Acting

An actor should possess a number of skills, including good vocal projection, clarity of speech, physical expressiveness, a good sense of perspective, emotional availability, a well developed imagination, the ability to analyze and understand dramatic text, and the ability to emulate or generate emotional and physical conditions. Apart from this an actor should be skilled at singing, dancing, emotional expressiveness, imitating dialects and accents, improvisation, observation and emulation and stage combat.

Acting is not just an intensely competitive field; it is the profession in which the demand is really in significant in proportion to the supply. Luck of all kinds plays a major role in establishing a person in this profession. To be known to the right agent/producer/director/talent scout at the right time under favorable circumstances is as important as being talented.Modelling is a popular mode of entry into the acting world. The requirements of modeling and acting are not really identical but the element of a stage personality, a good sense of rhythm, being photogenic, an arresting face and figure, poise and professionalism are noticeable and important traits which lead to offers of acting assignments.

Career Prospects

The invasion of satellite channels has increased more opportunity for an actor to perform in

• Telefilms

• Count down shows

• Reality shows

• Game shows

• Mega serials

Nowadays actors also taking on the role of anchors and organizing chat shows and issue based programs on television. Prospects are not very bright except for the exceptionally talented and lucky few. The sudden invasion of the satellite television network, however, has widened opportunities significantly. Our film industry is also very big one. Recently there has been a noticeable revival of interest in theatre too.

Many of our actors and actresses who could or could not become big names have diversified from acting to doing compering for shows, contests, awards ceremonies, anchoring and hosting television shows and film oriented entertainment programmes as well as anchoring even educational programmes and have been highly successful and popular.

Famous Personalities

Whitaker

Whitaker's first onscreen role of note was in 1982's Fast Times at Ridgemont High alongside the likes of Nicolas Cage, Phoebe Cates and Sean Penn. He followed with notable roles in Platoon, Good Morning, Vietnam, and The Color of Money. In 1988, Forest played the role of musician Charlie Parker in the Clint Eastwood directed film, Bird, for which he won Best Actor at the Cannes Film Festival and was nominated for a Golden Globe award. Whitaker was originally called upon to write and direct a live-action movie adaptation of Bill Cosby's cartoon, Fat Albert, but differences between the two led to Whitaker leaving production. Whitaker branched out into producing and directing in the 1990's. He co-produced and co-starred in A Rage in Harlem in 1991. He executive produced the 2002 Emmy-award winning made-for-television movie, Door to Door, starring William Macy . He made his directorial debut with a grim film about inner-city gun violence, Strapped, for HBO in 1993. In 1995, he directed his first feature, Waiting to Exhale, and also directed co-star Whitney Houston's music video of the movie's theme song ("Shoop Shoop"). In 2004, he directed the romantic comedy, First Daughter.

In 2002, Whitaker was the host and narrator of The Twilight Zone, which lasted one season. In January 2006, he joined the cast of FX's cop serial The Shield, as Lieutenant Jon Kavanaugh. His performance as a tormented internal affairs cop was well-received. In the fall of 2006, Whitaker started his multi-episode story arc on ER, playing a man who comes into the ER with a cough, but quickly faces the long-term consequences of a paralyzing stroke. He then takes out his anger on Doctors Luka Kovac and Abby Lockhart. He also had a small role in the BMW Film from Season 1 promoting the BMW 330ci, directed by Wong Kar Wai.Also in 2006; he appeared in T.I.'s video "Live in the Sky" alongside Jamie Foxx. On December 27, 2006 The Magazine named Whitaker as its actor of the year in its 2006 "Year in Review" issue for his work in The Last King of Scotland, The Shield and ER.

Whitaker received critical acclaim for his performance as Dictator Idi Amin in the 2006 film The Last King of Scotland, winning the best actor award from the New York Film Critics Circle, the Los Angeles Film Critics Association, the National Board of Review and the Broadcast Film Critics Association, among many critics' awards. On January 15, 2007, Whitaker won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Motion Picture Drama. On January 23, 2007 he was nominated for the Best Actor Academy Award. He was also nominated for Best Actor by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts, and on January 28 won the Screen Actors Guild Award. For the role Whitaker immersed himself in research, reading books about Amin, watching documentary footage, and meeting with Amin's friends and family. He mastered the East African accent and taught swahili which he convincingly uses throughout the film.

Jamie Foxx

Although he worked as an actor and comedian for many years, it wasn't until 2005 that Jamie Foxx became hugely famous. In the 1990s Foxx was primarily known as a stand-up comic with an uncanny knack for mimicking almost anyone. He was also a regular on television, appearing on the comedy-sketch show In Living Color and starring in his own self-titled top-rated sitcom from 1996 to 2001. Foxx eventually branched out into film, at first appearing in low-budget, forgettable fare like 1997's Booty Call.

But there was more to Foxx than slapstick, and he proved it beginning in 1999 with a head-turning performance in director Oliver Stone's Any Given Sunday. In 2005 Foxx made unlikely Hollywood history by becoming the first African American performer to be nominated for two Academy Awards in the same year. He was in the running for Best Supporting Actor for his work in the suspense-thriller Collateral; he was also a contender for Best Actor for his performance in the movie Ray. The thirty-seven-year-old Foxx nabbed the Best Actor Oscar, making him only the third African American male to take home the coveted gold statue.

Horoscope - Career for Zodiac Signs

If you have the panache and the confidence and above all a zest for acting, then this may be the ideal career option for you. Along with this also check if your sun sign is in favour of acting from the list below.

Taurus

Leo

Libra

Pisces

Eligibility : Click here for more information

Institutes : Some of the prominent institutions offering courses in acting can be had from the following links.. Click here for more information

Related Links

• Zodiac signs and Career