Avenue G

Reaching for new horizons -- Picture courtesy Wikipedia

by blogSpotter
To steal a line from Friends: Oh... My ...God! Harry Potter, aka the 17 year-old actor Daniel Radcliffe, is appearing nude in the London play Equus. He plays a stable hand, obsessed with horses. The topic was discussed on NBC's Today Show this morning. Matt Lauer aptly pointed out that people who object do not have to see the play. Others of a more Puritanical bent (mostly passerbies interviewed on the street), thought that the whole Potter series including an upcoming movie should be boycotted.

What to say? Daniel is the captain of his own ship -- maybe he didn't want to be typecast as a pimply teen wizard. Imagine if Kirk Cameron or Debbie Gibson had done something meatier and more daring early in their careers. Maybe they wouldn't be footnotes on Where Are They Now? Maybe they wouldn't have been trapped in roles that are unreal and unrelenting in their wholesomeness. Liz Taylor began her long career playing a wholesome teen. We can thank our lucky stars that she turned it all around vamping in roles like Maggie the Cat in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.

Who among us has not imagined how our career might be advanced by taking off our clothes? OK, well to be honest I haven't. As a programmer, there are no situations that call for nudity. And even if there were, nudity would probably get me a demotion. I have to say double standards are at work; a man who gets naked is testing his acting chops -- a woman doing so is more likely to be seen as a naughty girl. If the nude work is artsy (think Looking for Mr. Goodbar or for that matter Equus) the actor or actress has more of a naked leg to stand on. If it's characterized as soft core pornography, it can be career-ending -- there is a thin line to walk. It's not so much that the thespian looks immoral, but rather he looks like he's desperate for a role. "What? You couldn't get a bit part on Boston Legal? A cameo on Desperate Housewives?"

I haven't read any Potter books nor have I seen any of the movies. I wouldn't know a Voldemort from a finger wart. Daniel Radcliffe has stayed squarely on the artsy side of the line, and his move should free him from the bondage of kiddy flicks -- maybe to other forms of bondage. We should be hearing more from the lad in coming years -- at 17 he has many more films to make and we know already that he has a wide acting range.

© 2007 blogSpotter

Labels: Cinema