around just outside the camera’s range, doing their
jobs but also watching and listening to everything
the actors do. Some of the people are there because
they have to be (e.g., the director, script supervisor,
cinematographer, sound recordist, makeup artist,
hairstylist); others are there waiting to make the
necessary changes in scenery, properties, or light-
ing required for the next shot. Over the years, some
temperamental actors have succeeded in having
removed from the set all but the most essential per-
sonnel, but that is an exception to conventional
practice. Traditionally, however, movie sets have
been closed to visitors, particularly the media.
Although there are many types of actors—prob-
ably as many types as there are actors them-
selves—we can, for the purposes of this discussion,
identify four key types:
- actors who take their personae from role to
role (personality actors) - actors who deliberately play against our
expectations of their personae - actors who seem to be different in every
role (chameleon actors) - actors, often nonprofessionals or people
who have achieved success in another field
(sports or music, for example), who are
cast to bring verisimilitude to a part
In our everyday lives, each of us creates a per-
sona, the image of character and personality that
we want to show the outside world. For movie
actors, those personae are their appearance and
mannerisms of moving and delivering dialogue—
unique creations that are consistent at least on
some level from role to role and from performance
to performance. Actors’ personae are usually (but
not always) rooted in their natural behavior, per-
sonality, and physicality. Current actors defined by
their personae include Tom Cruise, Cameron Diaz,
and Will Smith. Paul Giamatti is not, by Hollywood
standards, a leading man, yet in Richard J. Lewis’s
Barney’s Version(2010), this actor—whose persona
might be described as an overweight, balding, neu-
rotic but likable loser—channels these attributes
and attitudes in a way that makes us care about his
character, Barney Panofsky. Even more versatile
actors—not just those who are popular action or
comedy stars—rely on persona, including Susan
Sarandon, Sean Penn, Morgan Freeman, Jack
Nicholson, William H. Macy, Chris Cooper, Ewan
McGregor, and Benicio Del Toro.
For many movie actors, the persona is the key to
their career, as well as an important part of film
marketing and why we choose particular movies
over others. One reason audiences go to movies is
to see a certain kind of story. That’s a big part of
what the concept of genre is all about. You go to a
romantic comedy, an action movie, a horror film, or
a comic-book adaptation because you know what to
expect and you want what you expect. Having
made your choice on the basis of story, you should
get familiar and appealing narrative structures,
cinematic conventions, character types, dramatic
situations, and payoffs.
The same thing goes for persona-identified
actors like Tom Cruise. He’s not only good-looking,
but he projects an interesting balance of arrogance
and vulnerability that appeals to many viewers.
When you go to a Tom Cruise movie (the kind
where the star’s name is the most important factor
in your choice), you have an expectation of the kind
of performance he’s going to give you, based on his
persona, and you expect to see that performance,290 CHAPTER 7ACTING
DVDThis short tutorial discusses the
importance of persona to our experience of
acting performances.