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What is the difference between TV actors and movie actors?

What are the major differences between those actor/actresses who work on a TV series like Breaking Bad and those who work exclusively in films such as Skyfall?

Do they make the same amount of money? And from reading the DL, it seems many here hold the opinion that being a TV actor is not very good to an actor's career.

by Anonymousreply 68March 18, 2018 4:07 PM

TV actors are on TV and movie actors are in the movies.

by Anonymousreply 1May 26, 2013 2:20 AM

Don't encourage her.

by Anonymousreply 2May 26, 2013 2:34 AM

On TV, actors do and say things in ways real people never would. The facial twitching, overeagar expressions and badly delivered (and often overly explanatory) dialogue seem almost like propaganda. But in most decent movies, actors appear and speak as an actual person in that situation would. There are of course exceptions for both TV and movies.

I'm not sure who is at fault for the horribly fake acting. Probably directors.

by Anonymousreply 3May 26, 2013 2:37 AM

Dignity

by Anonymousreply 4May 26, 2013 2:47 AM

[quote]I'm not sure who is at fault for the horribly fake acting. Probably directors.

TV directors barely have time to direct actors on set. Most of them, probably, don't even know how to.

by Anonymousreply 5May 26, 2013 2:51 AM

Most American TV is propaganda r3. As are most movies made here.

by Anonymousreply 6May 26, 2013 3:08 AM

R3's statement was true pre 90s. But now TV acting (breaking bad) is bettter than the movies , which are mainly stupid Apatow comedies. Or comic book tripe.

by Anonymousreply 7May 26, 2013 3:13 AM

Actors are actors, period. It's just some get that lucky break that takes them into a film career and others are less fortunate (so to speak) and end up making their living primarily on TV, but in no way are they any less talented.

Tom Cruise is a perfect example of someone who just got lucky and scored himself a film career, but no way in hell is he a better actor than Bryan Cranston, who's mostly worked on tv. Or Andre Braugher. Or Damien Lewis. Or Timothy Olyphant. Etc.

Luck. That's the only difference.

by Anonymousreply 8May 26, 2013 3:41 AM

40 or 50 years ago, the best/A list actors were mainly in the movies, and TV was a poor cousin. That might have even been true 30 years ago. It's not true now.

by Anonymousreply 9May 26, 2013 4:10 AM

R7 is right. This idea of the stigma in quality between TV and movies is ridiculously outdated, nowadays the best writing and roles for actors are found in TV. Movie actors are still held on a higher pedestal of course, but the truth is if you really want to show off what you can do TV is the best avenue for that. Shows aren't what they used to be, the quality that has exploded on cable has seen to that.

by Anonymousreply 10May 26, 2013 5:32 AM

TV is a lesser form, it is only populated by actors who can't get work in the movies.

Joan Crawford would never have reduced herself to a weekly TV series, she took great comfort in knowing Loretta young did.

by Anonymousreply 11May 26, 2013 9:02 AM

TV actors usually make a lot less money then major film actors. Sets are cheaper, time frames are shorter, and its more disposable then film in terms of history.

Actors are actors, its like you won a lottery ticket to Disneyland and you either end up on the charter bus with the Jocks or the short bus with the Tards. (ya I said it, deal)

by Anonymousreply 12May 26, 2013 9:25 AM

These posts are kind of dated. "Movie stars" are pretty rare these days. Very few people get the big salaries. It is mostly teen stars who get a franchise and that's it. Most acclaimed actors are moving to TV. Look how sucky so many of the Oscar winners have been of late.

by Anonymousreply 13May 26, 2013 9:47 AM

I must admit I was surprised by how quickly Holly Hunter moved to TV. Thought she'd remain an A-list film actress for a lot longer than she did.

by Anonymousreply 14May 26, 2013 10:12 PM

The Sopranos, Seinfeld and Friends changed everything. TV has prestige in addition to money and fame now.

by Anonymousreply 15May 29, 2013 8:03 AM

R11 = posting from 1962.

[quote]TV actors usually make a lot less money then major film actors. Sets are cheaper, time frames are shorter, and its more disposable then film in terms of history.

