What is an actor????

In showing us the life of a famous celebrity we see them stripped of some of the glamour and we the real work and the real person that hides behind the mask. Totally charming and perfect in any world he enters, what happens to the real man underneath the facade when faced with dismaying knowledge and incomprehensable facts? How real is one world as opposed to the other? How many dilemmas are there and how many questions are there? Once you know the questions do you see the answers right away or does each question or dilemma have it’s own set of answers? These talented people are non-the-less vulnerable. There certainly is such a thing as sensory overload in this profession Many performers resort to substance abuse, in order to help them deal with the dichotomy of what can seem like two personalities or the difficulty of always living ‘on’ and maintaining ‘a face’. Sometimes those big bucks are earned with a large helping of blood, sweat and tears. Aside from the training and the continual keeping up of their physical selves, an actor must maintain a good equilibrium with himself. Some can always differentiate between who he is and who he is playing. The good ones do, keeping it on an even kiel. They know who they are and who their alter ego is and can be happy with their performances. Perfection is sought by hard work and good control of the mask and the reality that propels the actor to the great performance. What do you think?

(c) Sandra Kahn, The actor's dilemma

My actor, my Jude Law.

xxx