Olivier v Hoffman

[poliphilo]

I keep bumping into that anecdote about Laurence Olivier and Dustin Hoffman- you know- the one where Hoffman goes without sleep for 24 hours then runs round Central Park for a scene in which he's supposed to look exhausted and Olivier says, "Why don't you just try acting, dear boy?"

Why does everyone always score this as Oliver 1, Hoffman 0? Olivier's reputation as a stage actor followed him into the movies- and everyone was in awe of him- but he never mastered the craft of acting to camera.  The fact is- and the record shows- that Hoffman is a very good screen actor and Olivier was a lousy one. 

Comments

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

Simon Callow says Olivier tried to dominate the camera, the way he did an audience in the theatre and that's all wrong. The camera has to be invited in.