Sure. 'The Wire', 'Breaking Bad' and 'Game of Thrones' are MUCH more disposable than 'The Hangover III'.

by Anonymousreply 16May 29, 2013 8:36 AM

they are NOT the same thing. film acting is more esteemed.

by Anonymousreply 17May 29, 2013 9:41 AM

stupid. tv is not where the prestige is. tv is where you go when the film roles dry up. film is where you try to go if you do well on tv. even the best tv is still the lesser form. hbo pulls film actors but no ones begging to get on pay cable if their film careers going great, duh.

by Anonymousreply 18May 29, 2013 9:50 AM

I don't have a Clooney.

by Anonymousreply 19May 29, 2013 9:52 AM

With the domination of reality television, it's the difference between living in a big trailer on the movie set and one that blends in with all the other mobile homes in the park. And the blow jobs you get in the two are also very different.

by Anonymousreply 20May 29, 2013 10:06 AM

[bold]August 2013 list: 2013 - 2014 TV Stars Salaries[/bold]

WHAT THEY EARN Movie actors migrating to TV. Controversial stars on the comeback trail. It's our annual salary report!

by Stephen Battaglio and Michael Schneider, TV GUIDE MAGAZINE

The reason Robin Williams is returning to series television after 31 years is pretty simple: "It's great for me to have a steady gig," he says. That attitude may explain the continuing influx of movie stars to TV, which has created a buyer's market for networks and studios looking for big names to front their new shows. "Movies are done, unless you're an action star," says one TV executive. "They are no longer making the kind of movies Robin Williams would star in." Thanks to the greater supply of quality actors, networks and producers in recent years have tried to cap starting salaries at $125,000 an episode. That's still the case, based on conversations with agents, producers, studio chiefs and network heads for our annual list of star salaries.

There are always exceptions, especially for marquee names with track records on TV. Williams is estimated to be getting $165,000 an episode for the CBS comedy The Crazy Ones. Michael J. Fox is said to be at $150,000 for his new NBC series, with producer fees that push him closer to $200,000.

NCIS star Mark Harmon earns $525,000 per episode--a 5 percent increase over his last deal--and he'll also own a share of the show's profits. NBC kept Law & Order: SVU's Mariska Hargitay at close to the nearly $400,000 an episode she earned last season, while providing such perks as fewer work days and shorter hours.

Though cable salaries are generally lower than those on broadcast networks, stars on hot series are catching up. Claire Danes and Damian Lewis of Homeland have seen their pay more than double to around $250,000 now that the Showtime drama is a worldwide hit. With their shows' recent renewals, the leads on HBO's True Blood and Game of Thrones can command higher fees. But ensembles are less dependent on stars--and a willingness to take creative risks gives producers more leverage, so characters can be killed off if negotiations don't go well.[/COLOR][/B]

Agents are hopeful that the explosion of scripted programs across many platforms will raise demand (and prices) for actors. For Season 1 of Netflix's House of Cards, it's estimated that Kevin Spacey earned up to $350,000 an episode. But the increase in viewer choices also means smaller ratings across the board, making it harder to justify some big salaries. Even though Jay Leno is still the late-night ratings champ, he took a pay cut of more than 20 percent in his final contract to host Tonight. David Letterman's take has also dropped; it's now down to about $20 million per year.

Stars also face a new economic reality when they want to make a comeback. Isaiah Washington earned six figures as one of the stars of Grey's Anatomy. His dismissal from the show in 2007 after using a gay slur cost him big time: He's now making an estimated $35,000 per episode on The CW's midseason show The 100.

Yet huge paydays are still possible. Some network executives believe Jon Stewart is pulling in as much as $30 million a year to host The Daily Show, making him late night's highest paid star. Next year, while their show is the No. 1 primetime comedy and a massive hit in syndication, The Big Bang Theory's Jim Parsons, Johnny Galecki and Kaley Cuoco will be negotiating new contracts. Insiders expect the actors to seek $1 million an episode,[/COLOR] not unlike the Friends stars in their final years. So anyone who thinks the days of big money are over, we've got one word for you: Bazinga!

by Anonymousreply 21September 2, 2013 4:23 PM

DRAMA (per episode)

