“It’s not as simple as it seems. It could be the development of these false separate selves, these mini-me’s, that take the extreme positions…”
I think it is simple. When you see Redgrave, Penn or Saradon on the screen you’re seeing the writer’s and director’s vision come to life, the actors are playing a role. When you see them in person you see the same flaws that we all have to greater or lesser degrees. The mistake is in looking at the brilliance of the writer’s work and the brilliance of the acting and thinking they represent the same person. They do not. If you recall the Myers-Briggs Personality Test, you’ll remember that decision making falls along the “Thinking – Feeling” continuum. This quote from Wikipedia seems to be correct:
“Thinking and Feeling are the decision-making (judging) functions. Both Thinking and Feeling types strive to make rational choices, based on the data received from their information-gathering functions (S or N). Those with a preference for Feeling prefer to come to decisions by associating or empathizing with the situation, looking at it ‘from the inside’ and weighing the situation to achieve, on balance, the greatest harmony, consensus and fit, considering the needs of the people involved. Those with a preference for Thinking prefer to decide things from a more detached standpoint, measuring the decision by what seems reasonable, logical, causal, consistent and matching a given set of rules.” (from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myers-Briggs_Type_Indicator)
Actors should fall largely into the “Feeling” category simply by the nature of the business. They have to be able to read the script and to instantly become sympathetic with their character. The farther along the “Feeling Scale” the better able they are to sympathize, which might make them a better actor. It also makes them incapable of objectively evaluating real world events. Actors emote and they make decisions based on emotions rather than on facts. For them, perception is reality and you’ll never be able to convince them otherwise.
