By definition, an actor is someone who “does things”, often in front of an audience, and in doing so, they exhibit a certain talent, whether innate or acquired. According to some schools of thought, actors are often born as such: their abilities and inclinations manifest in childhood or shortly thereafter, developing and evolving over time, and perhaps, unexpectedly, transforming or expanding in various ways. These “things” that actors do essentially involve changing appearance, habits, and voice for a limited period: in a word, “interpreting”. It is inherent in the nature of actors, as well as part of their training, to push the boundaries of their abilities as far as possible, beyond their previous achievements, comfort zones, norms, and habits. On the other hand, if we consider the origin of the seventh art, namely Greek theater, actors in the early days were not only interpreters of texts but also singers of epic poems, involved in choruses and elaborate dances. In short, actors have always worked to surprise both their audience and themselves; however, sometimes, you just can’t imagine certain things – like former 007 Pierce Brosnan chasing Meryl Streep in an idyllic Greek village while singing (I mean, SINGING) Abba – “So when you’re near me, darling / Can’t you hear me, S.O.S.? / The love you gave me / Nothing else can save me, S.O.S.”.
If I pause for a moment to think about who, in recent times, has done things I never thought they could (or would have been willing to) do… in fact, two or three names come to mind.
Ryan Tony-Award Gosling
Ryan Gosling, ladies and gentlemen: the actor of “Drive,” “First Man,” “Blade Runner,” “Fracture,” and, okay, also of “Crazy, Stupid, Love” and “The Notebook,” but, all in all, a solid actor, always playing the role of the muscular and aloof alpha male who can open any jar and isn’t afraid of spiders. At the first musical note he emitted in “La La Land” and, especially, at the first tap dancing step I saw him take in “polyester wool suit”, I lost all sense of space and time. But the time Ryan pleasantly made me lose all certainty was when he started pirouetting in the shocking pink world of “Barbie”, with platinum blonde locks and rollerblades. Who would have thought that Ryan Gosling could sing and dance? And that one day he would captivate the audience at the Dolby Theater with the best musical performance of the Oscars ceremony? His early days at the Mickey Mouse Club alongside Justin Timberlake and Britney Spears must have had some impact…
The Dark Side of Timotheé Chalamet
Timmy, Sweet Tea, Lil’ Timmy Tim, and whatever else you want to call him: Timothée Chalamet is the most renowned cutie pie since his international debut in “Call Me by Your Name”, confirming his status as an Internet boyfriend with a series of performances characterized by a common thread: only beautiful, talented, and good characters. The repentant drug addict in “Beautiful Boy”, the seduced and abandoned orphan in “Little Women”, the dreamy chocolatier in “Wonka”, the pacifist heir to Duke Leto Atreides in “Dune”… But let’s talk about “Dune 2”: Paul Atreides is now the only survivor of the Atreides house, alone among the Fremen, in a desert inhabited by deadly Sandworms, threatened by power-hungry Harkonnens and Spice. So, amidst acts of courage and tests of loyalty, young Paul becomes the great Paul Muad’Dib Usul, which translates from the Fremen language as “Paul Desert Mouse Little Insect”. [Spoiler alert here] Who expected the bloody, ruthless, and insolent turn of mouse-insect Paul in the second half of the film? But above all, who thought that Timothée could play the bad and scary guy?
Harry Styles Can(not?) Act
Still in the land of Internet boyfriends, for Harry Styles, today’s times are far from the era of “What Makes You Beautiful”/”Stockholm Syndrome”/”Made in the A.M.” of the boy band that birthed him. These are times closer to solo world tours, Grammy Awards, and Gucci campaigns. These are times of exploration and experimentation. And so, amid an identity search and another, the former One Direction member has churned out three films in almost a year, because why not, how different can the singer’s profession be from that of the actor? (Spoiler: a bit). He disoriented us in spandex jumpsuits in the role of superhero Starfox in “Eternals”, shocked us as the manipulative sexual co-lead in “Don’t Worry Darling”, surprised us as the gay policeman protagonist in “My Policeman”. In short, the time to say watermelon sugar, and Harry has disoriented, shocked, and surprised us. And as if that weren’t enough, now he’s cut his hair.
Florence Pugh’s Trachea
Did you know that Florence Pugh has a brother who is a musician? Artistically known as Toby Sebastian, he has released an album and an EP to date. And if you already knew that, have you ever listened to his song “Midnight”? And if you know the song, do you recognize the female voice in the background? Well, that’s Florence’s voice. Husky, deep, delightful, not only when she acts but also when she sings. Since childhood, Florence has suffered from a rare condition that affects the proper functioning of her trachea, causing respiratory difficulties (when she catches a bad cold). This condition, which is also the origin of her low, sensual voice, has never prevented her from using her vocal cords not only for acting but also for singing. As a teenager, she posted covers of famous songs on YouTube under the pseudonym Flossie Rose, and now she duets with her brother and sings in her films, behind the scenes as for the soundtrack of “Don’t Worry Darling”, or in front of the camera as in “A Good Person”.