Mark Harmon, NCIS $525,000 + points Mariska Hargitay, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit $400,000 Simon Baker, The Mentalist $350,000 Patrick Dempsey, Grey's Anatomy $350,000 Sandra Oh, Grey's Anatomy $350,000 Ellen Pompeo, Grey's Anatomy $350,000 Michael C. Hall, Dexter $300,000 Jon Hamm, Mad Men $275,000 Stephen Moyer, True Blood $275,000 Anna Paquin, True Blood $275,000 Alexander Skarsgard, True Blood $275,000 Claire Danes, Homeland $250,000 Damian Lewis, Homeland $250,000 David Boreanaz, Bones $250,000 Emily Deschanel, Bones $250,000 Ted Danson, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation $250,000 Keifer Sutherland, 24 $250,000 Michael Weatherly, NCIS, $250,000 Bryan Cranston, Breaking Bad $225,000 Jeffrey Donovan, Burn Notice $200,000 Laurence Fishburne, Hannibal $175,000 Lauren Graham, Parenthood $175,000 Pauley Perrette, NCIS $175,000 Peter Dinklage, Game of Thrones $150,000 Lena Headey, Game of Thrones $150,000 Aaron Paul, Breaking Bad $150,000 Lucy Liu, Elementary $130,000 Greg Kinnear, Rake $125,000 + points James Spader, The Blacklist $125,000 Blair Underwood, Ironside $120,000 Connie Britton, Nashville $105,000 Keri Russell, The Americans $100,000 Gillian Anderson, Hannibal $100,000 Toni Collette, Hostages $100,000 A.J. Cook, Criminal Minds $100,000 Kirsten Vangsness, Criminal Minds $100,000 Christina Hendricks, Mad Men $100,000 Kerry Washington, Scandal $80,000 Demian Bichir, The Bridge $75,000 Jennifer Carpenter, Dexter $75,000 Vera Farmiga, Bates Motel $75,000 Clark Gregg, Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. $75,000 Matthew Rhys, The Americans $75,000 Rebecca Romijn, King & Maxwell $75,000 Jon Tenney, King & Maxwell $75,000 Andrew Lincoln, The Walking Dead $70,000 Noah Emmerich, The Americans $50,000 Tatiana Masiany, Orphan Black $50,000 Kurtwood Smith, Resurrection $50,000 Mireille Enos, The Killing $45,000 Megan Follows, Reign $37,000 Kate Mulgrew, Orange Is the New Black $35,000 Isaiah Washington, The 100 $35,000 Adelaide Kane, Reign $30,000 Teri Polo, The Fosters $25,000 John Schneider, The Haves and the Have Nots $25,000

by Anonymousreply 22September 2, 2013 4:25 PM

[bold]LATE NIGHT (per year)[/bold] Jon Stewart $25-30 million Jay Leno $20 million David Letterman $20 million Conan O'Brien $12 million Jimmy Fallon $11 million Jimmy Kimmel $10 million Chelsea Handler $8 million Craig Ferguson $8 million Seth Myers $3 million Andy Cohen $2 million Keith Olbermann $2 million Kenan Thompson $25,000 per episode

[bold]COMEDY (per episode)[/bold] Ashton Kutcher, Two and a Half Men $750,000 Jon Cryer, Two and a Half Men $650,000 Kaley Cuoco, The Big Bang Theory $325,000 Johnny Galecki, The Big Bang Theory $325,000 Jim Parsons, The Big Bang Theory $325,000 Dan Castellaneta, The Simpsons $300,000 Julie Kavner, The Simpsons $300,000 Yeardley Smith, The Simpsons $300,000 Tim Allen, Last Man Standing $235,000 Patricia Heaton, The Middle $235,000 Jason Segel, How I Met Your Mother $225,000 Alyson Hannigan, How I Met Your Mother $225,000 Josn Radnor, How I Met Your Mother $225,000 Cobie Smulders, How I Met Your Mother $225,000 Neil Patrick Harris, How I Met Your Mother $225,000 Ed O'Neill, Modern Family $200,000 + points Amy Poehler, Parks and Recreation $200,000 Julie Bowen, Modern Family $175,000 Ty Burrell, Modern Family $175,000 Eric Stonestreet, Modern Family $175,000 Sofia Vergara, Modern Family $175,000 Robin Williams, The Crazy Ones $165,000 Zooey Deschanel, New Girl $125,000 Anna Faris, Mom $125,000 Allison Janney, Mom $125,000 John Goodman, Alpha House $100,000 Jeremy Sisto, Suburgatory $100,000 Jane Lynch, Glee $80,000 Lea Michele, Glee $80,000 Matthew Morrison, Glee $80,000 James Caan, Back in the Game $75,000 Max Greenfield, New Girl $75,000 Sarah Hyland, Modern Family $70,000 Rico Rodriguez, Modern Family $70,000 Ariel Winter, Modern Family $70,000 Rebel Wilson, Super Fun Night $65,000 + points Jeff Garlin, The Goldbergs $60,000 Mayim Bialik, The Big Bang Theory $50,000 Kristen Johnston, The Exes $50,000 Allison Williams, Girls $50,000 Elijah Wood, Wilfred $50,000 Melissa Joan Hart, Melissa & Joey $25,000 Joey Lawrence, Melissa & Joey $25,000 Amy Schumer, Inside Amy Schumer $25,000 Ashley Rickards, Awkward $20,000

[bold]DAYTIME/SYNDICATION (per year)[/bold]

