Screen Acting

Screen Acting, proposes a cognitive model for analysing the creative practices of western film and television actors, from auditions through to their performances on set. Leberg argues that film and television acting is a practice of soliciting a range of simultaneous and complimentary empathetic connections with their characters, their fellow actors, and their anticipated audiences. Interviews with star actors and professional day-players alike are placed in dialogue with modern cognitive and phenomenological research from film, theatre, television, and literary studies to present a critical vision of acting that speaks from the actor outwards towards their audiences. The final performance may be what the audience sees but, for the actor, the performance is simply the endpoint of a long process of training, preparation, imagination, and creative experimentation. Dan Leberg is a Lecturer in Media Studies and Journalism at the University of Groningen, and in Film Studies at Amsterdam University College. Prior to his graduate studies, Leberg worked as a professional classical theatre and film actor for almost 25 years. Alongside his studies, he worked as the Programming Coordinator of the Cinema Politica Network, the world's largest exhibitor of political documentary cinema. His research focuses on cognition in screen media, motion capture performance, and Shakespeare on film and television.