It may be yet another “comeback” for the former star of “Saturday Night Live,” but it may be his biggest, as he gets acclaim for his starring role in the Netflix comedy “Dolemite Is My Name.” Tracy Smith reports.
Tag Archives: Actors
Biographies: “Shatner” By MICHAEL SETH STARR (2019)
Shatner takes a comprehensive look at this singular performer, using archival sources and information culled from interviews with friends and colleagues to transport readers through William Shatner’s remarkably bumpy career: his spectacular failures and triumphs; tragedies, including the shocking death of his third wife, Nerine; and, ultimately, the resilience Shatner has shown, time and again, in the face of overwhelming odds. Author Michael Seth Starr unravels the mystery of William Shatner, stripping away the many myths associated with his personal life and his relationships with fellow actors, presenting a no-holds-barred, unvarnished look at the unique career of an inimitable performer.
In the early months of 1966, a handsome, hardworking thirty-five-year-old Canadian-born actor named William Shatner was cast as Captain Kirk in Star Trek, a troubled, low-budget science-fiction television series set to premiere that fall on NBC. Star Trek struggled for viewers and lasted only three seasons, but it found a huge, rabidly dedicated audience when it premiered in syndication following its cancellation—turning Shatner into a pop-culture icon and launching him on a career path he never could have imagined after graduating from McGill University with an economics degree twenty years earlier. As he approaches his ninetieth year, he’s still working at a furious pace as a man of boundless contradictions: by turns one of the most dissected, disliked, revered, respected, mocked, imitated, and beloved stars in the show business firmament.
To read more or order book: https://rowman.com/ISBN/9781493050659/Shatner
Film Actor Profiles: “An Essay On (64-Year Old) Willem Dafoe’s Face…” (Gentleman’s Journal)
From a Gentleman’s Journal online article:
Thankfully, Willem Dafoe and Willem Dafoe’s face have used this innate recognisability to their joint advantage. To date, the actor has appeared in well over 100 films, and his prolific career can be charted through the cracks and comments — some nice, some not so nice — that those in the industry have made about his looks.
In fact, in the intervening decades, Hollywood has called many, many times — as have independent filmmakers, foreign studios, animation houses, video game developers and scores of theatres. On the big screen, Dafoe has taken roles in Platoon, Mississippi Burning, Born on the Fourth of July, The English Patient, American Psycho and Shadow of the Vampire. He flew into The Aviator for a cameo, swung into the Spider-Man trilogy as the villainous Green Goblin and dipped his toe in voiceover work with Finding Nemo. He’s taken on John Carter, John Wick and narrated films from Vox Lux to The Great Wall. He’s been Oscar-nominated several times, for playing characters as wild and disparate as hammy vampires, Floridian motel managers and Vincent van Gogh. The man is a chameleon — and has managed to become one despite having Willem Dafoe’s face.
To read entire article: https://www.thegentlemansjournal.com/article/willem-dafoe-interview-face-hollywood-cover/
Actor Video Profiles: Danny DeVito On His “Most Iconic Characters” (GQ)
Danny DeVito breaks down his most iconic roles, including his characters in ‘It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia,’ ‘Batman Returns,’ ‘One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest,’ ‘Taxi,’ ‘Throe Momma from the Train,’ ‘Twins,’ ‘Matilda,’ ‘Hercules,’ ‘L.A. Confidential,’ ‘Curmudgeons’ and ‘Jumanji: The Next Level.’
Entertainment: 72-Year Old Larry David Returns For 10th Season In “Curb Your Enthusiasm” (Trailer)
Larry David stars as… Larry David, living the good life out in Los Angeles and stumbling through one faux-pas after another. Curb Your Enthusiasm returns for its tenth season Sunday, January 19 at 10:30PM.
Interviews: Anthony Hopkins On The “Nature Of Existence”, Having Fun In “The Two Popes” (WSJ)
From a Wall Street Journal Magazine online interview:
“The script is about questioning the nature of existence. I think about that every day of life. What is the purpose of life? As I get older, I look back on my own life as if it’s a novel written by someone else. To me it’s all a mystery. I started out over 60 years ago. My first job was, my God, 62 years ago and here I am. I don’t understand any of it. They gave me work, and I continued to work. It’s only just recently looking back, I thought, ‘My goodness, who designed this life? I certainly didn’t.’ I don’t know what’s life or destiny or kismet or God. I don’t want to get too philosophical about it. I’m fascinated about the mystery of life, about how we get through it, how we survive. I have no answers and I can’t take credit for any of it.”
Anthony Hopkins, who plays Pope Benedict XVI in this month’s Netflix movie The Two Popes, has a personal philosophy of not taking anything too seriously. “When I was younger, I was much more intense,” he says. “I got to a certain age, maybe 10 years ago, and thought, ‘Come on, just relax. Have some fun with it. Let’s have a ball!’” Hopkins’s surprising approach to playing the pope was to be as laid back as the actor, 81, appears on his lively Instagram account: He captures himself singing, dancing in his Thor costume and playing the piano with his cat perched on his lap.
To read more: https://www.wsj.com/articles/why-anthony-hopkins-doesnt-research-his-roles-11574343089?mod=read_more
Celebrity Interviews: Julie Andrews Reflects On Her Hollywood Career (PBS)
Legendary entertainer Julie Andrews will receive the American Film Institute’s lifetime achievement award in 2020. In addition to her theatrical career, Andrews has published more than 30 children’s books with one of her daughters, writer and arts educator Emma Walton Hamilton. John Yang sits down with Andrews and Hamilton to discuss how the star focused on family even during her Hollywood heyday.
Boomers Daily 