Judy Sheindlin, Judge Judy $47 million Kelly Ripa, Live with Kelly and Michael $20 million Maury Povich, Maury $14 million Katie Couric, Katie $10 million Queen Latifah, The Queen Latifah Show $5-10 million Michael Strahan, Live with Kelly and Michael $4 million Sharon Osbourne, The Talk $1 million Regis Philbin, Crowd Goes Wild $1 million Aisha Tyler, The Talk $500,000

by Anonymousreply 23September 2, 2013 4:33 PM

DRAMA (per episode)

Mark Harmon, NCIS $525,000 + points

Mariska Hargitay, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit $400,000

Simon Baker, The Mentalist $350,000

Patrick Dempsey, Grey's Anatomy $350,000

Sandra Oh, Grey's Anatomy $350,000

Ellen Pompeo, Grey's Anatomy $350,000

Michael C. Hall, Dexter $300,000

Jon Hamm, Mad Men $275,000

Stephen Moyer, True Blood $275,000

Anna Paquin, True Blood $275,000

Alexander Skarsgard, True Blood $275,000

Claire Danes, Homeland $250,000

Damian Lewis, Homeland $250,000

David Boreanaz, Bones $250,000

Emily Deschanel, Bones $250,000

Ted Danson, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation $250,000

Keifer Sutherland, 24 $250,000

Michael Weatherly, NCIS, $250,000

Bryan Cranston, Breaking Bad $225,000

Jeffrey Donovan, Burn Notice $200,000

Laurence Fishburne, Hannibal $175,000

Lauren Graham, Parenthood $175,000

Pauley Perrette, NCIS $175,000

Peter Dinklage, Game of Thrones $150,000

Lena Headey, Game of Thrones $150,000

Aaron Paul, Breaking Bad $150,000

Lucy Liu, Elementary $130,000

Greg Kinnear, Rake $125,000 + points

James Spader, The Blacklist $125,000

Blair Underwood, Ironside $120,000

Connie Britton, Nashville $105,000

Keri Russell, The Americans $100,000

Gillian Anderson, Hannibal $100,000

Toni Collette, Hostages $100,000

A.J. Cook, Criminal Minds $100,000

Kirsten Vangsness, Criminal Minds $100,000

Christina Hendricks, Mad Men $100,000

Kerry Washington, Scandal $80,000

Demian Bichir, The Bridge $75,000

Jennifer Carpenter, Dexter $75,000

Vera Farmiga, Bates Motel $75,000

Clark Gregg, Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. $75,000

Matthew Rhys, The Americans $75,000

Rebecca Romijn, King & Maxwell $75,000

Jon Tenney, King & Maxwell $75,000

Andrew Lincoln, The Walking Dead $70,000

Noah Emmerich, The Americans $50,000

Tatiana Masiany, Orphan Black $50,000

Kurtwood Smith, Resurrection $50,000

Mireille Enos, The Killing $45,000

Megan Follows, Reign $37,000

Kate Mulgrew, Orange Is the New Black $35,000

Isaiah Washington, The 100 $35,000

Adelaide Kane, Reign $30,000

Teri Polo, The Fosters $25,000

John Schneider, The Haves and the Have Nots $25,000

by Anonymousreply 24September 2, 2013 4:38 PM

TV seems more financially stable IMO, especially if you are an actress. There are only so many film roles period (forget quality, that's another debate altogether) for the legion of interchangeable actresses out there; I imagine it's difficult to compete for film roles unless you don't have to worry about paying the bills period a la Rooney Mara.

by Anonymousreply 25September 2, 2013 4:41 PM

[bold]COMEDY (per episode)[/bold]

