Film Geeks at the Theatre – James McAvoy on the Differences Between Stage and Screen May 15, 2013 By Ben Mortimer (HEY U GUYS UK)

Not all that long ago there was a pretty clear distinction between a theatre actor and a film actor. Once in a blue moon you’d see an A-lister getting back to their roots with a role at the National Theatre, but on the whole the closest you’d get to a well-known thesp on a West End stage was Jason Donovan in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dream Coat.

Recently, though, things have been changing. London theatre-goers can see Luke Treadaway, Brian Cox, John Simm, Roger Allam, Zoe Wanamaker, Rupert Everett and Helen Mirren. And that’s just the ones that immediately sprang to mind.

With this in mind, we’ve decided to do something a little different at HeyUGuys: an occasional column looking at the cross over between the worlds of stage and celluloid. We’re calling it ‘Film Geeks at the Theatre.

READ MORE: http://www.heyuguys.co.uk/film-geeks-at-the-theatre-james-mcavoy-on-the-differences-between-stage-and-screen/

THE BRIT LIST: TOP TEN BRITISH CHARACTER ACTORS IN MOVIES TODAY By Leah Rozen | Posted on Friday, July 20th, 2012 (BBC AMERICA)

It’s well known among actors that while leading roles may afford the most screen time and biggest pay checks, supporting roles offer the greater acting challenges and often juiciest lines and scenes.

As Britain’s Eddie Marsan, one of the most talented character actors working today, once said, “I have friends who are leading men, and they’re only ever allowed to play leading men of a certain type. But as a character actor, there’s a wider variety of projects available.”

While a few lucky character actors eventually become leading men – think Bob Hoskins, Alan Rickman, Rhys Ifans and Bill Nighy – most, thanks to physiognomy, build or age, are left to shine in secondary roles.

British thespians have always excelled as character actors. Back in the Golden Age of Hollywood, Donald Crisp, C. Aubrey Smith, Roland Young and plenty more regularly brightened studio releases.

The tradition continues today. Just run through the cast list for any of the eight Harry Potter films and you’ll find a veritable Who’s Who of British talent trotted out as characters who either instruct Harry and his adolescent pals or threaten them.

In salute of these supporting stalwarts, here’s a list (in alphabetical order) of the ten busiest British male character actors working in movies today:


READ MORE: http://www.bbcamerica.com/anglophenia/2012/07/the-brit-list-top-ten-british-character-actors-in-movies-today/

Gerard Butler at Coriolanus Screening. Looks mighty fine. (Just Jared)

Thu, 05 January 2012 at 2:50 pm

Gerard Butler suits up for a special screening of his new film, Coriolanus, on Thursday (January 5) at The Curzon Mayfair in London, England.

The 42-year-old Scottish stud stars as Tullus Aufidius in the drama/thriller, which centers around “a banished hero of Rome [who] allies with a sworn enemy to take his revenge on the city.”

Ralph Fiennes co-stars in the movie, which he also directed. Jessica Chastain, Vanessa Redgrave, and Brian Cox round out the cast.

Last month, Gerard spent time recovering from a scary surfing incident while he was filming his other movie, Of Men and Mavericks, in Northern California.

http://justjared.buzznet.com/2012/01/05/gerard-butler-coriolanus-special-screening/