What Makes A Great Actor?
May. 2nd, 2006 05:26 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
miss_ytLast night I watched Carol Reed's The Third Man. It's one of those movies - you know, the kind they don't make 'em like anymore. While watching it I decided that Orson Welles is my official Famous Dead Guy I Have A Crush On[1]. He was quite a radical back in his day and got in trouble with everyone from Hollywood execs to William Randolph Hearst to Senator Joseph McCarthy and the FBI. He was a mad genius when it came to stage and film and, of course, a hell of an actor. He had an aura about him that was irresistably fascinating and a little unsettling. He seemed to be completely immersed in the role he was playing while at the same time he transcended it, letting his own force of personality shine through. I can think of very few contemporary actors who have the same kind of presence: Vincent D'Onofrio of Law and Order: Criminal Intent is one of them[2]. The others I can think of are Wayne Pygram (as Scorpius on Farscape) and Walter Koening (as Alfred Bester in Babylon 5)[3]). And neither were as good as Welles.
Of course, Welles himself might have said that this was because you can't acheive a truly masterful screen performance in color, only in black and white. I wonder...
[1] Every geeky girl who takes a reasonable interest in history has one of these.
[2] He actually bears a strong physical resemblence to Welles, too.
[3] It can be argued that they don't count because they were playing well-written fascinating and unsettling characters: I contend that bringing them to life in a convincing way could not have been easy. And yeah, funny that two of my picks are villains.
Of course, Welles himself might have said that this was because you can't acheive a truly masterful screen performance in color, only in black and white. I wonder...
[1] Every geeky girl who takes a reasonable interest in history has one of these.
[2] He actually bears a strong physical resemblence to Welles, too.
[3] It can be argued that they don't count because they were playing well-written fascinating and unsettling characters: I contend that bringing them to life in a convincing way could not have been easy. And yeah, funny that two of my picks are villains.
