Actor
An actor is a person who acts, or plays a role, in a dramatic production. The term commonly refers to someone working in
movies,
television, live
theatre, or radio, and can occasionally denote a street entertainer. Besides playing dramatic roles, actors may also sing or dance or work only on radio or as a voice artist. A
female actor can be known either as an actor or actress, depending on the person's preference, though some use the term "actor" for either sex.
An actor usually plays a fictional character.
Encyclopedia
An
actor is a person who acts, or plays a role, in a dramatic production. The term commonly refers to someone working in
movies,
television, live
theatre, or radio, and can occasionally denote a street entertainer. Besides playing dramatic roles, actors may also sing or dance or work only on radio or as a voice artist. A
female actor can be known either as an
actor or
actress, depending on the person's preference, though some use the term "actor" for either sex.
An actor usually plays a fictional character. In the case of a true story an actor may play a real person . Occasionally, actors appear as themselves, as in John Malkovich's performance in the film
Being John Malkovich is a 1999 [i] film [i] written by Charlie Kaufman [i] and directed by Spike Jonze [i]...
.
Etymology
"Actor" is directly from the masculine
Latin noun
actor from the verb
agere "
to do, to drive, to pass time" + the suffix
-or "so./st. who performs the action indicated by the stem". Alternatively from Greek
', leader, from the verb ', to lead or carry, to convey, to bring.
History
The first recorded case of an actor performing took place in 534 BC when the
Greek performer Thespis stepped on to the stage at the
Theatre Dionysus and became the first known person to speak words as a character in a play. Prior to Thespis' act, stories were told in song and dance and in third person narrative, but no one had assumed the role of a character in a story. In honour of Thespis, actors are commonly called
Thespians. Theatrical legends to this day maintains that Thespis exists as a mischievous spirit, and disasters in the theatre are sometimes blamed on his ghostly intervention.
Actors were traditionally not people of high status, and in the
Early Middle Ages travelling acting troupes were often viewed with distrust. However, this negative perception has largely been reversed in the 20th century as acting has become an honored and popular profession and art. Part of the cause is the easier popular access to dramatic
film entertainment and the resulting rise of the movie star - as regards both their social status and the salaries they command. The combination of public presence and wealth has profoundly rehabilitated their image.
In the past, only men could become actors in some societies. In the ancient and
medieval world, it was considered disgraceful for a woman to go on the stage, and this belief continued right up until the 17th century, when in
Venice it was broken. In the time of
William Shakespeare, women's roles were played by men or boys, though there is some evidence to suggest that women disguised as men also performed. The British prohibition was ended in the reign of
Charles II who enjoyed watching female actors on stage.
Theories
Many acting theories and innovations came about, just as in any other form of art.
Stanislavsky and the Moscow Theater were among the first founders of what is now considered Method Acting.
Meyerhold and his theory on biomechanics and physicality was a revolutionary idea back in early 20th century Russian theater. Since then, Americanized forms of these theories brought about by
Lee Strasberg, Stella Adler, and other variations brought about by Sanford Meisner and
Viola Spolin can be seen.
Techniques of acting
Actors employ a variety of techniques that are learned through training and experience. Some of these are:
- The rigorous use of the voice to communicate a character's lines and express emotion. This is achieved through attention to diction and projection through correct breathing and articulation. It is also achieved through the tone and emphasis that an actor puts on words
- Physicalisation of a role in order to create a believable character for the audience and to use the acting space appropriately and correctly
- Use of gesture to complement the voice, interact with other actors and to bring emphasis to the words in a play, as well as having symbolic meaning
Shakespeare is believed to have been commenting on the acting style and techniques of his era when
Hamlet gives his advice to the players in the play-within-the-play. He encourages the actors to “speak the speech...as I pronounced it to you,” and avoid “saw[ing] the air too much with your hand” , because even in a ” whirlwind of passion, you must...give it smoothness.” On the other hand, Hamlet urges the players to “Be not too tame neither.” He suggests that they make sure to “suit the action to the word, the word to the action”, taking care to “o'erstep not the modesty of nature.” As well, he told the players to not “...let those that play your clowns...laugh, to set on some quantity of barren spectators to laugh too,” which Hamlet considered to be a “villainous” and “pitiful” tactic.
Actors playing the opposite sex
Women sometimes play the roles of
prepubescent boys, because in some regards a woman has a closer resemblance to a boy than does a man. The role of
Peter Pan, for example, is traditionally played by a woman. The tradition of the principal boy in
pantomime may be compared. An adult playing a child occurs more in theater than in film. The exception to this is voice actors in
animated films, where boys are generally voiced by women, as heard in
The Simpsons is an Emmy [i] and Peabody [i]-winning American [i] animated [i] ...
where the voice of
Bart Simpson is provided by Nancy Cartwright.
Opera has several 'pants roles' traditionally sung by women, usually
mezzo-sopranos. Examples are Hansel in
Hänsel und Gretel, and Cherubino in
The Marriage of Figaro.
Mary Pickford played the part of
Little Lord Fauntleroy in the first film version of the book.
Linda Hunt won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress in
The Year of Living Dangerously, in which she played the part of a man.
Having an actor play the opposite sex for comic effect is also a long standing tradition in comic theatre and film. Most of Shakespeare's comedies include instances of cross dressing, such as Francis Flute in
A Midsummer Night's Dream, and both
Dustin Hoffman and
Robin Williams appeared in hit comedy films where they were required to play most scenes dressed as women.
Tony Curtis and
Jack Lemmon famously posed as women to escape gangsters in the
Billy Wilder film
Some Like It Hot is a 1959 [i] comedy [i] film [i] directed by Billy Wilder [i]. ...
. Several roles in modern plays and musicals are played by a member of the opposite sex, such as the character "Edna Turnblad" in the
Broadway musical
Hairspray.Acting awards
Filmfare Awards are the oldest and most prominent film awards given for Hindi film [i]s in India [i] ...
for
Bollywood cinema
See also
Suggested reading
...
- Sanford Meisner on Acting by Sanford Meisner
- Letters to a Young Actor by Robert Brustein .
- The Alexander Technique Manual by Richard Brennan
- The Empty Space by Peter Brook
External links and resources
- : a union representing U.S. theatre actors and stage managers.
- : unions representing variety artists , musical artists, and musicians.
- : a union representing U.S. television and radio actors and broadcasters .
- : an online guide for beginning and professional actors, from the performing-arts trade publication Back Stage.
- : a trade union representing UK artists, including actors, singers, dancers, choreographers, stage managers, theatre directors and designers, variety and circus artists, television and radio presenters, walk-on and supporting artists, stunt performers and directors and theatre fight directors.
- : an Australian/New Zealand trade union representing everyone in the media, entertainment, sports, and arts industries.
- : a union representing U.S. film and TV actors.
