think this is a coincidence--we have fewer and fewer actual stars.
People moan all the time that the reason there are no more Gable's or Hayworth's is because somehow talent just miraculously dried up sometime during the 1980's, but I think there's something much more psychological at work.
When you know very little about someone it's easy to believe that they could be somebody else. The more I know about an actor--and these days I know a lot of stuff about most famous actors--the harder it is to see them as anything else. This trickles down into other areas as well--whenever a celebrity experiences a scandal, there's instantly talk about how it'll affect their career, their casting opportunities, etc.
That's because people know that once you're Guy in Mugshot, playing any other role is going to become increasingly difficult.
Yes, there are exceptions to this, but lately, I notice I'm watching movies the way I might watch a relative in a high school play. I admire the effort, but I can't really find the art. It's too difficult to get past the pre-existing relationship I have with the performer. I've also given in to the "If I don't like them, I can't like their art" syndrome. I fought it, goodness knows I fought it, but if I don't like you because you acted like an idiot on a daytime talk show, then I'm probably not going to like your movie either, and no, that's not fair, but my brain works the way it works, and I've given up trying to rewire it just so I can enjoy a James Franco movie.
As an actor, recognizing this inability to look past the persona into a performance worries me--because I have a really defined personality. Take me or leave me, but I don't think anybody would describe me as bland. When I'm able to get somebody to give me a role that's different from who people perceive me to be, I find that it's easy for me to get lauded--but that doesn't happen often. Whether people in charge of casting realize it or not, they fall into this trap as well--they want you to be you and they want you to be the character--no acting required.
When I play anybody that seems to fit into the idea of who I am when I'm not acting, people just sort of nod their head and say "Yeah, well, that's Kevin. Kevin's funny." Forget that being funny with somebody else's jokes is not the same thing as just being witty at a dinner party. Also, it makes me feel this intense pressure to approach every character from a transformative point of view so that nobody feels like I'm just up there "playing myself."
Ultimately, it makes me think about how many people are chasing an old dream about acting and fame. The idea that a person can actually use their talent to transcend past the point of mere actor to make an impact as an icon is, I believe, dead and gone. We've changed the definition of what it means to be famous, and though some people seem to do a good job of bucking the trend and keeping their private lives private, I wonder how many newcomers to the game will be able to if being an open book becomes a permanent part of the new rules.
But I should mention that there was probably nothing Oprah could do to make me like her in "The Butler." And here's why--
Turning in a good performance requires a certain amount of distance from the audience. People can't know too much about you or it becomes difficult to make them forget that you're the character and not just, you know, you.
That's why, after having watched Oprah's talk show for years and years, I found it really hard to believe her as anybody other than Oprah.
Oh don't get me wrong, I could see she was trying. She gave it her all. And I applaud her for taking on a role that's pretty far from who people perceive her to be, but at the end of the day, it was like watching a little kid put on a fireman's helmet and run around the backyard spraying things with a hose--You can appreciate what he's going for, but that doesn't mean you believe he's a fireman.
It's something I've been thinking about a lot because of the current state of celebrity culture. We know more about our celebrities today than ever before, and--I don't think this is a coincidence--we have fewer and fewer actual stars.
People moan all the time that the reason there are no more Gable's or Hayworth's is because somehow talent just miraculously dried up sometime during the 1980's, but I think there's something much more psychological at work.
When you know very little about someone it's easy to believe that they could be somebody else. The more I know about an actor--and these days I know a lot of stuff about most famous actors--the harder it is to see them as anything else. This trickles down into other areas as well--whenever a celebrity experiences a scandal, there's instantly talk about how it'll affect their career, their casting opportunities, etc.
That's because people know that once you're Guy in Mugshot, playing any other role is going to become increasingly difficult.
Yes, there are exceptions to this, but lately, I notice I'm watching movies the way I might watch a relative in a high school play. I admire the effort, but I can't really find the art. It's too difficult to get past the pre-existing relationship I have with the performer. I've also given in to the "If I don't like them, I can't like their art" syndrome. I fought it, goodness knows I fought it, but if I don't like you because you acted like an idiot on a daytime talk show, then I'm probably not going to like your movie either, and no, that's not fair, but my brain works the way it works, and I've given up trying to rewire it just so I can enjoy a James Franco movie.
As an actor, recognizing this inability to look past the persona into a performance worries me--because I have a really defined personality. Take me or leave me, but I don't think anybody would describe me as bland. When I'm able to get somebody to give me a role that's different from who people perceive me to be, I find that it's easy for me to get lauded--but that doesn't happen often. Whether people in charge of casting realize it or not, they fall into this trap as well--they want you to be you and they want you to be the character--no acting required.
When I play anybody that seems to fit into the idea of who I am when I'm not acting, people just sort of nod their head and say "Yeah, well, that's Kevin. Kevin's funny." Forget that being funny with somebody else's jokes is not the same thing as just being witty at a dinner party. Also, it makes me feel this intense pressure to approach every character from a transformative point of view so that nobody feels like I'm just up there "playing myself."
Ultimately, it makes me think about how many people are chasing an old dream about acting and fame. The idea that a person can actually use their talent to transcend past the point of mere actor to make an impact as an icon is, I believe, dead and gone. We've changed the definition of what it means to be famous, and though some people seem to do a good job of bucking the trend and keeping their private lives private, I wonder how many newcomers to the game will be able to if being an open book becomes a permanent part of the new rules.
Comments
Post a Comment