Actor vs Character

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Bjujubee	Actor vs Character		Lead	[-]
Posts: 15 04/09/09 01:56 AM	Tags : None Ok guys, looking for opinions on this. I've had many heated discussion lately about this topic on soap message boards lately and now I want your thoughts. I have been on both sides of the fence when it comes to this debate which is.......do you like and watch a character for the charater or do you like and watch a character for the actor that plays them? Here is my dilema.......I post on the OLTL boards and argue about not feeling Todd anymore because TSJ just is not Todd for me.....never was and never will be. Roger made Todd come to life for me and he was and always will be Todd for me. TSJ's portrayal of Todd is totally different and many new viewers like it and I always feel that that these people just like TSJ as an actor but they really have no clue who Todd really is if they like his portrayal. On the other side of the fence......I look at the ATWT boards and there are many viewers that can not stand how Paul is being portayed lately......they say that ever since RH took over the role of Paul, the character is completely different and nothing like the original Paul. But there I sit as a fan of Roger loving the bad, dark Paul......but I find myself being hypocritical because I really am just liking Roger the actor because this is the character portrayal of his that I love, but I really have no clue who Paul Ryan before RH truly was. Does anyone have this same turmoil......am I making an sense because I know it's really late and I may be babbling a bit!!!!!!!!!! Anyway......let's here your thoughts
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Cataz		#1	[url]	[-]
Posts: 2213 04/09/09 11:03 AM	I know exactly what you mean and I admit to being biased when it comes to being a fan of Roger's -- but The man is brilliant in everything he does so to those who don't get it? Different strokes..... Their loss. When RH left OLTL, so did I. Trevor didn't do anything for me then and he still doesn't. I find myself saying time and time again.... where's the emotion? As to the message boards? It depends..... I can see validity in some people's arguments. I do feel TPTB know Roger's strengths as an actor and write accordingly. Can you blame them? He's got a ton of fans loving his take of "dark prince" and the other half love his "romantic" -- kinda like that Beauty & the Beast thing, lol. I'm just glad he plays this kind of off the edge crazy, brilliant, disturbed, conflicted, tortured, loving, romantic man. I get it all. I hurt when Paul hurts and I laugh when he does. I'm interested in his character because I love to watch the actor and can't help but be drawn in. I don't like perfect characters they tend to bore me. I appreciate Roger's gift for the 'different' -- he's got that something special..... and he's gorgeous...... definitely.
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Bjujubee		#2	[url]	[-]
Posts: 16 04/09/09 12:08 PM	Totally know what your saying cataz........that's where my turmoil is!!!!! Because I too love Roger when he is the dark, twisted character with a heart. Like I have said....pansy good hearted trying to please everyone Paul really does nothing for me. I've been waiting to see this Paul of the last few days since I started watching!!!!! But is this really the character of Paul or did the writers change him because of Roger's great talent of playing these emotions? Which is my huge irritation with Todd Manning. I left when RH did too but I do keep tabs on Todd because RH made me very protective of that character. And the writers have totally changed the character because TSJ is totally a different type of actor the Roger. Guess my bottom line is I think the writers should let characters be the character and not change them for the actor. If they want to bring in an actor, why not create a new role for them instead of recasting them into a character that doesn't really fit? Because as much as I love watching Roger on ATWT, many old long time viewers just do not appreciate him because he ruined Paul for them and the same with Todd....if they wanted TSJ then give him a role....no need to ruin Todd Manning for the oldtimers like me!!!!!
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Bjujubee		#3	[url]	[-]
Posts: 17 04/09/09 12:13 PM	I just find it so ironic that the arguement is happening on both shows and over characters that my main man Roger is heavily involved with!!!!!! It's just kinda funny !!!!!! Rogers just the kind of actor that evokes that kind of emotional attachment I guess!!!!!
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nwdreamer		#4	[url]	[-]
Posts: 72 04/09/09 10:05 PM	I guess I'm one of the few long-time viewers of ATWT (since early 60s) that really love Roger's portrayal of Paul Ryan. For me, Roger honors the history of the character portraying the emotional complexities of being the son of James Stenbeck and Barbara Ryan. When I first read in 2003 that Roger was coming to ATWT to portray Paul Ryan, I was not happy. I, unfortunately, had not seen his work on OLTL and regrettably believed the stupid things printed in the soap mags. So, at first I thought I was going to fast-forward through his scenes but then decided to watch a couple scenes to see what his interpretation of Paul Ryan was going to be. Well, needless to say, I was hooked! I was on the edge of my seat watching the intensity and depth of emotion Roger brought to the character along with his brilliance to say more with a facial expression than most actors try to say with pages of dialogue. For me, Roger is one of the finest actors I have had the privilege to see and I have thoroughly enjoyed his phenomenal work these past six years. I now understand what the OLTL viewers knew all along. . .ROGER ROCKS THE HOUSE!!! and he is now the only reason I tune in to ATWT. To quote Cataz, "Nobody does it quite like Roger"!!
