Acting and Acting Style

Identify three actors from your film and classify each according to the types of actors listed in the text.

Film: Unforgiven

Actors and categories:

Clint Eastwood: personality actor, Morgan Freeman: Wild cards and character actor, Gene Hackman: Impersonator

Explain your reasons for classifying the actors as you do. Use specific references to the film and pay special attention to how these decisions impacted characterization. Also consider the impact of any realistic or stylized portrayals within the film.

Clint Eastwood personality character.

Clint Eastwood has a certain screen persona that is well known to his audiences as well as anyone who has worked with him on screen (Goodykoontz, B.,2011). He is well known among other actors and the public. Eastwood becomes very involved with his character almost becoming the very character that he has created. Making it hard for movie goers to determine if he is being his-self or the character role that he has created. Many of Eastwood’s character roles where he is playing his-self are usually based events and things that took place in his life whether they have been good or bad ( Eastwood, 2003). The ending of his films seem to be going well when a tragic event takes place that involves the main character or a close friend which brings him to seek closure in the violent or tragic ending. Eastwood brings a certain persona to all of his films. The way he stands, always chewing on the end of a cigar or has that glint in his eye when he is staring down his enemy. Just like his character in the movie Unforgiven entering the saloon looking for the sheriff and anyone else involved in the killing of his friend. Entering the saloon with his rifle aimed at whomever moves first. Demanding to know in that slow drawn out voice with that squint in his eye who was involved with the slashing of the woman’s face and with his friends death before. When Eastwood’s character is talking his facial expressions never change. Without these Eastwood trademarks and facial expressions that he has created in his films such as Unforgiven, Fistful of Dollars and Gran Torino and more. Movie goers and audiences everywhere would think something was missing in the film. His character would not come off as the western gunslinger or good guy with an attitude that we have known Eastwood for.

Morgan Freeman Star

Morgan Freeman is an actor who’s hard to classify as one certain type of actor. He doesn’t play one type of character but that of many. Freeman’s acting goes as far back as the Electric company an educational program for children. His character role was Mel the Easy reader teaching children to love reading. He is constantly playing a wide variety of characters. Just like his character in the new film Dolphin 2. Freeman doesn’t become the character yet he identifies with the character and the role that he is playing. He is more of a supporting actor. Like he was in the film Unforgiven. He played the best friend. We didn’t see a whole lot of his character throughout the film but what we did see was of major importance. Freeman still surprises us and makes his character role important. The parts we did see were those of him in the scene upon the rock cliffs where there was a shootout between them and some young cowboys. Then in the saloon where he was telling his friend they would not take kind to serving whiskey to a spook in their establishment. Without these scenes there would be no story to tell. Scenes like these break up the monotony of it being just a western. It helps to create the storyline. It would be just another western about a gunfighter’s past. Morgan has an authoritative voice and calm demeanor being one of America’s most respected figures in cinema business (Freeman biography, n.d). His characters roles have included those of many Street Smart where he plays a hoodlum and pimp, Shawshank Redemption a knowledgeble inmate and Unforgiven gunman Ned Logan. All with different types of character roles. Morgan is a great supporting actor as well as a leading actor and narrative (Freeman Morgan). He is more or less the same in any of his roles. He makes every movie or film better. He takes his lines and delivers turning them into a forceful and vibrant character or role. He is a star and his star has been rising ever since.

Gene Hackman impersonator

Gene Hackman does not create the character he copies the manner, dialect and behavior of his character (Goodykoontz, B., 2011). Known for his villainous or corrupt characters such as John Herrod in the Quick and the Dead and The Firm as a corrupt lawyer. In the film Unforgiven he won an academy as best supporting actor (Gene Hackman biography, n.d). Where he portrayed the villainous sheriff of Big Whiskey. Hackman is comfortable with the characters that he plays in the films. For years he has had to carry the stigma of character actor. I think Hackman can act and play any role he choses. yet he has never been given the proper credit he has earned as an actor. When he is portraying a character the tools of the trade are limited preferring it that way (News Week, Gene Hackman, n.d). In the film Unforgiven the scene where he is beating and kicking Eastwood he relied only on his voice and body, ranting, shouting raising chaos for the entire town to see and hear. Through all of this there was little glimmers of humanity. In the scene at the jail house when he told the imprisoned Morgan Freeman about violent interrogation coming his way there was this quick flash of sympathy across Hackman’s face. Showing in his character role even bad guys can be human too. Three years later he played a character totally the opposite playing Harry Caul in the film Conversation a complete transformation from previous characters he has played.

Focus on one of the actors I’ve discussed based on other films the actor has been would this actor always be placed in the same category?

If not what can you infer about the flexibility of these categories? Provide evidence (references from other films including clips to support my argument).

Morgan Freeman: I believe this actor can be placed in any category. What I can infer is Morgan Freeman is a very talented actor and conforms to any character or character role that he is given. Freeman knows how to identify his-self with his character and the role he is playing. In the movie Street Smart (1987) he really stood outside of his element. He played an inner city hustler. Freeman created this pimp character named Fast Black with a charismatic surface. Yet beneath it all his character was violent and manipulative. Freeman made this pimp into  a brutal self controlled sociopath (Morgan Freeman, biography, n.d). This I would consider as sophisticated enactment of layers of his acting personality his own personal style.

References

Eastwood, (2003). Senses of Cinema
Retrieved from http://www.sense of cinema.com/2003/great directors/Eastwood
Goodykoontz, B., (2011).Film: From Watching to Seeing, Chapter Three Styles of Actors
Retrieved from://San Diego CA: Bridgepoint Education, INC.
constellation course digital materials (CPM)title
Morgan Freeman: He makes any movie better
Retrieved from http://www.inside movies.ew.com/Morgan-Freeman
Morgan Freeman Biography- Biography – IMDb
Retrieved from http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000151/bio
Internet Movie Database
Gene Hackman- Biography IMDb
Retrieved from http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000432/bio
The Disappearance of Gene Hackman, Newsweek
Retrieved from http://www.newsweek.com/disappearance-gene-hackman.