Khanh Hoang

104339445
Theater 120B Final Paper

The Roles and Challenges of Actors in Filming Movies

The movie industry is one of the most popular entertainment source since its audience
and influences are stretched across the world. Actors and actresses are often the most celebrated
amongst those who help bring the film to life. However, they are faced with numerous
difficulties in the filming and behind the scene processes. Actors face certain obstacles that test
their skills to really bring their characters to life on the big screen. These barriers varies due to
the role of the actor and the genre of the film. In the horror/suspense film Shadow of a Doubt
(1943), Joseph Cotten plays Uncle Charlie, one of the major characters of the movie. While
filming the movie, Cotten faced several acting demands related to dealing with genre, research,
actions, and theme in order to portray his character well. The character Martin Luther King Jr.,
played by David Oyelowo, also faces those same acting demands in the period drama movie
Selma (2014). It is interesting to examine the similar and different ways in which both of these
actors have approached their role in order to successfully bring out their character in the film.
Due to the vast variety of films that have been produced, most films do not completely
fall under one genre. Some genres are named differently but can have a lot in common and thus,
it can be confusing to place a film in its correct category (Lecture 5: Action and Adventure
Films). Furthermore, many directors do not want to contain themselves within one genre when
creating films. Because of this, they often combine aspects from different genres into their films

and thus, create a hybrid genre for their films. Thus, hybrid genre is one of the challenges that
actors face when filming a movie because they have to act in a way that fulfill both genres. With
Shadow of a Doubt, the movie is a hybrid genre in a sense that it is both horror and suspense.
Because of this, Cotten had to balance his acting style so that it did not lean too much towards
horror or too much towards thriller. In horror films, the audience knows that there is a monster
and can pinpoint the monster whereas thriller films give off a more mysterious and suspenseful
mood. Cotten balances between these two genres by portraying his character in a way that shows
that there is something off about his character but also maintain enough normalcy so that the
audience is kept in suspense and is not sure if his character really is a monster.
The movie Selma (2014) is not considered a hybrid genre, but it is a period drama, which
is a subgenre of drama movies (Lecture 10: Drama). David Oyelowo faced different yet
equally difficult challenges when filming the movie. Specifically with period drama movies,
actors face challenges in portraying their characters in a way that is believable to the audience in
terms of how one would act and talk in that certain era (Lecture 10: Drama). Specifically, their
style of speaking and vernacular as well as how they are dressed have to be fitting to that
historical period (Lecture 10: Drama). These costumes that fit the historical period could affect
the actors performances and it is therefore important that they can both wear the costumes
properly and perform adequately (Lumet 88). Oyelowo is placed in the civil rights era so unlike
Cotten, he had to deal with acting in a way that fits a specific era. However, like Cotten,
Oyelowo has to act in a way that is fitting to the aspects that the movie genre demands of him. In
order to execute this, the actors probably had to perform extensive research on their characters.
The ability of the audience to believe in the role of the actors character is an important
demand when filming a movie. Because of this, actors are required to thoroughly research their

roles. Research is a process that requires investigating several factors including economic
policies, political situations, society, ideas and facts of the films subject matter in order to fully
understand the character (Olivieri & Telford, FLIXACTING I 46). Both actors from Selma and
Shadow of a Doubt would have had to face the demand of researching for their roles in order to
successfully portray their characters. With Shadow of a Doubt, Cottens character is a serial killer
so he must have had to extensively research the characteristics of a serial killer. This is important
because human monsters do exist in real life and are considerably harder to act out because they
have to be portray in a way that makes the audience think that this could happen in real life
(Lecture 8: Horror and Suspense). Thus, Cotten probably had to research into the signs of
sociopaths. For example, in one scene during dinner with the whole family, Cottens character
began ranting about rich widows who are benefiting on the money that their husbands earned. He
called them fat, greedy, and useless. When his niece remarked on how he could say such
things, he responded that they are like animals and do not even deserve to live. This scene
portrays sociopathic traits of no remorse or shame and a disregard of feelings to others. This is
evidence of Cottens research on his character to fully illustrate the characteristics and signs of a
sociopath. Other signs such as lying and manipulation become more obvious as the film goes on
and while these were probably a part of the script, Cotten must have had to research into the
psychological and emotional elements of a sociopath to completely portray a realistic serial
killer.
Similarly, Oyelowo had to face the acting demand of researching for his character. Given
that his character is a well-known and celebrated historical figure, Oyelowo must have had to
commit an enormous amount of time and effort into learning about the life of Martin Luther
King Jr. He would have to research his mannerisms, his relationships with his family, his style of