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Bjujubee		#5	[url]	[-]
Posts: 18 04/09/09 10:37 PM	Well I'm am glad to hear a long time ATWT viewer who really enjoys Rogers Paul. Like I said I really don't know any of the characters histories on the show and just started watching within the last year because of Roger, but I have really enjoyed the dark turn he has taken recently. But like I said I have heard many viewers say how Paul is portrayed so wrong now......that with previous actors Paul has always been a good hearted all american kid that loved puppies and kittens LOL!!!!!!!!! I kinda exagerated there, but you know what I mean!!!!!! But I hear that and always think, "how can I child of James Steinbeck be the loving all american kid, he has to have a dark evil side to him!!!!" LOL
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I luv RH	No one can replace Roger's Todd!!	#6	[url]	[-]
Posts: 55 04/10/09 02:51 AM	I think I am a person who likes to watch a character for the character. There has been many recasts of some of my fave soap stars & I have still enjoyed watching their stories. Some recasts are better, some are worse. But I feel like I always try to give them a chance. I have even tried to give Trevor's portrayal of FAKE Todd a chance. But sadly that is NEVER going to happen for me. Roger will always be my ONE & ONLY Todd Manning... He made him so real to me that at times, I know this sounds ridicules (RIDICULES) I felt like I actually fell in love with Todd & when I watch old clips of Todd I still feel that way. The funny thing is I know that is the same reason why Roger kept leaving OLTL, because he did not want Todd to be a romantic leading man. I respect that. But I know that is the exact reason why I fell so hard for him. He wasn't like all those fake good looking leading men. He had allot of problems & deep down he had allot of heart. And well with RH's good looks & talent, that was all a very DEADLY combination 4 me. hehe
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Cataz		#7	[url]	[-]
Posts: 2214 04/10/09 08:55 AM	Bjujubee wrote: Well I'm am glad to hear a long time ATWT viewer who really enjoys Rogers Paul. Like I said I really don't know any of the characters histories on the show and just started watching within the last year because of Roger, but I have really enjoyed the dark turn he has taken recently. But like I said I have heard many viewers say how Paul is portrayed so wrong now......that with previous actors Paul has always been a good hearted all american kid that loved puppies and kittens LOL!!!!!!!!! I kinda exagerated there, but you know what I mean!!!!!! But I hear that and always think, "how can I child of James Steinbeck be the loving all american kid, he has to have a dark evil side to him!!!!" LOL I never watched ATWT before Roger, -- but I as I understand it the actor playing Paul prior to Roger brought a more clean-cut good guy (mama's boy) image to the canvas. Those were the years Paul helped his mother recover from serious burns and worked as a brilliant CFO for Barbara's business and when Paul fell romantically in love with Rose. Not much crazy drama and lots of sweet romance & business made Paul quite the catch. Prior to that, Paul's teen years where a mix of emotions when he struggled with the conflicts of being the son of James & Barbara. He found himself in the middle of their parental wars & fought against his evil father. In steps Roger to fill Paul's shoes and I can easily see where the writers have taken Paul on a continuous journey of struggles with who he is and who he wants to be and how to make it happen. His father's sentiments of Paul being too weak to get what he wants echoes in his head and his mother's loving side of wanting Paul to be happy & not be like his father echoes as well. He's Stenbeck, He's Ryan. He's his own man. He does despicable things in the name of love and he can be ruthless and uncaring, but he has this undeniable, unresistable, sweet loving heart as well and the angels he goes after to balance all that bad just cannot resist! And neither can I, lol. I've fallen head over heels for the character of Paul Ryan but honestly, I don't know if he'd have the same pull on my heart without Roger. Just as I fell for Todd Manning but couldn't hang onto him once RH left the role. The characters, Paul/Todd have many reasons to be similiar, but they are such different characters and Roger portrays them very differently as well. I think the similiarites come because it's the same actor with the "Roger-isms" we've come to recognize and adore and he just brings that 'thrill' factor because.... Nobody does it quite like Roger!!
