> Also see The Inner Actor
> Continued from Part 1 This poster is for the 2012 Cannes Film Festival. An image of Marilyn Monroe with a birthday cake was selected to help mark the festival’s 65th birthday. Cannes released a statement about the choice: ”Fifty years after her death, Marilyn is still a major figure in world cinema, an eternal [...]
“I never wanted to be Marilyn – it just happened. Marilyn’s like a veil I wear over Norma Jeane.” “I used to think as I looked out on the Hollywood night, ‘There must be thousands of girls sitting alone like me dreaming of being a movie star.’ But I’m not going to worry about them. [...]
Her portrayal of the icon is earning praise from many reviewers. Claudia Puig writes in USA TODAY about Williams’ “bravura performance.” Roger Ebert thinks “What happens during the famous week [in the movie] hardly matters. What matters is the performance by Michelle Williams.” A number of those reviewers refer to her exceptional performance as “channeling [...]
Like many actors who want to develop their talents, Vanessa Hudgens observes other people, and uses the experience for personal growth as well. She also develops her awareness through reading, such as the book The Four Agreements. Hudgens sometimes visits Venice Beach: “I love going to the drum circle down there. Every now and then [...]
Many talented actors and other performers experience “jitters” – which can be helpful up to a point – or outright anxiety such as stage fright – which is not so helpful. Both Helena Bonham Carter and Colin Firth of “The King’s Speech” have talked about suffering from it (see the article Celebrities with anxiety and [...]
“It was almost like I needed to have a day job, because this [acting] was too much fun. “But I was a highly sensitive child, and the last thing my parents wanted was for their child to go in and get hurt… “Most actors are highly sensitive people, but you have this incredible scrutiny. You [...]
By Janet Esposito, MSW It seems like quite a stretch to think that our fear of public speaking and performing can actually be a blessing in our lives. That sounds like a big dose of positive thinking—an attempt to be the eternal optimist trying to find the silver lining in a difficult and often painful [...]
“I find mimicking and accents and makeup the easiest kind of acting to do… “You can turn me into a woman, give me some heels, I can do that. I can find the voice, etc. “But just sit me on the sofa? If I’m acting at all in those scenes, it unravels the movie that [...]
Many talented artists share traits such as perfectionism and a need to “get it right” – and also high sensitivity, which can make fame and attention very stressful, even overwhelming. See the post Kristen Stewart and shyness and sensitivity for one example. In her article Jesse Eisenberg on playing Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg in ‘The [...]
Many actors, musicians and other entertainers report they experience stage fright, but making a speech or public presentation can also produce so much performance anxiety you aren’t able to express your personality and creative ideas as well as you could without the fear, in more control of your emotions. Or you don’t even attempt something [...]
Many creative and gifted people have been diagnosed at some point in their lives with a mental illness. A diagnosis of schizophrenia or bipolar disorder, for instance, can deeply affect our sense of identity and change the course of our life. The decision to take medications to treat a mental illness may also have a [...]
“Guest author Carmen Lynne writes : “After spending the greater part of my life as an actress and performer, I became a therapist in early 2007. “While I still do a little bit of acting when I have a chance, I now mainly spend my time helping other people to fulfill their creative ambitions or [...]
Mia Wasikowska portrayed troubled, suicidal teen gymnast Sophie in the outstanding HBO psychotherapy drama series “In Treatment.” Her work made Sophie one of the most powerful, conflicted and emotionally complex teen characters I have seen. She was both fascinating and wrenching in her distraught intensity. In a magazine interview about her lead role in Tim [...]
“If you’re going to spend a life in the arts, you need to be infused with a sense of gratitude and a sense of wonder. It’s a privilege to do this profession. “But there is a payment you have to make for that privilege, which is to do your best all the time. “To challenge [...]
“The best moments usually occur when a person’s body or mind is stretched to its limits in a voluntary effort to accomplish something difficult and worthwhile.” Psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi Daniel Day-Lewis describes being intensely immersed in his character when he is working on a movie. He was asked in an interview what he loves about [...]
Bryce Dallas Howard portrays the “unapologetic” Fisher Willow in The Loss of a Teardrop Diamond. “I learned some interesting things about myself. Fisher is unapologetic about anything she does or says, and I am not; in fact I am apologizing all the time. “I liked that she was almost hedonistic in her approach to life, [...]
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Site author: Douglas Eby, M.A./Psychology, is a writer and researcher on the psychology of creative expression and personal growth, especially for high ability adults. He is publisher of the Talent Development Resources series of sites.
