Ah, Ben. I've not been as infatuated with him as I am with Jensen, but you're very right. He's a great actor, and he's got everything going for him like you say. I also think, doesn't he have a theatrical background of some sort? Like he studied in England or something? I think his wife is English, isn't she?
I also know he wrote some of the FS eps, and didn't he direct? So maybe he's done some work behind the camera, too.
I know some fans were pissed that he *lowered* himself and took the part on Stargate.
This is something that is really starting to annoy me about fandom--that fans think they know what is best for their favorite actor's career, when most of them really don't have a clue how the industry works, or how acting works, or how it's a balance of doing what you enjoy while still being able to support yourself (and in Ben's case, a family). And in Ben's SG-1 case, he had some really big shoes to fill. Plus he was coming into the show at a point when, imo, it was on its final lap around the track. I liked what he brought to the character, and I was thrilled that they didn't pair him up with Vala (Claudia Black, also an awesome actor), because that would have been too much like a FS repeat.
The actor I'm thinking of specifically is not a well-known actor by any means, but when I was most active in fandom, I went to a few small conventions and even went to see him in a bit part in a play. He had a real sparkle on the show he co-starred in, but in talking to him, he really wasn't that serious about acting as a craft. He as much as admitted that he wasn't in it for the craft, but to have fun. I used to say that he had a very lackadaisical attitude toward his career. That's not to say he didn't want to work, or he wasn't looking for work, but when you're competing against actors who, when they're not working, they're honing their craft and keeping in practice . . .
Anyway, I just got tired of expending my own energy on fretting about this actor not getting the work I thought he should be getting, because no matter how often or in how many different ways I expressed my opinions, nothing changed. Which, yeah, is a pretty obvious observation, but I think fans sometimes get too absorbed in their own opinions.
That's one of the things I love about Jensen--that he seems to love what he does as a craft. That he puts thought into how he's going to play something. That he looks for ways to make it the best it can be. But he hasn't gotten this "artiste" attitude, if you follow my meaning. He seems to thoroughly enjoy what he does, and he's professional about it. (Personally, I think a lot of that probably comes from his family and upbringing, but that's just pure speculation on my part, so take that for what it is.)
I just hope Jensen's career goes in the direction he wants it to go in, not where we as a fandom think it "should."
All that said, if I had it in my power to write a really good western for him, I would. :-)
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branchandroot
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Date: 2009-02-17 06:05 pm (UTC)I also know he wrote some of the FS eps, and didn't he direct? So maybe he's done some work behind the camera, too.
I know some fans were pissed that he *lowered* himself and took the part on Stargate.
This is something that is really starting to annoy me about fandom--that fans think they know what is best for their favorite actor's career, when most of them really don't have a clue how the industry works, or how acting works, or how it's a balance of doing what you enjoy while still being able to support yourself (and in Ben's case, a family). And in Ben's SG-1 case, he had some really big shoes to fill. Plus he was coming into the show at a point when, imo, it was on its final lap around the track. I liked what he brought to the character, and I was thrilled that they didn't pair him up with Vala (Claudia Black, also an awesome actor), because that would have been too much like a FS repeat.
The actor I'm thinking of specifically is not a well-known actor by any means, but when I was most active in fandom, I went to a few small conventions and even went to see him in a bit part in a play. He had a real sparkle on the show he co-starred in, but in talking to him, he really wasn't that serious about acting as a craft. He as much as admitted that he wasn't in it for the craft, but to have fun. I used to say that he had a very lackadaisical attitude toward his career. That's not to say he didn't want to work, or he wasn't looking for work, but when you're competing against actors who, when they're not working, they're honing their craft and keeping in practice . . .
Anyway, I just got tired of expending my own energy on fretting about this actor not getting the work I thought he should be getting, because no matter how often or in how many different ways I expressed my opinions, nothing changed. Which, yeah, is a pretty obvious observation, but I think fans sometimes get too absorbed in their own opinions.
That's one of the things I love about Jensen--that he seems to love what he does as a craft. That he puts thought into how he's going to play something. That he looks for ways to make it the best it can be. But he hasn't gotten this "artiste" attitude, if you follow my meaning. He seems to thoroughly enjoy what he does, and he's professional about it. (Personally, I think a lot of that probably comes from his family and upbringing, but that's just pure speculation on my part, so take that for what it is.)
I just hope Jensen's career goes in the direction he wants it to go in, not where we as a fandom think it "should."
All that said, if I had it in my power to write a really good western for him, I would. :-)