speech as well as the elements that influenced Martin Luther King Jr. At the same time, he also
would have had to research on the culture, prejudices, and accepted ideas and policies of the time
towards African Americans. For example, Oyelowo had to give speeches exactly as Martin
Luther King Jr. would have. After the death of one of his followers, Oyelowo gives a eulogy at
his funeral. His emphasis on certain words such as white and negroes and hand motions
were very reminiscent of the real Martin Luther King Jr. In order to accomplish this, Oyelowo
might have looked at and studied footage of the real Martin Luther King Jr. when he gave his
famous speeches. However, something even more difficult is the scenes where Oyelowos
character is not in public because he did not have footage of these personal interactions to use as
references. These scenes require Oyelowo to act in a way that is believable to the audience while
keeping in line with the historical figure. For example, we see Oyelowos character losing faith
in scenes such as when he was consulting his friend while in jail and when he called a friend to
sing to him for inspiration. These scenes are important because it gives the character threedimensional aspects that were, otherwise, not seen in public. Thus, Oyelowo had to really
humanize these scenes and make them believable. In comparison to Shadow of a Doubt,
Oyelowos acting demand in terms of research is different from Cottens in that he had to
research on a specific, single person whereas Cotten had to research on the general aspects of a
type of person. Regardless, they both face similar challenges in terms of having to research
aspects such as the professions for their characters as well as the psychological and emotional
elements that influence them (Olivieri & Telford, FLIXACTING I 48).
Another important category that is demanded from both actors is actions. Actions are
defined as something that actors do in order to overcome their obstacles and achieve their
objectives (Olivieri & Telford, FLIXACTING II 18). It is important to execute certain actions

in order to yield the intended reactions from other characters as well as the audience. Actions are
categorized into physical actions which is what the character does bodily and verbal actions
which is what the character says and how they say it (Olivieri & Telford, FLIXACTING II 2022). With the movie Shadow of a Doubt, Cotten was able to portray his characters unstableness
by giving the audience glimpses into his anger which were displayed by certain physical actions.
For example, there was this one scene when his niece was playfully teasing him about how she
knows that his motive behind tearing up her dads newspaper was to cover up information about
himself. Immediately and out of nowhere, Cottens character changed tone and mood completely
as he angrily stormed towards his niece and started to strangle her hands so intensely that the
niece cried out in pain. This scene was very powerful and probably required a lot of takes from
Cotten in order to properly illustrate the unstableness of his character.
In another scene, while Cottens character was talking to his niece about her suspicion
regarding his crimes, Cottens character started folding up his napkin and twisting it in such a
way that seems as if he was strangling the napkins. However, his character still talked to his
niece in a calm manner which shows to the audience that he could have been doing this
unconsciously. However, this specific physical action employed by Cotten gives depth into his
character and shows this side of the character that is a bit eerie and helps confirm to the audience
that the character really is abnormal. Not only do actors have to use their emotions, memories,
and feelings to personalize and portray their characters but they often have to use their body to
physically illustrate meaningful actions (Lumet 56). In order to effectively act out these scenes,
Cotten probably had to think in terms of active or action verbs to express what he intended to
express and make sure that his character is acting efficiently to yield the correct response and
reaction from the actress that plays the niece. It is not uncommon for actors to choose certain

