Charismatic actors

M

MikeC10305

Member
How important, especially in a short film is having a charismatic actor?? I feel as though if the actor is not famous and neither is the filmmaker when a festival programmer sits down to watch your short, barring your story is on par, that LEADING MAN or WOMAN is going to either drop the ball or score. The problem with a lot of shorts that I see is low quality acting, which immediatly takes you out. The director has to reel you in with his actors as well as his attention to detail. I'm working on a drama where I will be playing the main part and I was just wondering what your view on charisma in an actor/actress in a short.....
 
Charisma will be a great asset to your film, unless of course he/she can't act. Then its not going to matter.
It seems you're asking a mixed question. Do you want a good actor or a charismatic actor?The two don't always go hand in hand. You can have a lot of charisma and not be able to act a lick.
My advice, just get the person that is the best actor and most closely fits the part. Because you're right, in a low budget film, the acting is what can set it apart.
 
From my own experience, I have found that a great actor can do amazing things with a good script. All to often in the realm of short films, you are dealing with filmmakers who don't know how to write good scripts. I have worked on countless short films were I have seen mediocre scripts shoved upon extremely talented actors, and the whole thing falls flat because the actors have nothing to work with. This can be made even worse if you are dealing with a director who doesn't know how to direct actors.

Rob
 
For me, "charsima" on screen would be impossible to separate from good acting. A person who is charismatic in person but who is a poor actor will not be 'charismatic' on the screen. Bad acting will wipe all that away. Conversely, a good actor will almost by definition be charismatic, even if he's not physically attractive, "hot" or whatever. Take Phillip Seymour Hoffman for example. He may be much less 'charismatic' than Brad Pitt off screen, but I'd much rather watch him in a movie than Pitt. Is that charisma? I think so...
 
Ted Spencer said:
For me, "charsima" on screen would be impossible to separate from good acting. A person who is charismatic in person but who is a poor actor will not be 'charismatic' on the screen. Bad acting will wipe all that away. Conversely, a good actor will almost by definition be charismatic, even if he's not physically attractive, "hot" or whatever. Take Phillip Seymour Hoffman for example. He may be much less 'charismatic' than Brad Pitt off screen, but I'd much rather watch him in a movie than Pitt. Is that charisma? I think so...
Click to expand...

But not all characters are meant to be charasmatic...
 
What is the difference between good acting and charisma? Is charisma a combination of attractive attributes (not "hot", but attracting attention) and a matter of style? How, exactly, would you define charisma?
 
a charismatic person is one you can't not pay attention to. when translated on screen, the audience becomes engrossed with the character and cares, whether they know why or not. shia lebeouf is charismatic, but isn't a good actor. he plays the same person in every role. meryl streep is charismatic and is a phenomenal actress, as each character is entirely different, yet she emodies each uniquely.
 
Opinions will always vary, but I thought Shia LaBoeuf's performance in "Disturbia" was outstanding. And as far as him "playing the same person in every role", that's substantially true of many great actors like Al Pacino, Robert DeNiro etc. (there are numerous exceptions of course, but in general it's true). LaBoeuf is also very young. I think we should give him a little longer before we talk about "every movie" he's in.
 
I take heat over this on a regular basis, but I think Meryl Streep is for the most part vastly overrated.

Flame away... : )
 
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