Ashton Kutcher, Two and a Half Men $750,000

Jon Cryer, Two and a Half Men $650,000

Kaley Cuoco, The Big Bang Theory $325,000

Johnny Galecki, The Big Bang Theory $325,000

Jim Parsons, The Big Bang Theory $325,000

Dan Castellaneta, The Simpsons $300,000

Julie Kavner, The Simpsons $300,000

Yeardley Smith, The Simpsons $300,000

Tim Allen, Last Man Standing $235,000

Patricia Heaton, The Middle $235,000

Jason Segel, How I Met Your Mother $225,000

Alyson Hannigan, How I Met Your Mother $225,000

Josn Radnor, How I Met Your Mother $225,000

Cobie Smulders, How I Met Your Mother $225,000

Neil Patrick Harris, How I Met Your Mother $225,000

Ed O'Neill, Modern Family $200,000 + points

Amy Poehler, Parks and Recreation $200,000

Julie Bowen, Modern Family $175,000

Ty Burrell, Modern Family $175,000

Eric Stonestreet, Modern Family $175,000

Sofia Vergara, Modern Family $175,000

Robin Williams, The Crazy Ones $165,000

Zooey Deschanel, New Girl $125,000

Anna Faris, Mom $125,000

Allison Janney, Mom $125,000

John Goodman, Alpha House $100,000

Jeremy Sisto, Suburgatory $100,000

Jane Lynch, Glee $80,000

Lea Michele, Glee $80,000

Matthew Morrison, Glee $80,000

James Caan, Back in the Game $75,000

Max Greenfield, New Girl $75,000

Sarah Hyland, Modern Family $70,000

Rico Rodriguez, Modern Family $70,000

Ariel Winter, Modern Family $70,000

Rebel Wilson, Super Fun Night $65,000 + points

Jeff Garlin, The Goldbergs $60,000

Mayim Bialik, The Big Bang Theory $50,000

Kristen Johnston, The Exes $50,000

Allison Williams, Girls $50,000

Elijah Wood, Wilfred $50,000

Melissa Joan Hart, Melissa & Joey $25,000

Joey Lawrence, Melissa & Joey $25,000

Amy Schumer, Inside Amy Schumer $25,000

Ashley Rickards, Awkward $20,000

by Anonymousreply 26September 2, 2013 4:44 PM

Television, especially premium cable, is great for women of a certain age and actors who can't open a movie. For instance Ryan Reynolds, Jake Gyllenhaal, etc. should start talking to their teams about an HBO/Showtime/AMC/FX series.

The real acting is being done on premium cable shows these days. Everyone in Hollywood knows it. Movies are a melange of focus groups and financials.

by Anonymousreply 27September 2, 2013 4:50 PM

Has Umpy ("why is it cold in movie theaters?") returned??!

by Anonymousreply 28September 2, 2013 5:24 PM

I was surprised that Kaley was making that much.

by Anonymousreply 29September 2, 2013 9:06 PM

Why, R29?

by Anonymousreply 30September 3, 2013 12:54 AM

TV is the successor to the B-films that actresses like Celeste Holm, Donna Reed, Shelly Winters, Ann Sothern, Gloria Grahame could be the female lead in. Not Joan Crawford, Bette Davis, etc.

Unlike movies actors, TV actors don't have that... presence. Not that that makes them good actors, necessarily. They often have a Middle-American look to them. They're plainer.

Linda Evans strikes me as an example of a very TV actress.

And, there's a style - it's worst on daytime TV, than primetime, that movie actors just don't do.

Take Angelina Jolie and Jennifer Aniston - right away you'd know which one was the TV actress.

TV is for actors like Colton Haynes. Or even a decent actor, who's good, but without that it factor. And, actors don't care about Emmys, only Oscars. An actor would rather be headline a bad blockbuster, than be on a "good" TV show.

And, what's with this media hype that TV nowadays is better than film, a lot of mainstream commercial films are trash, but film as a form is superior.

There's a reason why M is in films and G and J do TV.

RIP, K (Karen Black)

by Anonymousreply 31December 5, 2013 3:48 PM

To piggy back off R31, Tina Fey and Amy Pohler put it best at the Golden Globes "where the beautiful people of film, rub elbows with the rat-faced people of television."

I love how it's become the thing to trash movies and laud tv shows, but there is not one person in tv, that would not jump to film if they had the chance. If you flip that, not one person in movies would willingly do tv if given the option. Anyone who says they would is lying.

by Anonymousreply 32December 5, 2013 4:07 PM

What R33 said. I'm sure Andy Samberg would not be on Brooklyn Nine Nine today had his attempt at a film career post-SNL been successful.

The only reason Jennifer Aniston can sustain her so-called film career is because she made enough money off of Friends that she never has to work again ever, let alone return to TV if she has no desire to do so (and good for her). Otherwise, I'm sure she would be doing something along the lines of SATC on HBO by now.

by Anonymousreply 33December 5, 2013 4:32 PM

I meant to add Vera Miles to my list.

I recently watched [italic]The Naked Gun 33 1/3: The Final Insult[/italic] recently. There was a scene where Florence Henderson, Morgan Fairchild and Mary Lou Retton and two others I forget, were at the Oscars, and it was being played for comic appeal. As if to say "What jokes we are? We're such TV actors, What are we doing here?" and although they could be better actresses than say Gwyneth Paltrow, they're still TV actors, they don't have "it".

by Anonymousreply 34December 5, 2013 4:44 PM

{quote} not one person in movies would willingly do tv

[quote] There's a reason why M is in films and G and J do TV.

You making distinctions where there are none. You making up facts.

Off the top of my head Streep has appeared on TV in: Angels in America Holocaust The Simpsons King of the Hill

I think if you spend some time on IMDB you will find stars like Bette Davis, Joan Crawford, Humphrey Bogart and Laurence Olivier all have TV credits.

by Anonymousreply 35December 5, 2013 5:27 PM

Oh, dear. For those who don't get it:

[quote]I think if you spend some time on IMDB you will find stars like Bette Davis, Joan Crawford, Humphrey Bogart and Laurence Olivier all have TV credits.

