- by lwaves

GENERAL DISCUSSIONS

POSTED BY: LWAVES
UPDATED: Wednesday, May 31, 2006 08:22
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Sunday, May 14, 2006 1:03 PM

I've seen a lot of threads on here about who prefers which character etc and why.
I was then reminded of this:
Back before FF was in the UK I saw some pictures of Jewel from a photoshoot and thought that the expression on her face was blank and souless (don't hate me yet it gets better!).
I then saw Firefly and had a completely different opinion and thought her amazingly cute and beautiful.
Just this weekend I was reminded of those pics and so the question was formed:

Do you prefer the character or the actor/actress?

Most of us know at least something about the people personally, or seen them in interviews, or even met them.
The reason can be anything you like, looks, sexual, wannabe buddies whatever it is.
Just trying to figure if anyone else thinks the same. So....

I prefer Kaylee to Jewel (just coz of the pics and the jumpsuit)
Summer over River (coz she's a little too out there for me)
Nathan over Mal coz he seems just the type you want as a bud (he's just sooo funny).

The others are a little harder to split.

What do you think?

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Sunday, May 14, 2006 2:01 PM

ZZETTA13

LWAVES,

I don't know that I prefer any certain actor over the character they play. I can only say that of the FF cast I had seen and recognized Adam Baldwin. I thought at the time that he was an Ok actor. Now I think hes a very talented and gifted individual. I don't know for sure but I've heard humor is difficult to do. If this is true the man has lots of skill.

Just some thoughts of mine.

Z

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Sunday, May 14, 2006 2:42 PM

COPILOT

Ummmmmmmm
I love both the characters and the actors who play them. Although I'd seen several of them in other shows and movies and they never stood out to me. So I guess it may be the charcter that made me love the actor.

An I carried such a torch

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Sunday, May 14, 2006 2:58 PM

FOLLOWMAL

I fell in love with Mal when I watched the show for the first time. Of course I loved all the other characters too, but I LOVE Mal.

So my love of Mal made me appreciate Nathan Fillion the actor... of course, I have a certain amount of fanaticism to my appreciation.

I belong to the Appreciatin' Nathan Crew over on the Browncoat Board and am very proud of that.
We have taken Appreciatin' Nathan to a form of high art I believe. Heck, we're the biggest crew over there, with nearly as many posts in our subforum as the main one.

I have seen nearly everything that Nathan has been in. He's still the best as Mal.. but he's a mighty fine actor. The rest of the crew is too.
I think when they made Firefly/Serenity they caught magic and held it for awhile and we were the beneficiaries of that. I'll bet they could all duplicate it in a second series or another movie.

"You hold. Hold 'til I get back." Mal

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Sunday, May 14, 2006 3:09 PM

NUCLEARDAY

Hmmm... tough one :)

Fiction, reality, it's all good. Seeing as technically the characters and the actors who play them are entirely different and separate... I guess that means there's 18 shiny and wonderful people to love.

Also, while I have a huge crush on Kaylee, I try not to be so obsessive over Jewel the actress. Don't wanna get all stalker-ish even though she's still a cutie-pie and quite a talented actress.

@the various comments about humour being harder than drama and seeing our BDH's in other projects and not being quite as impressed until Firely:

As a wannabe writer, I think humour's definately harder to do. We all know what's scary and sad and dramatic. Humor is alot harder to delineate. (I think Josh says something like that in the BDM commentary as well.)

I've also noticed that sometimes it takes a good director to get the most out of an actor. You can only act as good as the dialogue, etc, it seems. Example, look at Natalie Portman in the Star Wars Prequels coming off as wooden and stilted. Then see her other movies where she can shine as a talented actress. Tarantino is also good at making actors look better on screen than they are in other movies. IMHO, alot of actors can look really bad elsewhere, but somehow he makes them much better in his movies. Look at what he was able to do with John Travolta and David Carradine :)

Possibly Whedon has that quality, too. Some actors can make any movie better. Some need a good director. And some directors have a particular talent at making actors even better than they actually are. (So it's win/win with Firefly :)

________________________________________________
You can take my hope when you pry it from my cold, dead fingers. (Or if Kaylee asks me nicely...)

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Sunday, May 14, 2006 3:46 PM

CHRISMOORHEAD

All characters over the actors that portray them. I never got this much into a fantasy before, and it was for good reason. The characters are people I'd want to be around, their situation is one I'd want to be apart of. I've gone a couple weeks without eating before, and even longer without bathing... I dunno, like I said I have never indulged in fantasy before, I've always been into real world activities, fighting, hunting, etc. But I actually get kind of wistful in wishing that I could be alive in a time and place like the one in FireFly.

Maybe I'll convert to Hindu, so that I can be re-incarnated as many times as it takes to get there. Oh, if I had a guerentee, I'd do it, too.

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Sunday, May 14, 2006 3:58 PM

RIVER6213

I've seen just about every interview of our BDHs and I always have to remind myself that these people are actors doing a job and that the characters that they play that we love so much came out of a script.

Summer Glau - She's shy, nice, and a sweetheart. You can't help but like her, but there is no hint of the character River in her.

Nathan Fillion - He's very animated, thoughtful, talented, happy, and so not like the character Mal in FF, who is dark and brooding.

Adam Baldwin - He's a really nice guy and you can't see the character Jayne Cobb anywhere.

