The Secret Of Star Quality

What is it that makes an actor a Star? Is it looks, talent, sheer luck? Or is it something else entirely? 

Let's talk about looks first. There are a lot of very beautiful people who try to make it in Hollywood. Newcomers who were the most dazzling specimens in their hometowns get a big jolt when they move to L.A. and discover that they're just one of many, many dazzling specimens all vying to be the Next Big Thing.

Beauty alone doesn't make a Star, not by a long shot. Of course, Hollywood puts a premium on great looking people, but because there are so damn many of them there it takes something else to be elevated to that place in the ether that's called Stardom. Strangely enough, that something else isn't necessarily talent. Like I said in my previous post, In Character, there are a lot of supporting actors who have far more raw talent than some of the greatest stars. 

On the other hand, soap operas are full of actors who, feature for feature, are more "perfect" looking than a lot of great stars. Oh, and as an aside - beautiful in real life doesn't always translate into beautiful on camera. When I was casting I saw it time and time again. 

An actor would come in for an audition who seemed to have all the right elements but once on-screen their beauty faded, their personality fell flat. There they were in the flesh - gorgeous and fascinating, but the camera spit them out like spoiled food. 

And, of course, the opposite was just as true. In would come an actor who was appealing enough - nothing special, but then, like magic, they'd be transformed on-screen into the most scintillating presence imaginable. 

And that's the key. Stars have that quality often referred to as It - or Charisma, that magnetic, almost other-worldly screen presence that compels you to watch and be fascinated by what you see. It doesn't even mean that you have to love what you see - that's a matter of taste. But, even if you're repelled, a Star elicits an intense, visceral response rather than a *yawn*.   

Once in a rare while someone arises who happens to be as charismatic and stunning  in person as they are on camera. And that, my friend, is what we call a Superstar.

Let's take a look at a scene from Tennessee Williams' Cat On A Hot Tin Roof featuring two of the biggest Stars and most luminous humans and ever to be paired on film before or since: Elizabeth Taylor and Paul Newman. 

Are You In Character?

Some of the most beautiful actors in the world are character actors. I'm not talking about physical beauty. I'm talking about the beauty that comes from being able to inhabit a role so fully and lovingly that the audience never forgets the experience.

It used to be that character actors were more often supporting players rather than leads - although there were some who became major stars - especially in the 1970's. These days television, which has become just as important and respected as film, has an abundance of terrific character actors in leading roles. But ultimately it doesn't matter, whether they're considered stars or supporting players, character actors are some of the best of the best!

Great character actors will work forever. Time is much kinder to them. You can be Steve Buscemi, Judi Dench, Lawrence Fishburne, or Frances McDormand and as you age people will watch your performances without any ugly, little thought bubbles popping up about how much older you look or how much plastic surgery you must have had. The reality is that after a certain age those gorgeous leading men and women start battling the crueler side of nature and both Hollywood and the audience can be unforgiving.

It's very important to understand the benefits and power of being a character actor because if you happen to fall outside the narrow spectrum of what Hollywood considers a leading man or woman, and most people do, you shouldn't spend endless hours trying to look like one. It's a waste of time, a distraction and can get very, very frustrating and depressing.

I've seen too many supremely talented young actors twist themselves in knots trying to prove to Hollywood that they're hot enough, sexy enough or good-looking enough. Enough for what? You can't prove anything to to Hollywood except that you're desirable because of who you are not what you think they want you to be. Embrace your individual beauty as an actor. Become the greatest actor you can possibly be. Blow them away with how prepared, interesting and unique you are.

If you're fat, scrawny, goofy, weird, or comically cute- that's great! There's actually more work for you in your field than for the very few "beautiful people" whose reigns tend to be glorious but far more brief and limited.

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Shelley Winters was a Master. She started out as a "Blonde Bombshell" but deliberately turned herself into a character actor because she wanted more challenging roles. This chameleon strategy doesn't always work but in Winters' case it was a brilliant move. She won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for this role in A Patch of Blue. You'll also see Elizabeth Hartman, a talented but tragic actor, in her film debut. She was completely unknown when she was cast and this big break won her much acclaim. Wallace Ford, a strong character actor whose work spanned many decades, appears here in his final role.

A Patch of Blue was ahead of it's time. Set against the backdrop of the growing civil rights movement, it tells the story of interracial love at a time when the very idea was incendiary.

Hartman's leading man is the gorgeous, charismatic Sidney Poitier, a true star and a pioneer in film. He was the first African-American to win an Oscar. There'll be a lot more of him on future posts.

This  excerpt starts off with Poitier and his brother, played by Ivan Dixon - a powerful actor who deserves better than being best known for his role in Hogan's Heroes - argue about Poitier's growing relationship with Hartman's character.


**strong language

A Terrible Choice And An Epic Big Break

I've noticed that a lot of actors I've met, especially younger actors, aren't familiar with work that isn't contemporary and popular - so I'm going to share scenes from some of the world's greatest films that include stellar work from actors both known and not so well known. Study the best and enjoy!

In this clip from Sophie's Choice, Meryl Streep gives a performance so riveting and painful that she could only do it once. And watch the masterful German actor Karlheinz Hackl as the Nazi guard. I picked this scene because it's some of Streep's best work - and that's saying a lot -  but also because I've rarely seen a performance more unforgettable and fully realized than the one Hackl gives here.



The Magnificent Film, Lawrence Of Arabia. If you haven't seen it you should. Even if it's not "your kind of movie", as an actor you should be familiar with films that are considered epic classics of Hollywood.  After all, It won 7 Oscars. As for big breaks - this was one of the Biggest. Peter O'Toole made a magnificent screen debut here and has never stopped working since. His character, T.E. Lawrence, has just been through a huge battle, trekked a never-ending desert, lost his beloved friend and is faced with the scorn and prejudice of his fellow British officers when he shows up in Arabian garb with a his young Arabian friend- who would usually only be allowed into the club as a servant.