Screen Acting

How do film actors create a performance? While not everyone would agree with Alfred Hitchcocks notorious remark that actors are cattle, there is little understanding of the work film actors do. Yet audience enthusiasm for, or dislike of, actors and their style of performance is a crucial part of the film-going experience. From the stylisation of the silent era, through the naturalism of Lee Strasbergs Method, to Mike Leigh's use of improvisation, Screen Acting discusses the philosophies which have influenced film acting and analyses the styles and techniques of individual performers. The interweaving of general discussions of film acting with analyses of and interviews with individual performers allows Screen Acting to explore key issues from varying perspectives. How do different actors approach their art? What is the relationship between film, theatre and television acting? How important are general philosophies of acting? The work of a wide range of actors including Bette Davis, James Mason, SLovell, Alan is the author of 'Screen Acting' with ISBN 9780415182935 and ISBN 041518293X.