42
I have chosen the film 42 for this blog post. This film is a biographical sports film that is depicting the story of Jackie Robinson the first African American to join the major baseball league. This story covers the journey that he was on, one that is of persevering , endurance, struggle, pain and so much more. The first actor that I chose to categorize in actor types is Chadwick Boseman who plays Jackie Robinson. Chadwick would be what the textbook calls impersonator. Due to the fact that this film is a bio film the major actor has to impersonate the characteristics and mannerisms of another person. This is exactly was Boseman does in this film he is acting out a specific persons’ actual life and events, in which I can categorize him as an impersonating actor. The second actor is Harrison Ford who plays Branch Rickey the Dodgers general manager who is one the few men who gave Robinson a true chance at the baseball career. Harrison Ford in this film is a character actor. Harrison Ford is what most people would call a star and he is easy to recognize. The reason why I chose this actor type for Harrison is because this film called for a specific type of personality. He , although a very well known actor he was able to get into character and portray that a completely different person without having to be the star actor. The last actor is an actress who plays Rachael Robinson, Jackie Robinsons’ wife. The actress is Nicole Beharie who also is known in film. I would categorize her as an interpreter actor. She has to play an actual person and there story but she was able to have more room to put a bit of her spin on it. As I read on this actress something that stood out to me was the strong spirited essence that she has through the film, which she wanted to capture due to time spent with Jackie Robinsons’ real wife.
My actor to focus on is Harrison Ford. Harrison has a wide range of films that he has been in from, The Fugitive, Blade Runner, Patriot Games, and many other films. Looking at the previous films that Harrison has been in I can immediately see a pattern which is definitely character acting type. Most of his films involve him playing a made up character rather than portraying an actual person or better known as interpreter. All movies mentioned above along with other films which have the similar actor style led me to categorize him as such. I’m not sure what this may mean for the category but as for the actor it may be that he may feel more comfortable with playing roles that are in character type. In this interview, Harrison gives support to my claim and he speaks about character acting and type and what he was used to playing in most of his other films. http://youtu.be/284p-qhCXvg.