Getting To Know An Actor/Actress

Do you think that it's possible to get to know the type of person an actor or actress is by watching their movies?

I find that they are basicly the same person no matter what their part is, so I say yes.

I think that acting is not a skill, it's a career of connections. That is why you find popular musicians going into acting. They are hired for their name not their skill.

Granted you have to learn a little so you do botch the thing up. Me personally have no interest in that career, so I could not remember the lines.

Back to getting to know people through their movies. I see body language, etc. That is always the same. I'm sure an actor will say that you can't because they are nothing like the part, but if you are following their movie history you see the same characteristics in all of them.

What are your thoughts on getting a good idea of what an actor or actress personality through their movie?

they are pretending to be other people so you wouldn't get even a clue as to what they are really like. Thinking that you "know" someone by watching them on tv or in the movies is bordering on stalkerdom in my opinion.

I was once at a party and Steven Weber was there. It was right after wings had gone off the air and Weber and John Stewart wanted to take my sister with them (and Weber's then wife) to a party in the city. We were hours away from the city so I asked how they were getting there and they said plane. I jokingly said to Weber "you've been drinking, do you think you should be flying the plane?" His whole demeanor changed. He said "that is a tv show. this is reality. I play a pilot on tv. I do not know how to fly a plane." Those were his exact words. I told him I was kidding and he said something about the crazy people who think they know him because he plays a character on a show he watches and how they all think he can fly planes.

I kinda agree with you and kinda don't. If you have mastered psychology and bodylanguage than you see hidden characteristics in people.

Yes, A persons work life is different than their personal life, but the basic root personality is still there.

I guess I think totally differently because I have mastered bodylabguage and psychology.

Stalkerisim? Do you even know the legal deffinition of that? Please do tell me?

I said stalkerdom, not stalkerism and I made up the word. (feel free to use it). I was merely implying that someone who feels connected personally to an actor or actress from simply watching them on the screen is showing signs of being like a stalker. The next step is to think you are meant for each other.

Originally posted by Crakeur
The next step is to think you are meant for each other.

That would be the beginning of signs. I'm talking about intellectual recognition, not infatuation.


Stalkerdom!Stalkerdom!Stalkerdom!Stalkerdom!Stalkerdom!Stalkerdom!Stalkerdom!Stalkerdom!Stalkerdom!Stalkerdom!Stalkerdom!Stalkerdom!Stalkerdom!Stalker dom!Stalkerdom!Stalkerdom!Stalkerdom!Stalkerdom!Stalkerdom!Stalkerdom!Stalkerdom!Stalkerdom!Stalkerdom!Stalkerdom!Stalkerdom!Stalkerdom!Stalkerdom!Sta lkerdom!

Whew! That felt good using that word! Thanks!

[edit on 10-5-2007 by MrMysticism]

Since I haven't "mastered" body language and psychology (have a degree, but it's not a Masters), I don't assume I know anything about an actor personally. Nor do I want to.

I don't want to know about them or their personal lives or their "issues". I've got my own crap to deal with. I want an actor to entertain me, to distract me momentarily from my own problems.

I guess if it's a crappy actor, you could theoretically make a few simple deductions about them. And it would take a crappy actor to cause me to attempt that, since I'd be too engrossed in the story being told by a good actor to care.

I agree with you %100 percent. I spent 20 years studing both subjects. I consider my self to have mastered the subject even though the education is not paid for.

Some times self education is better that cookie cutter paid education.

Originally posted by MrMysticism
Do you think that it's possible to get to know the type of person an actor or actress is by watching their movies?

Having been a stage actor, assistant director, and playwright, I'd say "No". At least as far as stage is concerned, and the best screen actors invariably come from the stage. And I have to respectfully disagree with many of your assertions, which I'll take point by point.

As far as knowing a person by their movies, Anne Ramsey immediately comes to mind as a mirror image of her movie roles. Her two best known movies, The Goonies, and Throw Momma from the Train, and pretty much every other movie and TV cameo I can think of, she plays this horrible, grouchy, physically and mentally abusive woman. Her calibre of acting is so extreme, yet her range so narrow, one could not help but think she would be a horror to work with or live with. In point of fact, she was one of the kindest, gentlest souls off the screen, and everyone who knew her genuinely mourned her passing in the 90's.

