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- “All my work is about uncovering, especially uncovering of voices that speak without governance, or that speak without being heard.” — Seamus Deane
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- How it’s going
- For James Dean’s Birthday
- The First Glimpse of The Guy Who Started It All
- “Since we do float on an unknown sea I think we should examine the other floating things that come our way very carefully.” — poet Elizabeth Bishop
- “The only people who ever called me a rebel were people who wanted me to do what they wanted.” — Nick Nolte
- Reviews: Suze (2025)
- “Make them laugh, make them cry, make them wait.” — Charles Dickens
- “For I, the chiefest lamp of all the earth…” — Christopher Marlowe, Tamburlaine
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Category Archives: Actors
For James Dean’s Birthday
Some links: For Library of America: I wrote about East of Eden … an essay I had been waiting to write for almost my whole entire life. For my Substack, a re-post of the piece I wrote in 2013 on … Continue reading
Posted in Actors, Movies, On This Day
Tagged East of Eden, James Dean, Rebel Without a Cause
20 Comments
The First Glimpse of The Guy Who Started It All
For James Dean’s birthday Age 13. Babysitting. Up later than I normally would be. East of Eden was on late-night television. I had never seen it. I don’t even know that I was aware of who James Dean was. And … Continue reading
Posted in Actors, Movies, Personal
Tagged Actors Studio, East of Eden, Elia Kazan, James Dean, Lee Strasberg
8 Comments
“The only people who ever called me a rebel were people who wanted me to do what they wanted.” — Nick Nolte
It’s Nick Nolte’s birthday. He has always been one of my all-time favorites, and despite the odds – or maybe because of the odds – and his personal struggles – it’s a thrill that he is still with us, still … Continue reading
“Since the beginning, I’ve said, ‘I’m not going to get involved with my image.’” – Charlotte Rampling
It’s her birthday today. I first saw Charlotte Rampling in Angel Heart, where she has one hauntingly weird scene: a rumpled schlubby Mickey Rourke visits her to question her. Her apartment is filled with strange artifacts, beautifully placed. The decor … Continue reading
“Often I pretended to a cameraman to know less than I did. That way I got more cooperation.” — Ida Lupino
It’s the birthday of actress and director Ida Lupino. To give some perspective on her unlikely and inspiring trajectory: she was born into a theatre family dynasty. By the time she was 14, 15, she was playing adult roles. She … Continue reading
“All these weird stages in my teenage years are documented. Why did no one tell me how terrible some of those outfits were?”– Justin Timberlake
“The thing is that my idols have always been the types of guys who could do anything: Gene Kelly, Fred Astaire, Sinatra, Dean Martin; and when you look up to people like that, you don’t accept that you need to … Continue reading
“The notion of ‘building a career’ had never been heard or dreamed of when I was young.” — Vanessa Redgrave
My friend Dan Callahan wrote the first major biography of Vanessa Redgrave, and he is voluminous on the topic: her career, her gift as an actress. Dan is one of the best writers today on the art of acting (and … Continue reading
Posted in Actors, Books, Movies, On This Day, Television, Theatre
Tagged England, friends
3 Comments
Happy Birthday, Dorothy Malone
I was so happy to pay tribute to Dorothy Malone for Film Comment. The actress – whose career spanned over 50 years – died in 2018 at the age of 93. She was an Oscar-winning actress who ended up on … Continue reading
Posted in Actors, Movies, On This Day
Tagged Dorothy Malone, Douglas Sirk, Howard Hawks, The Big Sleep
2 Comments
“I think I’m invisible sometimes.” — Ingrid Thulin
It’s her birthday today. I’m really proud of the video-essay I wrote on her for Criterion: The Eerie Intensity of Ingrid Thulin One of Ingmar Bergman’s repertory company of actors. As heavy-hitting as Liv Ullmann, Bibi Andersson, Harriet Andersson. She … Continue reading
“Acting is like letting your pants down; you’re exposed.” — Paul Newman
It’s his birthday today. I am so glad I grew up in a time when Paul Newman was still a leading man (and he was a leading man up until the end). So I got to experience the pleasure of … Continue reading
Posted in Actors, Movies, On This Day
Tagged Elvis Presley, James Dean, Joanne Woodward, Marlon Brando, Paul Newman, Sidney Lumet
22 Comments