This was discussed on another Joan Crawford thread before. John Wayne has a TV credit for playing himself on [italic]I Love Lucy[/italic].

They're guest appearances.

Film actors move to TV went their film careers dry up.

Linda Evans, Joan Van Ark and Susan Lucci all had film credits, but they're TV actors.

by Anonymousreply 36December 5, 2013 6:13 PM

R37 - You're making generalizations that aren't supported by the facts. Unless you're claiming Streep's movie career dried up in 2003.

Or perhaps Toni Collette's film career has dried up?

Has Susan Sarandon's career also dried up?

Let's talk about Sally Field.

Exactly at what point was her career dried up forcing her to move to Television?

by Anonymousreply 37December 5, 2013 6:38 PM

TV is a different skill set. Everything is produced on a shorter time frame, less time to learn lines, interpret your character's decisions, and it's anywhere from 13 to 30 weeks of work largely back-to-back. A good tv actor will be reliable in film, but they might not have the ability to dig deeper and deliver a knockout performance. TV also pays more and more often, unless you're George Clooney, Julia Roberts etc.

Likewise, a lot of people who are awful on tv can be far, far better in films due to the benefit of time, the consistency of direction, the closed arc of their character. See that kid from SMASH in "The Place Beyond The Pines".

It's kind of like the difference between stage and screen, really. It's a different skill set and medium. Some people can cross over. Some people can't.

by Anonymousreply 38December 6, 2013 3:42 AM

I've even heard it said there's a major difference between acting in daytime TV (soaps) and acting in primetime, maybe for many of the same reasons outlined by R40.

by Anonymousreply 39December 6, 2013 3:51 AM

R40 - you're describing prime time network series. Have you watched TV recently since 1965?

by Anonymousreply 40December 6, 2013 3:54 AM

R42 is getting tiresome.

by Anonymousreply 41December 6, 2013 8:33 AM

Schedules.

by Anonymousreply 42December 7, 2013 7:38 PM

{quote]I must admit I was surprised by how quickly Holly Hunter moved to TV. Thought she'd remain an A-list film actress for a lot longer than she did.

Eh, she was never REALLY A-list. Maybe for a brief period after her Oscar win. A-List is name-above-the-title, magazine covers, can get anything greenlit.

by Anonymousreply 43December 7, 2013 8:08 PM

So The Simpsons voices all make the same except for Bart? I would think Homer would be the one they need to pay more.

by Anonymousreply 44December 8, 2013 12:38 AM

R43 - I know, discussions can be boring when someone begins introducing facts.

by Anonymousreply 45December 8, 2013 7:02 AM

Ha ha ha, I'm making more money per episode now than Sarah Michelle Gellar!

by Anonymousreply 46December 8, 2013 8:27 AM

Vera Farmiga is an actress who has a TV series as well as a successful film career at the same time.

She can do both at the age of 40!

by Anonymousreply 47December 8, 2013 8:37 AM

I would guess that movie acting is, in general, more interesting. With a few franchise exceptions, a film actor plays a role for a few weeks or months, and then moves on to something entirely different. A TV actor may spend years and years playing the same role, and after doing the same thing for years, they're so type-cast and don't get considered for other interesting work.

Someone mentioned Kaley Cuoco, who's been playing the same person on "Big Bang Theory" for what, seven years now? She could spend ten years playing the same role, a film actor could play 20+ roles in the same amount of time.

by Anonymousreply 48December 8, 2013 9:53 AM

RE: "TV is better than cinema nowadays"

Everyone who makes this statement is so selective. They always list about five or so shows, always the same ones. They bemoan the Hollywood blockbuster for being commercial. If one looks at TV as a whole and cinema as a whole, the superior medium is still producing superior content.

The people who've already said no one would willingly jump to TV if they could have a successful film career is so right.

All TV actors go on autopilot after a while.

Acting with a laugh track and exaggerated pauses is so unfunny. But, that's the pace of TV comedies.

by Anonymousreply 49December 8, 2013 10:59 AM

First, let me say that the best acting of all is on the internet, but it's not easy for peopel to get paid, and there's a lot of crowding by amateurs. Television and films are in serious financial difficulties, as their money is getting sapped by Google and the other internet "tolltakers" who siphon money that used to go to content creators. Pay the aggregators and it'll become very easy to find the garbage the producer can put out with the crumbs left over. Throw in piracy and it's a race to the bottom.

Cable is about to die off becuase no one needs it anymore. When that happens the salaries you see are going to crash. Movie actors make their money directly from the audience, which gives much more creative freedom than being a pitchman for the sponsors.