(Inter)national Alessandro Borghi
The Italian actor of the moment, now on everyone’s lips for his portrayal of Rocco Siffredi in the Netflix series “Supersex”, is the protagonist of some of Italy’s most popular films of the last decade, including “Naples in Veils”, “Don’t Be Bad,” “On My Skin,” and the TV series about Roman mafia “Suburra.” But how did he end up on screen with Patrick Dempsey? And why does he sound more of a native English speaker than Dempsey? Well, our Alessandro is gaining more and more recognition abroad, perhaps thanks to the Sky series “Devils” in which he plays the head of trading at the New York-London Investment Bank (NYL) amidst the financial crisis, with Dempsey as his mentor companion speculator. Gaining increasing international visibility, Borghi has also collaborated with Dutch director Felix Van Groeningen (“The Broken Circle Breakdown,” “Beautiful Boy”) starring in “The Eight Mountains”. In two words: national pride.
Austin Butler-Presley
“We’re caught in a trap / I can’t walk out / Because I love you too much, baby”, sings Elvis Presley in one of his greatest hits, and in one of his most iconic performances, which is also one of the most iconic scenes of “Elvis”, his biopic. Here, an extensively made-up and heavily perspiring Austin Butler embodies the king of rock ‘n’ roll during one of the early concerts that cemented his success. The film alternates between original songs and covers sung by Butler himself, and unbelievably, it’s really hard to notice the difference between the two voices. It’s plausible that the assistance of sound mixing and various technological tools in the songs manipulated the actor’s voice to make it as similar as possible to Elvis’s. But on the acted parts, on the dialogues and monologues, there’s very little to manipulate. Austin’s voice in the film is frighteningly similar to Elvis’s. His vocal and dialect coach did a masterful job in helping him perfect tone and accent, so masterful that in the end, the situation must have gotten out of hand for everyone: the actor has openly confessed that he’s struggling immensely to shake off Elvis. And so, Austin Butler has given us one of the best characterizations in cinema in recent years, appropriating the singer’s voice as if it were natural to him. However, alas, the latter has never gone away.
They Call Me Luca Marinelli
Luca Marinelli AKA Italy’s shyest and most awkward actor. I immediately think of an anecdote I like to tell about that time at the Venice Film Festival when I bumped into him at the threshold of the secondary entrance of a hotel. Luca was leaving and I had to enter, but the door was very narrow and the two of us couldn’t pass through at the same time; you know, in situations like these when there’s no coordination and you end up bumping into each other? Well, that time, not only did we collide, but I also stabbed him in the stomach with my sharp elbow. At that point, a lethal sense of mortification overwhelmed me, but Marinelli seemed ten times more mortified than me. He apologized before I did (sorry because my ribs should never have gotten in the way of your elbow???). If the picture of the actor is this, that of an extremely kind, reserved, simple, and introverted person, what was the genesis of Zingaro (the gypsy) in “They Call Me Jeeg”? I would have never imagined Luca Marinelli singing the best cover of the Italian song “Un’emozione da poco” in a sequin suit and leather gloves. It’s true that in front of cameras and lights, everything else loses its importance, and only art exists.
Diane Keaton Behind The Camera
There are many actor-directors, among the most well-known names are Bradley Cooper, Clint Eastwood, Woody Allen, Kenneth Branagh, Ben Affleck. A trend in recent years has also been to give visibility to the less known and recognized directorial work of actresses, such as Olivia Wilde, Greta Gerwig, Angelina Jolie, the Italian Paola Cortellesi. The figure of the actor-director, therefore, is nothing extraordinary, on the contrary, it’s a rather widespread combination of professions that one expects to happen sooner or later. However, when I, in the midst of binge-watching the second season of “Twin Peaks” – the one where David Lynch dropped everything and left others to direct the episodes – reached episode 15, “Slaves and Masters”, and among the opening credits I read “Directed by Diane Keaton”, I jumped up and emitted a loud scream. Number one, because Diane Keaton is one of my all-time favorite actresses, and whatever she does, I’ve seen it; number two, because I didn’t know and didn’t expect Diane Keaton to have directing experience; her work probably hasn’t been as “sponsored” as that of the actress-directors of the moment. That episode of “Twin Peaks” is not, in fact, her directorial debut, nor is it an isolated episode, but it was preceded and followed by a series of other directing projects.
David Lynch’s First Love?
Painting. Director David Lynch (“Elephant Man”, “Mulholland Drive”, “Blue Velvet”, “Twin Peaks”) was born a painter when he wanted nothing to do with studying and school, and spent hours and hours in his friend’s father’s studio painting, while his parents thought he was breaking curfew because he was a depraved alcoholic and drug addict. There’s a beautiful documentary titled “David Lynch: The Art Life” that explores precisely this: how the director discovered the profession that ultimately gave him more satisfaction (at least economically and in terms of popularity) starting from a very different art form, which was his first love and which, as such, continues to hold a prominent place in his heart and life. Lynch’s art is cryptic and dark like his films, a mirror even more splatter and, if you will, even more dreamlike than the latter, the most evident manifestation of what the hell is in the mind of one of the most versatile and visionary artists of our time.