Originally posted by MrMysticism
I find that they are basicly the same person no matter what their part is, so I say yes.

Again, I disagree. While it may be obvious in some actors and actresses, one cannot simply "assume" such a statement. Two different examples immediately come to mind:

Jon Stewart, (from The Daily Show) is someone you would think would be a delight to hang out with. On the show he's funny, witty, charming, and quick with a comeback. In point of fact, he's a horror to be around. He's domineering, pretty much hates everyone, and explodes at anyone in his staff who so much as talks to him. He is a hateful little man. I still watch the Daily Show, though, because it's a great show, but I'd never want to be caught in an elevator with Stewart.

Michael Caine is probably one of the most versatile, charismatic, and wide-ranged actors I can think of. No matter what role he plays, he's extremely likeable. Watching him, you get the impression he has become intimate friends with everyone on the set, giving grandfatherly advice, and helping out whenever he can. In fact, he's what's called a "Working Actor". He reads as much of the script as they will give him access to, learns his part ahead of time. Shows up on time, does his bit, and leaves. He's much in the same vein as Robert Altman, in that he almost never gets personally involved with his cohorts, but isn't a jerk about it, he just doesn't get paid to be their friend. He gets paid to act. To him, it's a good paying job, and nothing more, yet he is so skilled in acting you'd think he loved the life.

Originally posted by MrMysticism
I think that acting is not a skill, it's a career of connections. That is why you find popular musicians going into acting. They are hired for their name not their skill.

Absolutely wrong on the former, and absolutely right on the latter. Acting is a skill just as much as carpentry, plumbing, or what not, and if you ever doubt that, watch the difference between actors like Dolph Lundgren and Bruce Willis. Dolph is to acting what Uwe Boll is to directing. That is to say, utter crap. It's not that either has connections, they're just inexpensive, well-known, and can churn out a film under budget, even if the film itself is crap. Whereas Bruce Willis, love him or hate him, is a far superior actor who, in the past, plays the same sort of roles that Dolph did, only much better.

Jennifer Lopez, on the other hand, is complete and utter crap. She got her job through name recognition alone, and certainly not through her acting skills. She's such a bad actress that I now know when not to see a film because I know the director had to stoop that low to find someone to play the part, or concede that much to producers who wanted a recognizable name.

Actresses like Lopez are in abundance, where they did in fact get their job through connections rather than skill, but this in no way, shape, or form, means that there is no skill to acting. In point of fact, the difference between Lopez and Angela Lansbury should be immediately obvious to anyone who's seen Lansbury's earlier films. Lansbury often played the same sort of roles as Lopez, only to such a superior degree of difference in skill, that to suggest acting requires no skill should be considered a ludicrous statement.

A better statement might be "getting a movie credit requires no skill, only connections", but acting, good acting, requires quite a bit of skill.

Originally posted by MrMysticism
Granted you have to learn a little so you do botch the thing up. Me personally have no interest in that career, so I could not remember the lines.

That would certainly explain your point of view.

Originally posted by MrMysticism
Back to getting to know people through their movies. I see body language, etc. That is always the same.

If you are skilled enough to spot "tells" then you should consider poker as a hobby, it will suit you well. And indeed, there are a lot of actors and actresses with very distinctive tells. Benny Hill had his legendary pause, turn, look around, and hesitant reply. Rodney Dangerfield chronically adjusted his tie. Michael J Fox had his every-shifting movements and squinty eyes.

These are all tells, calling cards, and what makes specific actors and actresses recognizable. They are not, however, neccessarily keys to their personality. In the case of Fox, for instance, it was an advancing case of Parkinsons Disease.

One of the very best things about this site is that it's large enough so no matter what topic someone brings up, somebody here has some "been there done that" knowledge. And they're willing to share it.

Originally posted by thelibra

Jon Stewart, (from The Daily Show) is someone you would think would be a delight to hang out with. On the show he's funny, witty, charming, and quick with a comeback. In point of fact, he's a horror to be around.

This is the reason I try to avoid knowing too much about actors' and celebs' personal lives. It distracts from my overall enjoyment of the performance if I know what a jerk they really are. Too much insight into an actor's true personality is, for me, akin to watching the magician shove the pigeons in his coat backstage. Detracts, and distracts, from the magic of the performance.

