Meta-ish

[jamie_dakin]

Cut for miarr, because she hasn't seen Last of the Time Lords yet. Oh just you wait for this weekend my pretty... Our LoM weekend of debauchery was nothing compared to this.

Comments

[missjade29]

I think that David Tennant is just a powerful actor and if you have to play real greif you have to throw yourself into it and actually make yourself sad. That can take it's toll on you as an actor and leave you as a bit of an emotional wreck for the day.

As someone who would dearly love to go into acting I find it fascinating ans useful watching performances like that but I do know what you mean, it also breaks my heart!

[jamie_dakin]

Sigh.. I have a lifelong love affair with actors. Their honesty and vulnerability terrify me but nothing, absolutely nothing inspires me like a good performance.

[alysscarlet]

I was fascinated by that scene in Confidential too - the way David got up and walked away after that intense scene. I'm always amazed how actors can be so unself-conscious and open themselves up. It must take a toll.

DT was fantastic, as ever.

[bistokids]

I was so incredibly moved, both by the scene itself (which did much to rescue the entire ep from disappearing up its own behind in terms of metaphors and such) and, especially, by the Confidential.

And I have to say - in a whisper, mind - that I would throw myself on my own sword for John Simm, but he disappointed me with his eye-stubble fatuousness. I don't care what he personally thought of the whole thing (well I do, but in this context I don't), he's had to do enough deep emoting, and rely on the support of the actors around him, to know what it's like.

I'm comforting myself by assuming that either a) he said more, but it was cut, or b) he doesn't feel it's appropriate to talk about the deeper aspects to an audience of children.

Either way, Tennant rocks. (Oh, and I'm enjoying your icons!)

[jamie_dakin]

The thing is that after all that self-convincing about why that was all he said, I was sort of stupidly offended for Tennant. Come on, Who is the kumbaya of television, just, you know, be a generous actor or whatever. Sorry but the only thing you remember is his manly Doctor chin? I'm thinking having another man bawl and clutch you would stick in a person's memory for a while there.

Eh, but you're right, it was all probably cut. Or maybe he just misses his Gene Genie… After all Glenister did say that he's been left for Tennant. ;)

Oh luverly pretteh icons… I've found that after LoM, Who is the most icon-able show currently on the air.

[bistokids]

I was sort of stupidly offended for Tennant. Come on, Who is the kumbaya of television, just, you know, be a generous actor or whatever. Sorry but the only thing you remember is his manly Doctor chin? I'm thinking having another man bawl and clutch you would stick in a person's memory for a while there.

Oh absolutely. Totally. And you know what else annoyed me, while we're (more or less) on the subject? (WARNING - RANT FOLLOWS!) In the same Confidential, John making a huge deal out of the fact that, at one stage, he was having to act to an eye-line! *gasp, shock* Come on, John, don't you remember doing Life on Mars at all?? Or were all those voices the telly actually there at the time

[jamie_dakin]

You know when you hero-worship someone and it's dreadfully upsetting when they turn out to be less that 100% perfect?

My Simm experience to a tee. Even during the LoM era it was clear that he just wasn't really… I don't know what it is exactly. Not a team player? I get that LoM was a completely different experience for him than it was for all the other cast members, but here he was part of an ensemble and we know he can be very articulate when he wants to be. The thing is that I really think Confidential would've picked praise of Tennant over eye-stubble ramblings so… yeah, disappointing.

If I didn't know better, I'd say John showed himself as one of those 'look at me' types who can't bear to be less than the total focus of attention.Oh absolutely. The irony of course is that he would have fared so much better in the viewing public's eyes if he had been supportive of his co-star. And to be perfectly honest, like I wrote in my review of the ep, I love Simm to a fault, but Tennant was fucking 24k gold in this one. And I don't know if

[ladysarahii]

I haven't seen the Confidential yet, but I remember thinking the exact same thing when I saw David's video diaries in Doomsday, as you've already mentioned. The scene officially ends, and so Billie is going on until the Director yells, "Cut." The part where she's standing there with her hand over her stomach, practically doubled over by grief, got to me. And I think one of the camera ladies felt the same way. You can see her looking back towards David's camera with an impressed look on her face. And then how Billie walks over and David hugs her for awhile afterwards. It was like, "Yikes!"

[jamie_dakin]

Somehow the memory of them being so sweet and supportive really made this one a lot worse to watch because he just looks so desperately… alone. Not in an overly-dramatic oh-woe-is-Tennant way. But it just must be that much harder an emotional process to go through without a co-star who's going through the same thing.

[sea_thoughts]

I once read a book which compared acting to peeling off every layer of your skin so people could see your veins and muscles and heart. It was fictional, but I always thought it was a good simile. Then it went on to say that the best actors are like onions: they have multiple layers that they can peel off or put on as the part requires.

I feel for poor John, actually. Here he is, having to deal with all that raw emotion and then he's asked to deliver a soundbite for the camera. Being British, of course, he sidesteps the issue and jokes about getting eye-stubble. But I'm pretty sure that he was thinking all sorts of things.

[jamie_dakin]

Oh, acting meta, how you do make my heart ache so deliciously…

You're right, there was a degree is visible discomfort. Yes sir, if you would be so kind as to relive what would be an affecting experience for anyone just a few moments after it ended?

That's an excellent point that it was just humor to deflect an invasion of professional (or personal) privacy. Especially with the knowledge that all us emotional vultures would be circling above that soundbite…

[sea_thoughts]

That's an excellent point that it was just humor to deflect an invasion of professional (or personal) privacy. Especially with the knowledge that all us emotional vultures would be circling above that soundbite…

I think it's both (personal and professional). Professional because they're asking him about acting, personal because they're asking him for his reaction. He's not going to get into either of those things; I'm sure that off camera, he told David just how good he thought it was.