ebrett84 Posted July 12, 2010 Report Share Posted July 12, 2010 Part of me wants to give him credit for being honest. But he just comes off as a pretentious tool, and his sentiments are quite laughable coming from a guy whose acting skills were quite widely mocked during his time on the show. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charmed60 Posted July 12, 2010 Report Share Posted July 12, 2010 I don't really mind him saying he's not proud of his work on the show or that he wouldn't want to go back but I think what is totally unacceptable is the way he is so degrading about the people who currently work on the show, all who are supposed to be his ex colleagues and friends. He's basically saying they're not doing 'proper' acting which I think is totally ridiculous. Add to the fact that he isn't a particularly credible actor anyway and he just comes off as being a pretentious idiot. I'd like to actually see him refuse 1 million dollars in order not to 'degrade'' himself by going back to the show I bet 1 million dollars he wouldn't! Good luck to him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jldraw Posted July 12, 2010 Report Share Posted July 12, 2010 Well despite showing a lack of tact, there is nothing that Paul O'Brien says in this piece that isn't true about H&A. Although I'm a fan of the show but I have no problem saying that the vast majority of of the cast aren't proper actors. All you have to do is look at the resumes of most the people that H&A cast these days and you'll see that I'm correct. Most of the actors are either models, actors who are "cutting their teeth" or actors who have done the soap circuit for years because they don't have access to better jobs either in the UK or in America. Now some of them like Ryan Kwanten for example go to America, make the right connections and catch the right wave and become superstars. But the fact of the matter is most of them don't because they are "C-list" actors at best. As far as Paul O'Brien not being proud of his work on H&A. Well quite frankly I've never heard an actor after they had left H&A come out and say they were proud of their time on the show. Some express gratitude towards the show for giving them their "big break" while others reminisce about friendships made on set. But I've never heard one person say "The acting I did/we did on H&A was really great". In fact the rap on soap operas in general has always been that "Nobody really acts on those shows". I just assumed that was common knowledge by now. What is most interesting to me is the final paragraph where he puts down the production value on H&A. We've always been aware that they film an excessive amount of material over a short period of time but honestly until Paul brought it up I never thought of how this could potentially cause the production value to suffer. Therefore if you are only allowing your cast to "one-take" a number of scenes than that certainly isn't going to produce very good acting especially given the acting limitations of certain members of the cast. In addition I also agree with him about having to spell everything out to the audience and subtext. He hit the nail right on the head there but I will give H&A some credit to building storylines gradually. Not everything is always spelled out, just hinted at. As for all of you that are ticked off at Paul O'Brien for his attack on H&A...well you'll be happy to know he's doing what most former soapies do when they are no longer on television. He's teaching an acting class and if that doesn't prove my point about what happens to the majority of soapies after they leave Summer Bay, I don't know what will. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan F Posted July 12, 2010 Report Share Posted July 12, 2010 I found this hilarious when I saw it. It only confirms what people have said to me about what he's really like.... So he leaves the show and jets straight out to Hollywood, hoping to emulate the success of some of his former co-stars, but nothing comes of it and he's now back in Melbourne playing another cop who's going to end up dead..... Given his credibility as an actor, he should do himself a favour and not come out with comments like that - otherwise no-one will want to employ him at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-Kevin- Posted July 12, 2010 Report Share Posted July 12, 2010 Well despite showing a lack of tact, there is nothing that Paul O'Brien says in this piece that isn't true about H&A. Although I'm a fan of the show but I have no problem saying that the vast majority of of the cast aren't proper actors. All you have to do is look at the resumes of most the people that H&A cast these days and you'll see that I'm correct. Most of the actors are either models, actors who are "cutting their teeth" or actors who have done the soap circuit for years because they don't have access to better jobs either in the UK or in America. Now some of them like Ryan Kwanten for example go to America, make the right connections and catch the right wave and become superstars. But the fact of the matter is most of them don't because they are "C-list" actors at best. As far as Paul O'Brien not being proud of his work on H&A. Well quite frankly I've never heard an actor after they had left H&A come out and say they were proud of their time on the show. Some express gratitude towards the show for giving them their "big break" while others reminisce about friendships made on set. But I've never heard one person say "The acting I did/we did on H&A was really great". In fact the rap on soap operas in general has always been that "Nobody really acts on those shows". I just assumed that was common knowledge by now. What is most interesting to me is the final paragraph where he puts down the production value on H&A. We've always been aware that they film an excessive amount of material over a short period of time but honestly until Paul brought it up I never thought of how this could potentially cause the production value to suffer. Therefore