Inside The Actors Studio

"Inside the Actors Studio" is a television show in which the host, JamesLipton?, interviews famous actors. The interview is followed by a question-and-answer session between the guest and acting students.

While the show does have large celebrity-worship-factor (Lipton is known for gushing over his guests), it is more serious than the average celebrity talk show. It does provide some insights into how actors learn their craft, how they learn from and collaborate with one another, and how they work to continue their educations. Acting is a mixture of natural talent and learned technique, and actors struggle to find what works best for them and for each part they play. As with software, there are various patterns and methodologies to be explored and experts that argue over them.

It's interesting to find out, for example, how hard HughGrant? works to present such an effortless, breezy persona. Or that many actors think that once you figure out what kind of shoes or hairstyle is appropriate for a character, everything else falls into place. Many of their techniques for figuring out what to do next are similar to RubberDucking.

In addition to actors, the guests sometimes include directors or writers. Their insights into how one can maintain a consistent vision while also giving the cast and crew freedom to make their own contributions might be valuable to those who manage software development teams.

During her interview, MerylStreep? said that she thanks God every day that she doesn't have a job where she has to go into an office and sit in front of a computer.

See also SoftwareAsFilmMaking, TvShowsWorthWatching?

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