Amanda+Seyfried

__What Makes A Good and Bad Actor? __ By Julia Gargis

Being able to act is a gift. The people that get this gift are able to do amazing things on stage or in a film. They get praised for their skill and talent and have a successful career. There are also people who think they have this gift, but they really do not. They may have good moments, but their flaws tend to come through most of the time. They receive more negative criticism than praise and they would have a more difficult time pursuing an acting career. In this paper I am going to talk about what I think are the characteristics of a good actor and the flaws that make a bad actor.

To be a good actor there are certain characteristics that someone must have. One is that they must be able to make their character believable, they should be able to play a variety of roles, they must be able to work well with other actors, and they should be open to suggestions from their director or cast members. I think that another good quality would be that they have the ability to put their own personality and ideas into a character at appropriate times. I think that Amanda Seyfried is a good actress. I like her because she plays in movies that overall grab my attention, I think that she makes her characters believable, she has played a decent variety of roles, and I just enjoy her overall performances.

Amanda Seyfried was born on December 3, 1985 in Allentown, Pennsylvania. Her father is a pharmacist and her mother is an occupational therapist. When she was 11 she began modeling and when she was in high school she was in some of the productions that they put on. After high school she was going to attend Fordham University, but at the same time she got offered a role in the movie Mean Girls and she committed herself to that instead of college.

The Mean Girls role was not the start of her career however. When she was 15 she got a role in the soap opera As the World Turns. She continued acting in soap operas until she began working on Mean Girls. She has played in many other movies aside from Mean Girls. These include Red Riding Hood, Mamma Mia!, Jennifer’s Body, Letters to Juliet, Dear John, and many others. She has also played on some TV shows. I think that these movies have offered her a good variety of roles and I that really helps to show her versatility.

I have only seen a few movies that she has played in, but her acting is part of what got me hooked on them. My favorite movie that I have seen her in is Dear John. I like this movie because it has a good story line that I think a lot of people can relate to. You have this young couple that spend part of a summer together, and sadly it has to end. The girl goes back to school and the boy goes back to his duties in the military. Their only way of communication is by letter, and I think that the movie showed how hard that separation can be and the stresses it puts on a relationship. With our country having many troops deployed there are many people that are facing this same situation. This movie is good because I think it is accurate to real life events and the actors all play their roles well. I also enjoyed the movie Letters to Juliet. I like this movie because it is a good story telling about how it is never too late to find true love. I love Amanda Seyfried’s character Sophie who is a determined journalist that wants to help Claire find her true love from 50 years ago. This movie is good because I think it can encourage people who have lost contact with someone they love to maybe try to get in contact with them again. It is also just a really enjoyable film to watch.

In The New York Times Amanda Seyfried is said to be a nimble performer who is a resourceful and engaging young actress who is turning herself into a movie star. This pretty much sums up what most people say about her, and I think that it is true. She does really well and I do not see how anything negative can be said about her.

She has been nominated and has won several awards. In 2005 she won a Bronze Leopard Award for Best Actress, an MTV Movie Award, and in 2010 she won an MTV Movie Award, and a ShoWest Award for Breakthrough Female Star of the Year.

Amanda Seyfried’s best moments are when she has a role that is a perfect fit for her and she can nail it. I really like her because she can play different roles and make every one of them believable. I think that she has all of the qualities of a good actress.

Along with good actors there are also some that are bad. I do not think that an actor is just horrible 100% of the time. I think that they have many good moments, but their mistakes and problems override those and make them not enjoyable to watch. To me a bad actor is somebody that cannot make their character believable, they may have a lot of awkward moments, they do not take suggestions well, and they just do not play the role correctly.

I am a big fan of the “Twilight” movies, but I am not such a big fan of one of their lead characters, Kristen Stewart. I think that she plays her role well, but she just has some moments where she is awkward and makes that particular part seem painful. That really annoys me and I find myself distracted by what she is doing and I do not focus on the whole scene, which could make you miss something important in the movie.

Kristen Stewart was born on April 9, 1990 in Los Angeles, California. Both of her parents work in film and television and she has one older brother and two adopted brothers. When she was young her life became filled with acting and school seemed to come second. Just because school was not a major thing for her does not mean she cannot have a successful career.

When she was eight and in grade school she was in a Christmas play and a talent scout picked her up and got her started in her career. This happened when she was eight years old and she had a few small roles in some TV shows. The first important role that she got was in the movie The Safety of Objects. After that she played in Panic Room, Into the Wild, The Cake Eaters, and she has starred in all of the movies in the “Twilight” series, she has also been in many other films. I have only seen Kristen Stewart in the “Twilight” movies. Overall I think that the movies are really good. I think that they show major scenes from the books well and they have pretty good details. I just think that Kristen Stewart messes up some of the scenes and that takes away from how good the movies can really be. They are not bad movies, but I think that some of the acting could be better.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 16px;">US Magazine says that in New Moon Kristen Stewart and Taylor Lautner have no connection and they were supposed to because Jacob is trying to steal Bella’s heart. They also say that the romance between Edward and Bella is boring. Aside from these comments my own criticism of her is that she seems to stutter sometimes and really overdoes it and it seems awkward.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 16px;">Despite some of her flaws she has been nominated and won several awards. In 2009 she won and MTV Movie Award for Best Female Performance and Best Kiss, and a Teen Choice Award for Choice Movie Actress and Choice Movie Liplock. In 2010 she won the Rising Star Award, the Blimp Award for Cute Couple, an MTV Movie Award for Best Female Performance and Best Kiss, a People’s Choice Award for Favorite On-Screen Team. She won a few other awards in 2010 and she won some in 2011 too. She was also nominated for some Razzie Awards, which go to people that had some bad performances. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 16px;">Kristen Stewart has bad moments when she makes her lines sound awkward and it seems like she struggles. I do not completely dislike her, I just dislike how some of her lines and movements come across.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 16px;">It takes a lot of skill and talent to be a good and successful actor. Without bad actors those that are good would not shine as brightly. It takes both kinds of actors to show you what to strive for and what to avoid being like. There is no perfect actor however, and that means that everybody should practice and try to be the best that they can be.

<span style="display: block; font-family: 'times new roman',times,serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: center;">Works Cited <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 16px;">1. Web Site <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 16px;">“IMDB Amanda Seyfried.” IMDB, Web. February 15, 2012. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 16px;">< http://www.imdb.com >.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 16px;">2. Web Site <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 16px;">“IMDB Kristen Stewart.” IMDB, Web. February 15, 2012. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 16px;">< http://www.imdb.com >.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 16px;">3. Magazine <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 16px;">Scott, A.O. “Young Love Caught in the Grips of 9/11.” __The New York Times.__ February 4, 2010. February 15, 2012. < http://movies.nytimes.com >.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 16px;">4. Magazine <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 16px;">USWeekly Staff. “Critics Slam New Moon.” __USWeekly.__ November 19, 2009. February 15, 2012. < http:// www.usmagazine.com >.