if you are only allowing your cast to "one-take" a number of scenes than that certainly isn't going to produce very good acting especially given the acting limitations of certain members of the cast. In addition I also agree with him about having to spell everything out to the audience and subtext. He hit the nail right on the head there but I will give H&A some credit to building storylines gradually. Not everything is always spelled out, just hinted at. As for all of you that are ticked off at Paul O'Brien for his attack on H&A...well you'll be happy to know he's doing what most former soapies do when they are no longer on television. He's teaching an acting class and if that doesn't prove my point about what happens to the majority of soapies after they leave Summer Bay, I don't know what will. Melissa George even claims not to remember her characters name on the show she looks down on it so much! For a lot of people who start their acting careers on shows like H&A they only do so to get the exposure and the practice etc until they are ready to leave and move on to something better! Some chance their arm leaving to get to higher places and most of them fail.Miserably! Lets face it, he isn't the best actor in the world and now hes just another one of those H&A actors who tried to better himself but failed. As much as I don't agree with how hes come out and said it, I do have to give him credit for saying what he thinks. If thats how he feels about his time on the then thats just how he feels, why should he hide it ? As for how he hated the filming schedules and only being sometimes allowed one take, I can see how an actor would be annoyed at only having one take and didn't feel it was their best but it was wrapped up anyway. I could imagine being an actor sitting down and watching a scene knowing you only had one take on such a particular scene and knew it wasn't your best! I don't think he was making a jibe at H&A in particular as a show, I just think thats where he stands with soap dramas and the really fast paced production of them. As for never EVER coming back, I find that really really sad because when Jack first died us fans were very hopeful of a possible future return when at the same time in his mind he "wouldn't go back for a million pounds". BUT as well there have been actors in the past leaving a soap drama vowing never ever to return yet coming back with their tails between their legs when there desperate for a stable job. It happened on EastEnders , Carol Jackson had always ruled out returning to the show yet here she is back again! I am sure its happened quite a lot in many shows! It only confirms what people have said to me about what he's really like.... Oh no, I really hate to think Paul O Brien isn't a really nice guy. I won't judge him, I am still a huge fan and always will be. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MasterHolden Posted July 12, 2010 Report Share Posted July 12, 2010 post removed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
halcyon06 Posted July 12, 2010 Report Share Posted July 12, 2010 Like I said in another post, it was Home and Away that made him a household name, and he should be thankful for that.If it wasnt for the show he may have never had a break in acting. I cant believe he would say that when we havent heard of him since Home and Away (well, not that I know of anyway!) What a tool. Maybe he was mis-quoted?.... I mean, besides Melissa George, most stars who made it big after aussie soaps, such as the Minogues, never say a bad word about the show and our quite thankful for the work they were given and all that. What I find so funny about this is the fact that Paul really is a nobody in the showbiz world at the moment! Oh well, I shall eat my words if he somehow becomes exteremly sucessful in the next few years or so...And I never liked Jack anyway! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charmed60 Posted July 12, 2010 Report Share Posted July 12, 2010 Sorry, but regarding them not doing proper acting, Paul O'Brien is spot on correct on that one. I do not mean to offend anyone but the actors on both Home and Away AND Neighbours cannot act. The evidence: Some of the actors came from Prisoner Cell Block H, a show which was BADLY critisized for the ****e acting on the actors part (the only two that could act on Cell Block H were Val Lahmen (Bea Smith) and Maggie Fitzpatrick (Joan "The Freak" Ferguson)). Some actors coming from a particular show is not evidence that all of the cast of H&A can't act; that's just your personal opinion. Don't get me wrong, there are actors on H&A (not naming anyone) that I believe were chosen more for their looks or character potential than their questionable acting skills but that does NOT mean that ALL the actors can't act and it doesn't mean that the job they're doing isn't 'proper' acting. Acting is acting no matter what format it's in and Paul is wrong to say that being a soap actor means you're not doing 'proper' acting. It's ridiculous. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Foxy Posted July 12, 2010 Report Share Posted July 12, 2010 Sorry, but regarding them not doing proper acting, Paul O'Brien is spot on correct on that one. I do not mean to offend anyone but the actors on both Home and Away AND Neighbours cannot act. At least you're aware of how well Paul O'Brien acted whilst on the show. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-Kevin- Posted July 12, 2010 Report Share Posted July 12, 2010 Sorry, but regarding them not doing proper acting, Paul O'Brien is spot on correct on that one. I do not mean to offend anyone but the actors on both Home and Away AND Neighbours cannot act. Paul O Brien didn't state his distaste of the level of acting ability on the show in that article so how he can be spot on on that one is beyond me! He just hates that genre of acting! He didn't say oh I hate H&A because the production team are rubbish and the cast can't act! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.