Customer Reviews

Acting Irish in Hollywood: From Fitzgerald to Farrell

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Read this, and you can save the price of this book: sometimes Irish actors played stereotypical Irish characters when they made movies in Britain or America. And sometimes they didn't. That's the astonishing revelation that's stretched into a book, which includes profiles of George Brent and Maureen O'Sullivan (who happened to be Irish but always played Brits or Americans). There's also a survey of the career of Pierce Brosnan, who sometimes plays Irishmen but--according to the author--plays them badly. However, if you're interested in reading a book ostensibly about Irish identity that manages to incorporate every trendy theory in cinema studies (feminist and racial identity, semiotics, the "male voyeuristic gaze," etc.) this may be just the ticket. I myself was feeling pretty disappointed that the author (a professor at University College, Dublin) hadn't found an excuse to use the word "synecdoche" in the book, but then it appeared on the very last page! This alone should be enough to get her tenure... .

I thought this book was excellent. It gives you the background of each Irish actor and how they were treated by the studios because of their ethnic heritage. The book discusses the changes from the "early" days to now and the "games" played by the studios. I recommend this book for anyone interested in becoming an actor or anyone of Irish descent.