Paul O'Brien "I wasn't proud of Home and Away"

[KirstyEkua]

How can people say being on Home and Away is not 'proper acting?' If it's not then what on earth is? Home and Away is an entertainment programme with fictional characters played by actors, therefore its acting. I think it's extremely disrespectful of Paul to come out and say what he has. Fair enough he can think what he likes but he doesn't need to make his opinions so public. What exactly is he hoping to gain from criticising a show that gave him a good 4/5 years of work, decent storylines and i assume a pretty nice pay check. It made him a household name in Australia and gave him a chance to get his name out there. If he was so ashamed of what he did then why did he stick it out for so long.

The majority of actors who started out in soaps and have now made it big in Hollywood don't feel the need to make fun of their earlier work. We all have to start somewhere. And i don't think there's anything wrong with being a soap actor if you're happy with that. Soaps are made for entertainment and light hearted drama and that's what Home and Away does.

[jldraw]

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)).

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.

Yeah but it's also a widely held opinion throughout the industry which is why soapies have such a hard time finding work outside of that particular genre. It might not be the nicest thing to point out but I'm sure if you ask a given actor if they'd want to be a soapie their entire career, most of them would respond with a loud "hell no!". Now are soapies judged harshly within the industry? Yes they certainly are. Just look at when the stars from H&A do media appearances, the media always seems to make some kind of backhanded remark about how "over the top" the storylines are. It's rude and it's unnecessary but unfortunately it's also true. The majority of soapies are non-actors/actors who are just cutting their teeth in the industry/actors who can't get jobs outside of soaps because their acting chops aren't up to snuff.

[bikinikill]

Despite the fact that they are just cutting their teeth on Home and Away, no actor should go out in the public forum and bad mouth the program. Its rude to everyone involved. Fact is, he got paid to do a job. And as an actor, thats pretty important, and not always in supply. So despite the one takes and whatever else, he should be grateful for that. And grateful for people watching that show that allowed him to start out anyway.

[-Kevin-]

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)).

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.

Yeah but it's also a widely held opinion throughout the industry which is why soapies have such a hard time finding work outside of that particular genre. It might not be the nicest thing to point out but I'm sure if you ask a given actor if they'd want to be a soapie their entire career, most of them would respond with a loud "hell no!". Now are soapies judged harshly within the industry? Yes they certainly are. Just look at when the stars from H&A do media appearances, the media always seems to make some kind of backhanded remark about how "over the top" the storylines are. It's rude and it's unnecessary but unfortunately it's also true. The majority of soapies are non-actors/actors who are just cutting their teeth in the industry/actors who can't get jobs outside of soaps because their acting chops aren't up to snuff.

I think people who work on H&A mainly just look at it as a job, its smalltime, and I don't know some people might see it as a joke. Like you said soap stars wouldn't particularly want to be on a soap for the rest of their lives, hence why they want to work on something bigger where they can stretch their acting abilities as opposed to working on a soap like H&A. I guess people who are really passionate about acting might not look at it as proper acting because like Paul said "You’re spelling everything out to the audience, and that’s not what acting is about. It’s about subtext and what’s not being said" . I can't understand that because I am not an actor nor are a lot of other people on this forum so we can't comprehend what he is talking about!

He doesn't like the genre of 'acting'. He says he has had an amazing experience at H&A. He wants to work on something more meaningful and not so fast paced.

OK I realise I'm rambling now and what I've said may not make sense, but I know what I'm trying to say

[Jamey-Maria]

At first I thought he was saying he wasn't proud of the actual work he did on h&a (acting wise), which is fair enough, but on second read it actually is a direct insult to the show itself. He either doesn't realise that all the fans were because of the show or he doesn't care, which speaks for itself.

And for the record, ANY genre of show or acting can showcase talent. I'm sure we're all reminded at times that watching H&A it is a soap, and some lines or storylines are cheesy but it's what you do with them that can make them unwatchable or cringeworthy or the opposite. And whoever mentioned Todd and Jess is a perfect example of that. Granted they probably had some better stuff to work with, but Paul still got opportunities. You don't blame the material, you work with what you've got. Hell even shows like The Bold & The Beautiful and Glee have some really talented actors in what is undoubtably soap-esque styles of acting.

Poor form Paul. You don't kick in the face a show that gave you a start, especially without having achieved anything significant first.

[halcyon06]

^Your last line really sums up my feelings on the matter!

[John]

Paul who????

[-Kevin-]

At first I thought he was saying he wasn't proud of the actual work he did on h&a (acting wise), which is fair enough, but on second read it actually is a direct insult to the show itself. He either doesn't realise that all the fans were because of the show or he doesn't care, which speaks for itself.

And for the record, ANY genre of show or acting can showcase talent. I'm sure we're all reminded at times that watching H&A it is a soap, and some lines or storylines are cheesy but it's what you do with them that can make them unwatchable or cringeworthy or the opposite. And whoever mentioned Todd and Jess is a perfect example of that. Granted they probably had some better stuff to work with, but Paul still got opportunities. You don't blame the material, you work with what you've got. Hell even shows like The Bold & The Beautiful and Glee have some really talented actors in what is undoubtably soap-esque styles of acting.

Poor form Paul. You don't kick in the face a show that gave you a start, especially without having achieved anything significant first.

I've already explained that Paul's jibes were at the sort of work, I don't think he meant H&A is so crap, he just doesn't like the soap drama genre and the extremely fast and also rushed production of such shows!

Also I agree , any genre of show can showcase talent, I don't see Paul disagreeing with that! He has not slammed the show for its poor acting!

Thats how I look at it anyway, I don't see him kicking Home & Away in the face , I just see him kicking soap dramas in the face. He doesn't like them.

[Jamey-Maria]

I read through the entire thread of people's opinions and then I gave my own. Your explanaton doesn't particularly have any credibility or insight into what Paul meant other than your opinion, nor does my own. I'm not trying to be nasty about it but unless you're his agent or Paul himself you can't possibly tell me what they are and arn't jibes at. You gave your interpretation and I've said what it looks like to me.

I’d still say no, because I want to act in stuff that I’m proud of – and, unfortunately, I wasn’t proud of H&A.”

and I don't think you can get any more specific than that. It's a dig at the show. And if it wasn't then perhaps he should work on a more eloquent way to say things.

To be quite frank the irony of the situation is he's doing it in an interview with a magazine that makes their money from the promotion of soaps, and most prominently home and away!

[-Kevin-]

I read through the entire thread of people's opinions and then I gave my own. Your explanaton doesn't particularly have any credibility or insight into what Paul meant other than your opinion, nor does my own. I'm not trying to be nasty about it but unless you're his agent or Paul himself you can't possibly tell me what they are and arn't jibes at. You gave your interpretation and I've said what it looks like to me.

I’d still say no, because I want to act in stuff that I’m proud of – and, unfortunately, I wasn’t proud of H&A.”

and I don't think you can get any more specific than that. It's a dig at the show. And if it wasn't then perhaps he should work on a more eloquent way to say things.

To be quite frank the irony of the situation is he's doing it in an interview with a magazine that makes their money from the promotion of soaps, and most prominently home and away!

Who would be proud of playing a bland character that made him look like an idiot anyway

I certainly wouldn't be proud of playing a joke which is what a lot of people saw Jack as!

The more I think about it the more stupid Paul looks , why couldn't he have just said he had an amazing experience and worked with some great people ? That would have just been nice! But again if thats not what he feels or thinks then why shouldn't he be honest, depends which way you look at it.