words and verbs and think about them in order to create the actions they want to express
(Olivieri & Telford, FLIXACTING II 19).
In Selma, Oyelowos actions are more effective and noticeable in terms of verbal actions.
Given the characteristics of his character, Martin Luther King Jr., and his skills as an orator,
Oyelowos powerful scenes are usually in form of when he is speaking. Thus, Oyelowo has to
read the script in such a way that makes his characters speech moving and inspiring to the other
characters as well as the audience. Along with researching and studying his characters
mannerisms, Oyelowo must have had to practice speaking and stating things in such a way that
radiates confidence and preaches his characters beliefs. Thus, the verbal actions employed by
Oyelowo must have been a difficult challenge for him as an actor to successfully give off the
aura of the famous historical figure specifically in scenes where he gives speeches about antiracism. It is also interesting to examine Oyelowos verbal actions towards his characters wife. In
one particular scene, his wife demanded if he loves her and if he ever loved any other. The
pauses between her questions and his answers were very long and filled the audience full of
tension. When he finally answered his wife, Oyelowo had to choose to speak the dialogue
provided by the writers in a way that gives off realism and emotions to his character. Once again,
in contrast with Cotten, Oyelowo has to portray verbal actions of his character based off of a
specific, real life character whereas Cotten has to portray the physical actions of his character
based off of a type of person. However, both actors are demanded to connect these actions to the
characters circumstances in order to truthfully play the characters and make them believable
(Olivieri & Telford, FLIXACTING II 22). At the same time, these demands are probably
exhaustive to the actors in terms of physical and mental energy as they both have to go through a

lot of takes in order to play the physical actions or verbal actions correctly (Lecture 5: Action
and Adventure Films).
Lastly, the theme of the movie is also an important aspect that requires specific acting
demands from actors while filming. It is important that the movies deliver a theme but do so in a
way that is not too overarching and thus, it is the role of the actors to express the themes of the
movies through a believable and compelling story (Lecture 8: Horror and Suspense). Thus, in
Selma, Oyelowo had to give off the theme of anti-racism without being too preachy as if he is
giving a lesson to the audience. Because of this, Oyelowos character also had to act in scenes
beyond anti-racism to give an overall story to his character. Oyelowo was challenged to not only
act as a motivator and inspiration for anti-racism but he also had to act as a person who went
through experiences such as loss of faith as well as frustrations regarding his family life. In
contrast, for Cotten, the theme was not as obvious because as a thriller/suspense movie, the
theme is usually not as apparent until the end. So as an actor, Cotten had to tell the story without
telling too much and revealing the theme until the end. Cotten had to subtly act in a way where
the circumstances surrounding his nieces near-death incidents were not obviously pointing
towards him until the very end where he outright tried to kill his niece which shows the movies
message of how one cannot always run from ones problems, there will always be another loose
end to tie up.
All-inclusive, several challenges and hardships are faced by the big screen's actors and
actresses to give their characters realism and depth. Each individual actor's methods to capturing
their roles vary, and certain film genres also require different acting demands. The leading stars
of Shadow of a Doubt and Selma, Joseph Cotten and David Oyelowo, respectively, faced a
similar challenges including genre, research, actions, and theme. However, their approaches to

the challenges are different and tailored to what the film genre as well as their roles demand of
them. Thus, it is interesting to study how these challenges mirror each other or differentiate
depending on genre or just an actor's approach to their role.

Works Cited
Lumet, S. Making Movies. New York: Vintage Books. 1995. Print.
Olivieri, J. & Telford, C. FLIXACTING: Illustrating Acting Skills through Film Performance
Volume I. First Edition Version 2.0. Microangelo Educational Media LLC. Pacific
Palisades, California. 2015. Adobe Digital Edition.
Olivieri, J. & Telford, C. FLIXACTING: Illustrating Acting Skills through Film Performance
Volume II. First Edition Version 1.0. Microangelo Educational Media LLC. Pacific
Palisades, California. 2015. Adobe Digital Edition.
Olivieri, J. Lecture 5: Action and Adventure Films. Online video lecture. CCLE. UCLA. 2016.
Olivieri, J. Lecture 8: Horror and Suspense. Online video lecture. CCLE. UCLA. 2016.
Olivieri, J. Lecture 10: Drama. Online video lecture. CCLE. UCLA. 2016.