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tat	Great Topic!	#8	[url]	[-]
Posts: 239 04/15/09 06:01 AM	I've had to mull this over for quite awhile, and truthfully? I'm in it for RH. In a general sense I have no interest in a character if I don't like the actor. Unlike Literature where I envision the character internally ... in visual media, the actor is right there, right in front me taking away my own choices in how I "see" and "hear" the character in my head. Reading a character is one remove from the writing, but seeing the character as interpreted by an actor is two removes ... and sometimes fatal in my enjoyment of the character. Smile. If I don't like the actor, I have little interest in understanding the character. I watch, but have little emotional investment besides viewing the success or failure of the plotting. It was Roger Howarth who made Todd Manning one of my favorite Soap characters, because honestly? Todd was a violent, raping sociopath with few redeeming qualities. I'm not a villain groupie. I felt DIRTY feeling ANY kind of attraction to a character like Todd Manning ... and therein was the power of RH's portrayal. He took a hideous young man and made him attractive to me because of the power AND the sensitivity of the emotional struggle of his performance of Todd's inner landscape. I HATED to love Todd Manning, but RH MADE me. Grin! I've watched ATWT since 1999. I thought Holroyd did a fine job with the Paul that was needed at that time to propel plot. I enjoyed SH's performance, but his Paul did not "light a fire" in me. He was just another character that I LIKED, but other than that? When RH came on, it was a different dynamic ... and one that I felt should have been presented in the character because of his parentage, and as a consequence of what had happened to him. SH's Paul was a likeable "good guy" yuppie with ambivalent emotions. RH's Paul was a scathing mess of stongly conflicted emotions brought on by Rose's betrayals and his horrific escape from death. Made sense to me. "Bad Boys" are a dime a dozen. "Dark and Dangerous" bores me if there is no underlying and delineating struggle by the character (and portrayed by the actor) to show me that he is more than a "dirty thrill". RH's Paul appeals to me because the "dirty little thrill" of watching a good looking and sexy man be BAD ... is offset and made emotionally richer for me by also seeing Paul's struggle to be good. And? Nothing wrong with Paul trying to be good. Soft? Wanting to please? Romantic? A-OK in my books. RH does it so well. RH's Bad is sexy ... but his struggle to love and be loved ... MELTS me. Moves me. I'm a woman who loves a man who tries to please a woman. RH has made Paul a complicated, fully realized "person" that I am completely invested in. RH did that because of his portrayal, and I think ... his innate understanding of the paradigm that is Paul at this point in the Show. Yin and Yang. I'm not a "cafeteria" Paul Fan. I don't pick and choose what I like or don't like about Paul. Paul is a complete package for me because I am endlessly fascinated by EVERY facet of RH's portrayal of Paul's character. Simply put, I LOVED RH's Todd ... but I am "in love" with his portrayal of Paul Ryan. Guilt Free PLEASURE. Grin.
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LadyKnightTK	Oh, I have to COMPLETELY agree, Tat!	#9	[url]	[-]
Posts: 883 04/15/09 08:02 AM	Wow! Girl, you have done it again! (Get outta my head! Hee!) Every word you typed about Roger's Paul is exactly the way I feel about him....and I am one who has watched the character of Paul Ryan since his beginning. And so does Tat!! Hugs to you! TK
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justmerhf	HOWARTH ALL THE WAY!!	#10	[url]	[-]
Posts: 264 04/20/09 04:19 PM	Wow!! Glad to see the responses. I mean after all I have been pushing HOWARTH HOWARTH HOWARTH ALL THE WAY FOREVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!! No matter who I love to see Paul paired with it's all about the man ROGER HOWARTH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The bottomline is that no matter what TPTB have Paul doing it's ROGER doing it and- and I take it all for better or worse UNCONDITIONALLY- it's a gift that is all about what the man behind the brilliance is giving me and I embrace it!!!! Last Edited By: justmerhf 04/20/09 04:25 PM. Edited 2 times.
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Cataz	Yep! ^^^ Exactly what SHE SAID!!! ^^^	#11	[url]	[-]
Posts: 2220 04/20/09 05:31 PM	HOWARTH ALL THE WAY
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HeleneCDN	ROGER ROGER ROGER	#12	[url]	[-]
Posts: 1255 04/21/09 08:23 AM	ROGER ...ROGER...ROGER...
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