Gina Torres – I really like her; she’s more lively than Zoë Washburn. I cannot see Zoë in her at all.

Alan Tudyk – He’s Wash out of character also. He’s basically playing himself.

Jewel Staite – She is in no way shape or form Kaylee Frye off screen. Jewel in real life reminds me of all the calculating, youngsters I run into all day. I shudder every time I see her in an interview. Also, emotionally, Jewel Striate is older than the character Kaylee. So this speaks volumes about Jewel’s ability to act. She plays the character Kaylee so well that you fall in love with that character…that takes skill.

Sean Maher – I find his interviews boring and predictable.

Ron Glass – I love him as Book, but in his interviews, he’s always laughing way too much even when there is nothing to laugh at. He comes off as nervous, and it’s hard to see the Book character in him. I remember when he used to play a detective in the show called Barney Miller back in the 80s, and he was always laughing too much in that role too.

Morena Baccarin – I can clearly see the foundation that went into creating the character Inara Serra. When Morena plays Inara, she’s basically playing part of herself which is why I like her so much on and off screen.

So, I guess to answer the question, I like the characters more than I like the actors.

River

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Sunday, May 14, 2006 5:26 PM

COLONELPETERJACKSON

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Sunday, May 14, 2006 5:28 PM

VINTERDRAKEN

Hard one, especially since I dont think I know the actors well enough to judge. But I do know the characters, and I love em all. Seen the actors around in different intervues and such and also in other roles, and they all seem to be nice people. Think ill have to go with prefering the characters though since I actually have spent all those hours getting to know them, and I aint likely to get the same chance to get to know the actors.

You can’t stop the Signal.
Keep spreading the word about Firefly!

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Sunday, May 14, 2006 5:28 PM

VINTERDRAKEN

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Sunday, May 14, 2006 5:28 PM

VINTERDRAKEN

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Sunday, May 14, 2006 5:28 PM

VINTERDRAKEN

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Sunday, May 14, 2006 5:28 PM

VINTERDRAKEN

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Sunday, May 14, 2006 5:28 PM

VINTERDRAKEN

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Sunday, May 28, 2006 5:55 AM

PHOENIXROSE

You think you know--what's to come, what you are. You haven't even begun.

I can say for sure that I would prefer Ron Glass' company to Shepard Book's. Shepard Book is a little too righteous in that Christian preacher way, you know? Not that he isn't a good character, I'm just not sure we would get along; I have a rather Riverish outlook on the Bible. But Ron Glass in real life is a Buddhist who seems to really love laughing. That's cool, you know?
Summer Glau and River are both fun in their own ways. River's all weird and crazy, while Summer is talented and seems generally intelligent in her interviews.
I don't know that much about Gina Torres, so I couldn't say, but I adore Zoe.
Nathan Fillion is vastly happier and lighter than Mal; might prefer that, really. Too much time in Mal's company might bring a body down.
I don't know enough about Jewel Staite, though in her blog entries she talks primarily about shopping and finding the perfect mai-tai. Kaylee is a little more interesting just by virtue of her proficiency with moving parts. They're both pretty cheerful.
Sean Maher can't possibly be as uptight as Simon; I would probably prefer Sean.
Rather hard to chose between Wash and Alan Tudyk. I love Wash; he's funny and loyal and skilled. But Alan is also obviously funny and skilled, seems very enthusiastic about his work. Couldn't really say on that one.
Morena Baccarin is another who I don't know much about, but I really doubt that any living human could have all the same skills and knowledge that Inara has. Though her polish might actually start to get to me after a time. Couldn't say.
I think that if Jayne were a real person I would want to steer clear of him. He's a great character, but hard-drinking, violent, care more about the fact that they're getting laid than who they're with type of people start to get to me after awhile. They lack a lot of emotional depth; hard to converse with. And really it's Adam Baldwin who makes the character as interesting as he is. So I'd have to say I prefer Adam.
Whew!

**********************************

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Sunday, May 28, 2006 6:02 AM

*Insert Nuclearday's post*

-13

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Sunday, May 28, 2006 6:23 AM

SPACEANJL

I tend to go with the character over the actor, and I find that if I really like a character, then I don't actually want to know about the actor as a person. I would rather immerse in the alt-reality.

To this extent, I haven't watched a lot of the outtakes or gag reels, though I've watched the episodes with commentary.

That said, Adam Baldwin's charm makes Jayne someone you might be prepared to put up with (or bunk up with

) I'm just wrong that way.

SpaceAnJL

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Tuesday, May 30, 2006 8:20 PM

DAX82

You fall in love with the character not the actor. Thats why we all love Firefly so much. After that is when you dig into there personal life. I really like this question.

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Wednesday, May 31, 2006 8:22 AM

RUGBUG

Quote:
Originally posted by SpaceAnJL:
I tend to go with the character over the actor, and I find that if I really like a character, then I don't actually want to know about the actor as a person. I would rather immerse in the alt-reality.

I agree. It's the character I fell in love with, not the actor. Some actors can ruin characters for me. This hasn't happened with the Firefly actors, but let's just say I avoid James Marsters and Anthony Stewart Head interviews like the plague. Watching interviews with them ruins Spike and Giles.

When it comes right down to it, I'd rather have Mal than Nathan...if only because I "know" Mal. I know nothing of Nathan, except what I've seen in interviews. I like what I've seen, but I'm not naive enough to think I can suss out who he really is from a couple of clips.

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