I nominate the following.
Ken Marino: in a nice surreal comedy where he can flex his incredible comedic/dramatic skills. Even though he's been on TV for years, I didn't really notice him until Reaper — the show was totally goofball, but not Ken and the way he portrayed his gay fallen angel, going from sweet to goofy to frighteningly evil in a mind's blur. He deserves so much more than an occasional anonymous bit part in shows like Greek. BTW, did I mention he's totally hot?
Christina Hendricks: I really liked her in Firefly, so how about a sci-fi adventure dramedy where her curves can literally kick some male ass.
John Slattery: in a comedy where he can play a total goofball who always gets the girl.
Conchata Ferrell: in a drama because this lady can seriously act. Seeing her sleepwalk through Two and a Half Men breaks my heart.
Harriet Sansom Harris: I really miss seeing her on TV; while she was delicious as Bebe in Frasier, I want to see her in a drama.
Wayne Knight: I don't care what he's in, he's always so great. Whether as the hateable Newman in Seinfeld or the lovable cop in 3rd Rock, he can always make you laugh.
Me. I'm not an actor, but I feel like I really need to be in a nice comedy. One in which you meet nice new people in nice cozy situations and everything always works out every half hour, where there's always a yummy catering truck and someone does my hair and make-up on a daily basis.
Showing posts with label Harriet Sansom Harris. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Harriet Sansom Harris. Show all posts
Saturday, January 9, 2010
Saturday, November 7, 2009
Lee Soon Jae
Is Lee Soon Jae the best actor ever? I'm beginning to think so. I first noticed him in a Korean drama called Merchant of Choson. In this fascinating period piece about commerce where I learned more than I wanted to about Korean red ginseng, he played a mega evil CEO who'll do everything and anything to make a buck (he learns the error of his ways after being beaten to a pulp by Fate). He was pretty scary. So I couldn't believe it when I saw him in Mom's Dead Upset, playing the noble, gentle patriarch! At the moment I'm catching him on Yi San (playing a hard-ass king) and Beethoven Virus (playing a dapper oboist going through Alzheimer's).
He's pretty amazing in Beethoven Virus. The way he fights his illness, trying to find clarity by putting rough pebbles in his shoes, his denial and then slow descent into dementia, first traveling back in time, and then forgetting the self completely, even in the posture of his body.
It's not the kind of acting that's appreciated here in the US, where the cult of personality is everything. Famous actors play basically one character their whole careers and acting is just being able to pull out an emotion on cue. Cary Grant famously played Cary Grant, and you have to reach all the way into the early 1930s to see him as an actor. It's not really the actors' fault — after all, they're being paid to play that one act over and over again, with any variation rarely appreciated by a paying audience.* In other countries, actors are allowed to grow, cast sometimes in minor roles, allowed the freedom of acting on stage, film and TV. In Korea, it isn't surprising to see the same actor in two or three dramas a season. This is in part because most dramas end at a specified number of episodes. They don't keep going on and on and on, the duration dependent on ratings.
Below is a clip from the comedy High Kick, where Mr. Lee plays an irascible son-of-a-gun who makes life hell for his poor wife. Go to 6:20 for an example of his subtle comedic skills.
*One of my favorite US actors is Harriet Sansom Harris, most famous as Bebe in Frasier. She's so perfect as Bebe, you think that's just her. But then watch her as the blind president in the old Sci Fi series Space: Above and Beyond. I'll never forget the one speech she makes for why they must continue the war: absolutely chilling.
He's pretty amazing in Beethoven Virus. The way he fights his illness, trying to find clarity by putting rough pebbles in his shoes, his denial and then slow descent into dementia, first traveling back in time, and then forgetting the self completely, even in the posture of his body.
It's not the kind of acting that's appreciated here in the US, where the cult of personality is everything. Famous actors play basically one character their whole careers and acting is just being able to pull out an emotion on cue. Cary Grant famously played Cary Grant, and you have to reach all the way into the early 1930s to see him as an actor. It's not really the actors' fault — after all, they're being paid to play that one act over and over again, with any variation rarely appreciated by a paying audience.* In other countries, actors are allowed to grow, cast sometimes in minor roles, allowed the freedom of acting on stage, film and TV. In Korea, it isn't surprising to see the same actor in two or three dramas a season. This is in part because most dramas end at a specified number of episodes. They don't keep going on and on and on, the duration dependent on ratings.
Below is a clip from the comedy High Kick, where Mr. Lee plays an irascible son-of-a-gun who makes life hell for his poor wife. Go to 6:20 for an example of his subtle comedic skills.
*One of my favorite US actors is Harriet Sansom Harris, most famous as Bebe in Frasier. She's so perfect as Bebe, you think that's just her. But then watch her as the blind president in the old Sci Fi series Space: Above and Beyond. I'll never forget the one speech she makes for why they must continue the war: absolutely chilling.
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