The Felicity Smoak Problem

[redbrunja]

Jennifer Crusie speaks the truth about why Felicity/Oliver is AWESOME and also what makes opposites-attract relationships work. I knew that Felicity’s role was unplanned but I did not know HOW UNPLANNED. Learning that the first smile that Oliver gives Felicity was because Stephan Amnell just couldn’t keep a straight face – and then they kept that in the show - fills me with unholy delight.

Also, oh my god, in Faking It Eve was originally the romantic lead opposite Davy Dempsey. I CAN'T EVEN.

Comments

[errant-shadows.livejournal.com]

I try really, really hard not to condemn actors for the roles they're in, no matter how terrible the character is.

For a start, it's up to the producers/casting director to ensure that the actor has the right sort of chemistry with their colleagues on screen. That's not something you can fake, and if it's not there from the start then they're pretty much screwed even before filming begins.

Then there's the dialogue and story arcs, and let's face it, how many times have writers made terrible choices trying to force a character into a particular plotline, because that's what works for the story they have planned in their heads, only for it to blow up in their faces?

And lastly it's up to the director to bring out the emotions in a scene, to ensure lines are delivered with a degree of pathos that brings the characters to life.

None of those things are the responsibility of an actor; ultimately, acting ability can make or break a character, but if none of the foundational elements are present to begin with, then they're left with nothing to work with - something that unfortunately happens quite a lot.

[redbrunja.livejournal.com]

None of those things are the responsibility of an actor; ultimately, acting ability can make or break a character, but if none of the foundational elements are present to begin with, then they're left with nothing to work with - something that unfortunately happens quite a lot.

Exactly.

Also, I feel like, especially with CW actresses, but really, across the board, this is this tendency to be really bitchy about actresses for characters that fandom doesn't like, in this skeevy creepy from the hate on the character themselves.

[errant-shadows.livejournal.com]

Absolutely.

There have been times when I've seen such actors in other things, and actually been surprised by how terrible they were, because their acting really did suck - not just how their character (the one I'm most familiar with) was portrayed.

Other times I've been quite impressed, because the actor proved how good they were when they had the opportunity to draw on a character with actual substance, rather than a cardboard puppet the writers wanted to move around the plot like a chesspiece.