This week I am posting about how actors play a part in creating the Mise en Scene. I have decided to focus on the film My Girl from 1991. The three actors I will be looking at are Macaulay Culkin, Dan Aykroyd, and Anna Chlumsky. One of my favorite scenes in the movie is when Vada, Anna Chlumsky, and Thomas J, Macaulay Culkin, kiss for the first time. The scene is full of innocence and relates how scary a first kiss can be.
I believe that all three of these actors classify as Wild Card actors because they can play numerous types of roles and do not fit any one mold. The three actors have been great in comedic and dramatic roles. As such they are not easily molded into one category. In this particular film the actors have dramatic roles. Vada and Thomas J are growing up and facing life's challenges as eleven year olds. Harry, Dan Aykroyd, is Vada's father and he is an undertaker. The clip I chose with Dan Aykroyd is the dinner scene where Vada is pretending to be dead to get her father's attention.
Dan Aykroyd fits the Wild Card category based upon his other roles, roles such as Ghostbusters, Pearl Harbor, and I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry. These roles show how flexible he is as an actor. This suggests that Dan Aykroyd is indeed talented to be able to fit so many different types of roles. It also suggests that the Wild Card category is a broad one as many actors do not get typecast into a solitary category but fit many categories. This means that these actors are in higher demand. It also means it takes longer for them to reach stardom as the variety makes them hard to recognize.
References
BadfishKoo. (2014, May 11). My Girl - Dinner Scene [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ml5-OMafW9s
jackymovieclips0576. (2007, June 10). MY GIRL -Vada & Thomas J Kiss [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-JCQ87cPD30
jackymovieclips0576. (2007, June 10). MY GIRL -Vada & Thomas J Kiss [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-JCQ87cPD30