[quote]And, there's a style - it's worst on daytime TV, than primetime, that movie actors just don't do.

R41 added:

[quote]I've even heard it said there's a major difference between acting in daytime TV (soaps) and acting in primetime, maybe for many of the same reasons outlined by [R40].

I find both statements to be closest to the truth of the matter. I'm a fan of soaps, television, and film, and often speculate on which soapies are going to make it big (or not). I used to think Demi Moore couldn't act to save her life (still do), but she made it huge out of the soaps. Why? I still don't know. Since then my radar has gotten a little more fine-tuned.

To explain the difference, I'll try to go from "worst to first."

SOAPS: soap acting is a skillset unto itself. When you see people saying a soap "star" (why are they all stars?) "killed it" in a scene requiring traffic-cop arm-waving and histrionics, that's their bread-and-butter, so they shouldn't get credit. They are like the minor leagues, and only strive for competence in the actors, hooking the audience with plots, good-looking actors, and just cranking out a lot of material day in and day out. When a soap actor shows brilliant, it is often wasted (see link below).

TELEVISION: more emphasis on dumbing down the content to make the audience feel goode about itself, hence the histrionics and over-the-top delivery, of intelligence-insulting material. I disagree that the acting is always exaggerated; some of it is very good. Then there are shows like SCANDAL which take itself way too seriously, and the acting is worse than on daytime. Breaking Bad was good but no more so than Dallas in the 1980s, or The Sopranos. All In The Family and Sanford And Son had realistic characters and dialogue with some over-the-top stuff thrown in for comedy, but the underlying scripts were very well-written. My pet peeve about primetime is the adultified children. Actors in TV do better than on soaps, but they work harder for less money than film stars, with less upward mobility.

FILMS: The cream of the crop for writing, directing, and acting, when done right. Yes, the distribution monsters flood the market with crap, but a strong indie can put out an incredible script that is funded by the audience (through sales or even kickstarter/indiegogo now). A great film script will have greater depth, better character development, a better-moving plot, and require a great deal more of an actor than a regular episode in primetime or daytime on TV.

What this means is simple:

Primetime actors are wasting their talent on soaps; and

Film actors are wasting their time in primetime.

What you can get are supporting film actors who can carry TV shows, but rarely the other way around. There is great soap acting and great TV acting, but it's like a "great" meal at an IHOP versus a great meal at Le Cirque. The range reuqired for the latter is a bit more.

Film actors have greater depth, greater range, they are nuanced, they don't overemote, they slip much deeper into character than TV actors are capable of, and they hit almost anything you throw them out of the park.

by Anonymousreply 50December 8, 2013 11:56 AM

(cont.)

Below is a ilnk to what *I* consider an exdample of a soap actress giving a movie-quality performance. If you disagree with this specific example, you can use another.

Perhaps the greatest soap scene ever was the "Generations Catfight" (look it up), but that was great soap acting, not great acting. The range, depth, and nuance required of film acting was not baked into the script.

In this scene, however, the actress (Lexi Ainsworth) avoids the fake-fear and crocodile-tears that are a staple of soaps, and went to a place where she found real terror, real tears, and integrated herself perfectly into a very complex scene, with a very weak supporting cast.

Lexi's performance in this run-of-the-mill lsoap scene could have gotten an award in a film with a script where a cene like that is the climax, and extended for a while.

On another note, I was watching Dallas last year, and couldn't figure out why Rebecca was so humorless. I wondered if it was the writing, or her inability to do comedy. I then found the "Food To Die For" episode of Castle, where she was hysterical and animated, then I realized that the writing on Dallas (for her character at least) just sucked.

Here's the link to "Mac Kills Warren" on GH Lexi is in the white shirt. That's real terror on her face; a total wsate of emotion for the soap medium.

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by Anonymousreply 51December 8, 2013 12:03 PM

Brenda Dickson is a very TV actress. There are more clips of her on YouTube:

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by Anonymousreply 52December 8, 2013 12:30 PM

R1 nailed it.

by Anonymousreply 53December 8, 2013 12:36 PM

Not true, R55. There's more to it than that.

by Anonymousreply 54December 8, 2013 12:38 PM

What did soap actors make?

by Anonymousreply 55December 8, 2013 12:55 PM

When will TV actress Jennifer Aniston return to where she belongs?

by Anonymousreply 56December 15, 2013 7:57 AM

"Here's the link to "Mac Kills Warren" on GH Lexi is in the white shirt. That's real terror on her face; a total wsate of emotion for the soap medium. "

*Link to scene is in R51

Eighteen months later, cable cords are being pulled, and Lexi Ainsworth is starring in her breakthrough role in the anti-bullying film "A Girl Like Her." She's America's new damsel-in-distress.

