The Actor/Performer. Jackman leads the way!

[jo]

Posted: 9/8/22 at 7:39am

It seems that the evolving trend is for actors and performers to become more and more adept in showing their artistry and showmanship on what used to be looked upon as different mediums. Increasingly, film actors try  to see if they can tread the boards. Some may have done it via dramatic or comedic plays...but some have even tried doing musical theatre. On the other hand, we have seen stage actors move to film work and some have been very successful. Hopefully, we will continue to see this evolving trend.

Maybe the best example today is Hugh Jackman. He is on leave for a week from his current Broadway show, The Music Man.

Where is he - he has just attended the premiere of his new movie at the Venice Film Festival. The movie called THE SON is actually a film adaptation of a raved London stage play by Florian Zeller in 2019. Zeller himself has adapted the screenplay and directed the movie. So, even with the creative skills, it is now seeing this complementation trend for these creative arts...Relatedly, Pasek & Paul's greatest song hits was in a movie (The Greatest Showman).

Critic Tom O'Brien summarized what he thought was the essence of Jackman's portrayal --

"In a career that encompasses being a superhero, a dramatic actor, and a song-and-dance man in one unique package, Jackman has never had a role quite like Peter, which calls upon him to shed his everyday good-guy image to probe deeper into the psyche of a successful man whose Achilles heel is his lifelong resentment of his father’s failures and his deep terror that he will make the same mistakes with his disturbed son. Jackman reveals a vulnerability in his performance in a way we have never quite seen before, and when that crack in his protective armor breaks, the result is devastating. It’s brilliant work from him."

The trend is nothing new. We have seen original stage performers move into movies. Sadly, once they have established film careers, it is not often to see them back doing stage work regularly. Hopefully, more and more will continue to perform on both branches of the performing arts.
 

Updated On: 9/8/22 at 07:39 AM

[willep]

Posted: 9/8/22 at 7:42am

Hugh Jackman does movies?!

[GiantsInTheSky2]

Posted: 9/8/22 at 7:44am

….cool.

[imeldasturn]

Posted: 9/8/22 at 8:31am

It's a French stage play not a London play

Updated On: 9/8/22 at 08:31 AM

[jo]

Posted: 9/8/22 at 8:38am

imeldasturn said: "It's a French stage play not a London play"

Yes, it is a French play.  I guessed I did not put it clearly that an English version was staged in London and drew raves. .. and that Zeller saw its cinematic appeal and adapted it with his collaborator Christopher Hampton. Interestingly, Hampton has worked in both films ( I think he won an Oscar for "Les Liaisons Dangereuses" & for The Father) and stage ( didn't he collaborate with Andrew Lloyd Webber in one of his musicals - was it Sunset Boulevard?)..

 

[Dancingthrulife2]

Posted: 9/8/22 at 2:46pm

Wish his actual performance in The Music Man could match the acclaims he’s been getting. His performance left me cold and unmoved unlike some of his screen work.

[TheatreMonkey]

Posted: 9/8/22 at 3:02pm

jo said: "imeldasturn said: "It's a French stage play not a London play"

Yes, it is a French play. I guessed I did not put it clearly that an English version was staged in London and drew raves. .. and that Zeller saw its cinematic appeal and adapted it with his collaborator Christopher Hampton. Interestingly, Hampton has worked in both films ( I think he won an Oscar for "Les Liaisons Dangereuses" & for The Father) and stage ( didn't he collaborate with Andrew Lloyd Webber in one of his musicals - was it Sunset Boulevard?)..

"

Christopher Hampton has a stellar record of translating (primarily French) plays for English audiences -- it was his translation of Les Liaisons Dangereuses for the stage that lead to his film adaptation "Dangerous Liaisons", and subsequent Academy Award for the film.