How TV and Movies Differ

Gina Wilhelm Actress - How TV and Movies Differ

Toni Collette is a very successful actress. She's starred in many films, receiving an Oscar nomination and winning a number of other international film awards.

None of that prepared her to star on a television show-playing four people, no less.

As mentioned in an earlier post to this blog, Collette stars in "The United States of Tara," playing a woman with mulitple personality disorder.

When filming a movie, she only has to play a character for a few months at most. Starring in a TV series is completely different.

Taping for TV has a rapid pace, but requires a great deal of stamina to maintain a single character for such a long time. Even playing four characters requires stamina and concentration.

To let off steam after taping one intense scene recently, Collette let off steam by jumping into a swimming pool fully clothed (she did at remember to remove her microphone first).

Holly Hunter has been experiencing similar stresses with her show, "Saving Grace." She's done 40 episodes of that program.

She points out that she's spent 40 hours with her character. In any other previous project, she says the most she'd done was two.

Hunter appreciates that spending so much time with a single character can "deepen the acting experience," but she says it's also very complicated.

Anna Gunn agrees that acting for television can be very intense. Gunn is on "Breaking Bad" on AMC, which also stars Bryan Cranston.

She taped a huge confrontation scene with Cranston earlier this season. When it got done, she felt completely drained.

When they finished, Cranston put his hands on her shoulders to make sure she was all right. "That's the kind of stuff I really need."

Gina Wilhelm Actress