Category Archives: Actors

Johnny Depp: The Mad Hatter’s Context

I have always felt that context was decisive, when it came to acting styles. I have heard it said that an actor should approach King Lear in the same way he approaches a French farce, and while I understand the … Continue reading

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R.I.P. Corey Haim

I suppose this won’t be much of a surprise to those of us who have followed Haim’s tailspin – and to those of us who fondly remembered his heyday in the 80s – but Corey Haim has died of an … Continue reading

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My interview with actress Zoë Daelman Chlanda

Recently, I sat down with acclaimed indie horror actress Zoë Daelman Chlanda and we talked about acting, her process, her place in the independent horror genre, and her latest film – the horror short Contact directed by Jeremiah Kipp. Check … Continue reading

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Virginia Woolf on Ellen Terry

When Ellen Terry was onstage, observed Virginia Woolf, “all the other actors were put out, as electric lights are put out.” This is a blessing and a curse. Star power. Charisma. You either have it or you don’t. In 1907, … Continue reading

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Tess Harper: The Way She Looks At Him

Near the end of Tender Mercies, Mac Sledge (played by Robert Duvall) plays with a new band of youngsters at a local dance, and it is his comeback, albeit a small one, but things have already started moving in the … Continue reading

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Jeff Bridges: My Manifesto

To say “at last” or “finally” in regards to his tour de force performance as washed-up country/western star Bad Blake in Crazy Heart would be to completely disregard how uniformly superb he has been from the very start of his … Continue reading

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Sissy Spacek in Badlands: An Analysis

Roger Ebert writes in his review of Terrence Malick’s great film Badlands: She claimed she was kidnapped and forced to go along with Starkweather. When they first were captured, he asked the deputies to leave her alone: “She didn’t do … Continue reading

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Boris Karloff: “shocked by unkindness and never less than polite”

This is my late addition to the spectacular Boris Karloff Blog-a-Thon going on at Frankensteinia. I have been losing myself in all of the links. Great stuff – make sure you head on over there and read. Keep scrolling! Peter … Continue reading Continue reading

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Playing Shakespeare

“Play to the lines, through the lines, but never between the lines. There simply isn’t time for it.” — George Bernard Shaw to actress Ellen Terry on performing Shakespeare, 1896

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Happy Belated Birthday, Montgomery Clift

Kim Morgan reminds me that yesterday was the birthday of Montgomery Clift. Her essay is not to be missed. But I could say that about every one of her posts. Kim writes: Clift’s eyes held secrets, and not merely the … Continue reading

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