As much as I've always enjoyed Mel Gibson (esp. Braveheart & The Patriot), I'll forever associate him now with a drunken anti-semitic diatribe.

So you never know. You'll never really get to know a person without some significant day-to-day personal interaction anyway. The good news for me is, I'm no more anxious to do that with them than they are with me.

Originally posted by thelibraJon Stewart, (from The Daily Show) is someone you would think would be a delight to hang out with. On the show he's funny, witty, charming, and quick with a comeback. In point of fact, he's a horror to be around.

I have met Jon Stewart a couple of times, once at a charity event, another time randomly on the street and I found him to be rather nice and not at all as described by TheLibra.

Originally posted by yeahright

As much as I've always enjoyed Mel Gibson (esp. Braveheart & The Patriot), I'll forever associate him now with a drunken anti-semitic diatribe.

I'll always associate him with TimeDrifter, travelling back to the crucifixtion. It makes him all the more looney.

Originally posted by yeahright
One of the very best things about this site is that it's large enough so no matter what topic someone brings up, somebody here has some "been there done that" knowledge. And they're willing to share it.

I feel compelled to mention I have never personally interacted with any of the actors and actresses I mentioned in my post, but rather am going from second-hand accounts, biographies, etc. I hope I didn't give the impression that I had personally been there with them. My assertions on their behind-the-screen personae aren't based on tabloid or hearsay, but are also not nearly as accurate as if I'd been a member of their staff or family.

Originally posted by yeahright
As much as I've always enjoyed Mel Gibson (esp. Braveheart & The Patriot), I'll forever associate him now with a drunken anti-semitic diatribe.

I can forgive a lot from Actors, Directors, etc, but that's probably cause I've had a chance to do a little work in the industry, and I no longer see it as "magical" performance by people whom are more than men, but rather a "job" with "work" to be performed by a "worker" who is just as much a human being with real life flaws as your next door neighbor. In some cases, they're lower than humans. As the director I was assisting put it to me "Actors are the cattle, and we are the Cowboys".

Of all the occupations we come into contact with on a daily basis, at least one of them is going to have a rather noisome, disgusting habit, opinion, or flaw. Probably most of them will. Some you may even know about, but are forced to work with, or hire, out of neccessity. Your car mechanic may be a well known womanizer, but if he's the only reliable game in town for getting your auto fixed, and you need a car, then what will you do?

Mel Gibson does his job very very well, more often than not. What he does outside of work is his business. I might never want to associate with him because of his repulsive personal views and habits, but I can't deny he's a good worker. Same with Jon Stewart.

Originally posted by yeahright
So you never know. You'll never really get to know a person without some significant day-to-day personal interaction anyway. The good news for me is, I'm no more anxious to do that with them than they are with me.

I almost skipped this part, but then realized this is also a fairly common misconception. From what I understand, many "famous" people are desperate to meet people who don't care about their fame. One of the reasons there's so much Hollywood inbreeding is because trying to find anyone who understands them outside of Hollywood is almost impossible, because people put unreasonable expectations on them, expect them to act like they did in that one movie, or to have the same opinions and insights that were spoon-fed to them via a script and a director, perhaps hundreds of times.

Think of actors and actresses as living Teddy Ruxpins. A really good actor is nothing more than a robot waiting to say it's appointed lines, and perform the appointed tasks, exactly as the director commands them to. A great actor can add their own flair or creativity to this process, but at the core, they be a robot first, before all else.

Not that I have any sympathy for actors. It's not nearly as hard a job as roofing.

Originally posted by Crakeur
I have met Jon Stewart a couple of times, once at a charity event, another time randomly on the street and I found him to be rather nice and not at all as described by TheLibra.

That is entirely possible. Now, the charity event wouldn't surprise me in the least. Going to charity events is "work" for an actor, and since he's "on the job", he has to be charming there.

As for on the street. I have no idea. It's quite possible. I just know members of his staff have horror stories about working for him including the "no talking to him" rule. Perhaps his treatment of staff is specific to staff. Much like the CEO of a company might be horribly abusive to his employees, while at the same time being the delight of his friends and family.

It would be nice to think the Stewart just had a bad rep from a couple of bad employees though, so if anyone has more intimate knowledge of this, then please by all means, share. Like I said, I've never personally interacted with him.