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by Anonymousreply 57March 11, 2015 10:01 PM

i've always wondered this.. what is the difference between a soap opera actor (still considered the "bottom of the barrel?), a tv actor and a movie actor...

is there STILL alot of prejudice involved between the various mediums? i would think between cable tv and movies not anymore, however, a huge chasm and prejudice still remains for a soap opera actor breaking into regular nighttime tv, much less a movie career. i mean even susan lucci the queen of the soaps can and could at best over the years 'star" in only the occassional cheezy tv movie and cable movie that are surprise surprise like soap operas... julianne moore and a few others (i.e. meg ryan) are the handful of soap opera actors who made it to the "big time" as movie stars or top film actors...

but what is the difference? is there a difference really in terms of a soap opera actor, a tv actor and a film actor in terms of actual talent? i mean is the talent that much of a difference really?

sounds like it's more of just the right breaks, who you know and to be smart NEVER EVER to get cast in a soap opera in the first place because you'll forever be marked! then again, i'm sure there are plenty of soap opera actors who are quite happy (and financially well off) to stay forever where they are!..to be a working actor and make a living in any form is reward enough...

by Anonymousreply 58March 11, 2015 11:16 PM

R58,

I covered that in R50 pretty much.

Film > TV > Soaps with stage in its own category. Many "soap actors" are actually highly accomplished stage actors (Thom Christopher and Meghann Fahy, for example). Some, like Phil Carey, built new late careers In the soap medium, so there is talent to be found there.

As a rule, the soap end of the spectrum is like a minimum-wage factory job, while the star of a big-budget film is like a Fortune 100 CEO. While there are factory workers who can function as CEOs, and vice versa, it's rare.

Soaps are funded primarily by the networks' daytime infrastructure (which has been dying), while in primetime the sponsors tend to call the shots. In film, it's the FANS who pay the salaries and assume the role of "sponsor," and that's another reason films at their best trump movies or soaps at their best, most of the time.

Lots of soap stars have gone on to great careers, from Tommy Lee Jones in the 1970s to Josh Duhamel recently. What seems to separate the wheat from the chaff isn't so much who avoids the soaps altogether (James Franco and Liz Taylor have done General Hospital as more than just a cameo), but rather who stays there too long, say more than a few years.

Lexi Ainsworth, the most recent ex-soapie to star in a feature film, was on GH for exactly two years before being "fired" (liberated) and has never looked back. The scene I linked to where she showed real terror and real tears was wasted on daytime, though I suspect it played a part in her rise out of the tar pits.

I haven't seen much new talent on soaps that will make it to films, but Nicholas Bechtel (Spencer, GH) is so ridiculously talented that they have to work him into stories with the big players just to keep him challenged. He's going to be so huge one day it's not even funny. He plays a mature child with such subtlety and nuance that he doesn't come across as adultified, the way 99 percent of other actors would with his material.

I speculated recently that Lexi may have a built-in edge for expressing victim emotions and tears because she grew up in OKC and was born in 1992. God knows she has more than enough real-life experience on which to draw.

Also as I said, the internet is putting everything else to shame, but they lack the distribution of the major networks. The trickle of "Youtube stars" is about to turn into a paradigm-shift, as is acting itself, because the scripted drama/sitcoms are as obsolete as dinosaurs now that we have full audience participation.

by Anonymousreply 59March 13, 2015 7:05 AM

R58,

[quote]but what is the difference? is there a difference really in terms of a soap opera actor, a tv actor and a film actor in terms of actual talent? i mean is the talent that much of a difference really?

You can't see this for yourself when you watch? Soap acting is like watching acting class or minor-league baseball. TV is like watching AA/AAA baseball, while film is the major leagues.

by Anonymousreply 60March 13, 2015 7:06 AM

I will never forgive Susan Lucci for her horrible turn on Dallas.

by Anonymousreply 61March 13, 2015 7:07 AM

Remember when Gwyneth shaded her Pitt successor Aniston by calling her "the TV girl"?

by Anonymousreply 62March 14, 2015 11:36 AM

I thought long and hard about it OP and agree with R1

by Anonymousreply 63March 14, 2015 1:02 PM

R159 I watched the GH scene and the girl stood out, sure. I can't think of anyone who can act on DAYS.

by Anonymousreply 64March 14, 2015 1:45 PM
by Anonymousreply 65March 18, 2018 12:03 PM

[Quote] Remember when Gwyneth shaded her Pitt successor Aniston by calling her "the TV girl"?

No i don't. When did she say that?

by Anonymousreply 66March 18, 2018 4:07 PM
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