10
Wednesday, March 9, 1994
UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Best actor choice is difficult
The Associated Press
LOS ANGELES — For the category of best actor this year, Academy Award voters face the challenge of choosing from among five powerful performances, three of which were based on real people.
Daniel Day-Lewis, "In the Name of the Father," has created a string of remarkable performances in his brief film career.
Turner, the explosive husband and musical partner of Tina Turner.
Day-Lewis plays a Belfast drifter who served 15 years in prison for an IRA bombing of which he was not guilty. The actor spent some time with his real-life counterpart, Jerry Conlon.
"I was most immediately struck by his sense of humor," said Day-Lewis in a Los Angeles Times interview. "He's very bright and witty, and by the time he finished, I was astonished to find myself howling with laughter. The story is so relentlessly grim that I think humor was terribly important."
Fishburn analyzed Ike Turner's character:
"I think like most human beings, he was very complex. He was very driven, very ambitious. He wanted a lot of material things. Emotionally, there were other things he wanted that he wasn't able to get."
Laurence Fishburne, "What's Love Got to Do With It," has acted in movies since he was 12. He won stardom in "Boyz N the Hood." His Academy nomination came with his role as like
Tom Hanks, "Philadelphia," had a bountiful year between the AIDS drama and "Sleepless in Seattle." He was nominated for his role as the AIDS patient challenging his firing from a law firm in "Philadelphia."
"With 'Philadelphia,' I saw in my head some sort of image of just about every aspect of the character, to be supplemented, of course, by all the experts we brought in," he told "Interview" magazine. "We're all pretending (as actors), we all put on other people's clothes and pretend to be other people."
Anthony Hopkins, "The Remains of the Day," recently was described as the "best actor of his generation" by director Richard Attenborough.
In "The Remains of the Day," Hopkins faced the challenge of portraying a character whose emotions are held firmly in check. Stevens the butler remains unswervingly loyal to his master, an English aristocrat who consorts with Nazis.
"I can understand his denial," Hopkins said. "He was dedicated to his job. He was an ultra-professional. I played many men like this, such as Captain Bligh in 'The Bounty.' They are good men and dedicated, but they miss a lot."
Liam Neeson, "Schildrer's List",
was born in Antrim, Northern Ireland,
and acted in Belfast and London. He
came to Hollywood in 1986 and distinguished himself in a series of feature roles.
"As an actor I kind of wanted to distance myself a bit because Schindler has to be upbeat and sassy." Neson remarked. "I watched all those black-and-white films to get a feeling for the period."
After seeing the actor on Broadway in "Anna Christie," Steven Spielberg chose him for the role of Oskar Schindler, the German war profiteer who saved the lives of his Jewish workers.
Actress choice a challenge for Academy
The Associated Press
LOS ANGELES — A rock music icon, a rich city dweller, a mail-order bride in New Zealand, an English domestic servant, an outspoken American poet — from these diverse roles, Academy voters must choose the actress who gave the best movie performance of 1993.
It won't be easy. The five actresses — four American, the other English and a former Oscar winner — perform at the peak of their talents. And they have prevailed in an industry that is decidedly masculine, as evidenced by the more powerful roles of the nominees for best actor.
Angela Bassett of "What's Love Got to Do with It" faced the challenge of portraying Tina Turner, the world-famous star, and mouthing the musical numbers to the Turner voice.
Stockard Channing of "Six
Degrees of Separation" played the
The actress race features an unusual record: Two of the candidates have been doubly nominated. Emma Thompson was named for the lead role in "The Remains of the Day" and for support in "In the Name of the Father." Holly Hunter was nominated for lead in "The Piano" and for support in "The Firm."
role of the rich New York woman who is duped by a young con artist.
"The play became this megahit," the actress told "Cosmopolitan." "And John Guare came to me and said, 'You're going to do the movie.'"
Although she and the play were wildly praised in New York and London, she had no hope of landing the movie version.
Two years after MGM bought the film rights, director Fred Schepisi told her that she would play the part.
The double nominations for Holly Hunter of "The Piano" signaled the return of an actress to whom stardom apparently means little.
After her Oscar-nominated performance in "Broadcast News" in 1987, she seemed to shrink from her newfound prominence, preferring to act in small theaters. Her film appearances were in flops ("Always," "Once Around"), but TV movies won her two Emmys.
The Piano" brought Hunter the Cannes prize for best actress.
Emma Thompson of "The Remains of the Day" scored with last
year's Academy Award for her role as Margaret Schlegel in "Howards End."
The Cambridge-educated actress brought special knowledge to her role as the head maid, Miss Kensington. Her grandmother had been "in the service" from the age of 12.
"She was under housekeepers who could be really mean and nasty to the maid," Thompson said in an interview. "It wasn't a very nice life for those at the lower levels.
"Miss Kensington is a good and honorable housekeeper, and she looks after her maids. She knows a happy maid is a good maid. She looks after them very carefully."
Debra Winger of "Shadowlands" proved herself in 1993 with two impressive performances — as a mentally immature small-towner in "A Dangerous Woman" and as the spunky American writer who marries a famous English writer in "Shadowlands."
After learning of her nomination for "Shadowlands," she commented mildly:
"I talked with my mother last night. She said, 'If you get a nomination, wake me up.' I said, "What if I don't get a nomination?" And she said, "Then don't wake me up." I gladly woke her up."
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