In fact, the only famous actor I've even said two words to is Steve Martin, and I quite literally ran into him by accident, said "are you?" he nodded yes, I shook his hand, and went on my way, because he did not seem at all happy to have come into contact with another human being.

Originally posted by thelibra
From what I understand, many "famous" people are desperate to meet people who don't care about their fame.

Hoo, what a Catch-22. And actually kind of sad. What possible opportunities would a super-famous person have to meet someone that didn't care about their fame? Pretty rare and you'd have to always have your guard up, I'm sure. And >gross generalization warning< it's been my limited experience that it's the borderline "famous" who become almost indignant if you don't treat them like royalty. Personally, I don't do high-maintenance. Or "ass kissing", some might say.

I've had two "encounters" with super-famous people. One was Bruce Springsteen, who came in to work out in a small independent gym I belonged to. I was very proud of the other members that day. Bruce came in, was very cordial and just a "regular guy", nobody bothered him, he did his workout and left.

The other was at a little diner north of Indy in a town where Paul Newman rented a house for the month of May every year. He sat at the counter, again very pleasant and "ordinary", everyone knew who he was and nobody bugged him. He ate and left.

Now, I probably enjoy Paul Newman's work as much as the work of any other actor ever. But I nodded at him, and he nodded back. That was the end of the interaction, and I saw no need to take it any further, and neither did anyone else in the place at the time.

one thing that you have to remember about celebrities is that they are tabloid fodder and the majority of our population loves to read about them, preferably bad things. We love to build them up, tear them down, watch their redemption etc. It can't be easy for them, constantly worrying about who might sell a story etc.

Several years ago, Brad Pitt and Gwynneth Paltrow rented the loft above me while he was in town filming a movie. I ran into him a couple of times and he was polite and nice but he wouldn't ride the elevator with me (or anyone else). Every morning there was a handful of paparazzi outside the building, waiting for him to leave for the day's shoot. I would walk out, cameras would click and you'd hear "not him" and it would all stop. He left every morning at the same time as an 8 year old girl was leaving with her mother. They rode the elevator with him every day for 9 or so months and he was very nice to her, spoke only to her, asked her about school etc. She never told a single person he was in the building because we were asked to keep it quiet. She left a note for him towards the end of his time there, asking if she could have his and his girlfriend's autograph or a picture with them as she has kept this secret from her friends for so long and when they move she wants to be able to show them that she was telling the truth. He never even responded.

Paltrow, on the other hand, was a total angel. I came home one night and she was returning from a shoot and had a ton luggage with her. Nobody was there to help her so I offered a hand, helped her load the bags into the elevator and into her loft. She was so grateful, so nice, so sweet.


My point (there must be one in here somewhere) is they are all individuals who can have a bad day or who are tired of the press or are simply afraid of what some chance conversation with a stranger might become once a story is sold to the press. They should always be as polite as possible as without us, they are nothing, but they do have their moods and deserve the space they want, when they ask for it.

Originally posted by yeahright
Hoo, what a Catch-22. And actually kind of sad. What possible opportunities would a super-famous person have to meet someone that didn't care about their fame? Pretty rare and you'd have to always have your guard up, I'm sure.

To be sure! It makes sense though. I hate "talking shop" around friends and family. My primary occupation being a support analyst, the minute anyone finds out "I fix computers" they either immediately start asking for help on their machine, or they bore me for the next hour and a half about their uber network. One guy at a party followed me around the entire time I was there, and went on and on for hours about his various rigs, quoting system specs and server racks, and the way he cabled, coupled, and wireless configurations, and blah blah blah blah after two hours I just had to grab the wife and leave, it was so uncomfortable. And it's not like I'm even remotely famous, I'm certainly no longer in the 1337 crowd, and I don't even play MMOs anymore (due to time constraints). If I find myself constantly in this situation under my circumstances, I can only imagine the living hell that is fame.

Originally posted by yeahright
And >gross generalization warning< it's been my limited experience that it's the borderline "famous" who become almost indignant if you don't treat them like royalty.

Absolutely. It makes sense. Those on the borders of famous have just started to reap the rewards, without the constant bother of being bombarded with "shop talk". They basically haven't had a chance to get completely and utterly sick of it yet. As they progress in fame, they're liable to hate it more and more.

