In April 2013 People Magazine named Gwyneth Paltrow the “World’s Most Beautiful Women in the World.” She said that when her publicist sent her an email about it, “I was like, ‘this is a typo.’ Like I reread it three times, and then I got this really weird old feeling that my school bully had [...]
Why choose to be an actor? Or pursue any form of creative expression? The answers help define our identity as a creative person, and fuel our motivation. Actor Ciarán Hinds recalled an armourer who spoke to him on the set of one of his sword-and-sandal epics: “He said, ‘Do you know what we call you [...]
“It’s all been a big sham.” “Sometimes I wake up in the morning before going off to a shoot, and I think, I can’t do this; I’m a fraud. They’re going to fire me — all these things. I’m fat; I’m ugly…” Those admissions by Kate Winslet [Interview mag. Nov 2000] were made after her [...]
As many actors and other creative people have noted, facing our fears is often a key to developing creativity and doing exceptional creative work. Talking about taking on one of the most iconic theatrical roles, Maggie in “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof,” Scarlett Johansson refers to making more demanding choices on herself for roles. [...]
“I think I’m starting to show the real side of myself in my roles.” Emily Blunt adds, “People have told me my recent movies are the most like me.” Her current movie “The Five-Year Engagement” is her first broad romantic comedy, a genre she had resisted a long time out of fear over playing “the [...]
Shy since childhood Clea DuVall has referred to herself as “an only child and I’m just a real loner kind of person, and yeah, kinda dark. But I’m happy. Not sad. I’m just shy and nervous.” [imdb.com] Like many other talented actors, she considers herself shy. Maybe acting – playing other people – is a [...]
Kristen Johnston is one of my favorite actors. She reminds me of exuberant movie star ‘dames’ such as Rosalind Russell. But, like many talented people, she has used and abused drugs. A newspaper article says she was “propelled” into drug and substance abuse at an early age due to low self-esteem – not an uncommon [...]
“When you’re famous, you kind of run into human nature in a raw kind of way.” Marilyn Monroe Ayn Rand wrote a commentary in the Los Angeles Times, two weeks after Marilyn Monroe’s death on August 5, 1962. Referring to the “sordid and horrifying childhood of Monroe, Rand wrote: “To survive it and to preserve [...]
Her portrayal of the icon is earning praise from many reviewers. Claudia Puig writes in USA TODAY that “While My Week With Marilyn is more an awestruck reverie than a revelatory biopic, it’s worth seeing for Williams’ bravura performance.” Roger Ebert thinks “The movie seems to be a fairly accurate re-creation of the making of [...]
Actor Mayim Bialik earned her Ph.D. from UCLA in Neuroscience, and on “The Big Bang Theory” she plays Amy Farrah Fowler, a neurobiologist and “not-girlfriend” of physicist Sheldon Cooper. In a Los Angeles Times article, Bialik comments, “The first episode I did for them, the executive producer said, ‘Do you really have a PhD?’ I [...]
Like many actors who want to develop their talents, Vanessa Hudgens observes people – and also uses the experience for personal growth. She also develops her awareness through reading, such as the book The Four Agreements. Hudgens chose to act in “Sucker Punch” – and wear risqué costumes for the role – because she found [...]
In her varied roles, Emily Blunt is often a strong presence, intriguing for her complex emotions and intelligence – sometimes not quite expressed, but showing in her eyes. With her new movie The Adjustment Bureau so much about fate, it is interesting to read some of her perspectives on what she was like earlier in [...]
Jennifer Aniston: What attracts you to a project? What’s the key element that has to be there? Nicole Kidman: Usually something strange. It’s a little weird or offbeat or very uncomfortable. I have to be convinced to do things that are more mainstream. As a kid, I was always a bit, I suppose, darker. I [...]
Winona Ryder has expressed a number of thoughtful comments and perspectives on being an actor, and the kinds of pressures affecting her life – and many other talented and sensitive artists. Here are some excerpts from an Interview magazine article. Stephen Mooallem: When you were younger did you ever get into one of those situations [...]
Probably most actors find that costumes and the props they interact with help bring their characters to life – along with dialogue, of course. Stephen Dorff talked in a recent interview about working in Sofia Coppola’s movie “Somewhere” with much less of all of those. Moviefone Blog: There’s hardly any dialogue in this script. Isn’t [...]
“Mustering up enough self-esteem to say, ‘I want to be an actor,’ was a big turning point.” Julia Roberts [Parade mag. Nov 9 2008] Many creative people report feeling incompetent, inadequate and having low self esteem or self-regard at times. But there are ways to shift those feelings. A number of film actors report they [...]
Now a Brown University sophomore, Emma Watson was interviewed by Jeanne Wolf of Parade magazine on some of what college means to her. Here are some excerpts : I may do some theater next summer, but this college experience is really important to me, and I won’t give it up for anything. I’m not going [...]
Body image issues can be particularly acute for people in entertainment, which also provides most of the icons and role models of appearance. In her new memoir Unbearable Lightness: A Story of Loss and Gain, Portia de Rossi writes about a dark side of pursuing a “perfect” look. “Anorexia was my first love. I didn’t [...]
Site author: Douglas Eby, M.A./Psychology, is a writer and researcher on the psychology of creative expression and personal growth, especially for high ability adults. He is publisher of the Talent Development Resources series of sites.Amazon.com Author Page.
Developing Multiple Talents: The personal side of creative expression.
The Creative Mind: Identity and Confidence
Being Highly Sensitive and Creative