Originally posted by yeahright
I've had two "encounters" with super-famous people.

Sounds like Springstein and Newman have had it with fame, and now pretty much want to be able to live their lives as normal people. I suspect the same was the case with Steve Martin. I can only imagine how much he dreaded me recognizing him, thinking I'd follow him around the rest of the day bugging him or ask him for an autograph. In retrospect, I'm really glad I just shook his hand.

The only other "celebrities" I've really had much chance to interact with were John Linnel and John Flansburgh of "The Might Be Giants", and Kurt Harland of "Information Society".

In a nutshell, TMBG did a show in Austin at Liberty Lunch, and announced they were going to Magnolia Cafe afterward. Having been a delivery man in the area, I knew the fastest route to get there, so I high-tailed it to the cafe, reserved half the restaurant (on the promise the staff could charge me $500 if I was wrong), sat, and waited. When they showed up and were told there weren't any tables because of a reservation, I was able to wave them over to my table, and let the hosts know to let in people with TMBG ticket stubs. The place was completely jam-packed, but because of my plan, I got to have dinner with John and John, and converse with them the rest of the evening.

They were really great guys. Reeeeally straight-laced. You'd think from their music that they would be higher than kites 24/7, but in point of fact, neither has ever touched a drug, and one of them has never drank alcohol (I don't remember which anymore, this was 10+ years ago, and I certainly wasn't sober at the time). I was invited to hang out with them afterward, probably for a party or something, but for some reason I declined.

Kurt Harland was the best friend of a friend. We were all part of the same BBS crowd and used to hang out together at "Boomer's" house. At the time I had no idea the guy was famous, he was just another user from Boomer's BBS who was always looking for obscure sound bytes from sci fi movies and tv shows. Since there wasn't really a WWW at the time, and TV shows were almost never released on VHS (DVDs were unheard of), at the time it struck me as a nearly impossible hobby. It wasn't until long after we'd all moved away, I'd become interested in INSOC and bought all their albums, and told a different friend about it that I was informed that the lead singer was the same guy I'd hung out with back at Boomer's house.

I know John and John. My cousin is good friends with one of them so I run into one of them and his wife from time to time. They are totally down to earth. We took my daughter to a performance they did for the launch of their cd/dvd for the abc's. They played about an hour's worth of songs, both kid and adult stuff and then they hung out talking to their friends and fans. Totally normal guys.

Originally posted by Crakeur
I know John and John. My cousin is good friends with one of them so I run into one of them and his wife from time to time. They are totally down to earth. We took my daughter to a performance they did for the launch of their cd/dvd for the abc's. They played about an hour's worth of songs, both kid and adult stuff and then they hung out talking to their friends and fans. Totally normal guys.

Glad to know they're still cool. They were nothing like what I expected when I met them. Not that I didn't think they'd be cool, I just expected something more like... I dunno... most Jim Carey characters I suppose. I was really pleasantly surprised they weren't.

I've got to look into their ABCs DVD. I've got a baby boy on the way, and would love to get them into the TMBG songs. I already plan on making a mix CD with "Why Does The Sun Shine?" on it.

See, I had to Google 'em up. Now I realize they're the "Malcom in the Middle" theme guys.

I feel old.

[Edit to add]
Yes, congratulations on the impending blessed arrival. Hope you're checking in on Crakeur's blog occasionally for some insight.


[edit on 5/11/2007 by yeahright]

Originally posted by thelibra
I've got to look into their ABCs DVD. I've got a baby boy on the way, and would love to get them into the TMBG songs. I already plan on making a mix CD with "Why Does The Sun Shine?" on it.

the funny thing is, my daughter's favorite TMBG songs are not from the kids section of their catalogue (although she loves violin). she loves don't let it start and birdhouse in your soul and constantinople.

The truth is, the songs on the kids side sound alot like the adult stuff, only they sing songs based on the letters of the alphabet or they sing about kid oriented stuff like lying, food shopping and being told No!.

Here comes the ABCS is good but No! is probably better for the boy. (congratulations by the way).

There are certain bands that have a sound suited for kids. The Beatles are that way. Many of their biggest hits are, music-wise, totally kid friendly.

I didn't read the whole thread... but..

I've found one way to get to know the "stars"...

Inside The Actors Studio.... its a great show.

www.bravotv.com...