Acting Up | Little White Lies

Acting Up

A man holding a microphone, with a serious expression on his face, set against a dark background with colourful lights.
Acting Up

The quiet intensity of Lee Kang Sheng’s gaze

by Terry Nguyen

Through his col­lab­o­ra­tions with Tsai Ming Liang and new work with Con­stance Tsang and Yeo Siew Hua, Lee Kang Sheng has cre­at­ed a remark­able body of work.
Close-up of a man wearing a dark jacket and light blue shirt, surrounded by pink hearts and floral motifs.
Acting Up

How Matthew Macfadyen remade Mr. Darcy

by Hannah Benson

In Joe Wright’s 2005 adap­ta­tion of Pride and Prej­u­dice, Matthew Mac­fadyen man­aged to breathe new life into an icon­ic lit­er­ary love inter­est. How did he do it?
Reclining nude figure in black and white.
Acting Up

Off the Deep End: Fred Halsted’s Slippery Sadism

by Alexander Mooney

Half a cen­tu­ry on, the man behind Sex­tool and LA Plays Itself remains a pio­neer­ing, provoca­tive fig­ure of films that strad­dle the line between pornog­ra­phy and art.
Three African American men, wearing suits, in a black and white photograph.
Acting Up

The many faces of Sidney Poitier

by John Livesey

As the BFI cel­e­brates the lega­cy of an act­ing icon, we delve into Poitier’s com­plex legacy.
Sinister clown face with red make-up, sharp teeth, and glowing eyes in black and white.
Acting Up

What makes Bill Skarsgård so monstrous?

by Victoria Luxford

As he plays Count Orlok in Robert Eggers’ Nos­fer­atu, we exam­ine the qual­i­ties that make Bill Skars­gård a com­pelling villain.
Maggie Smith and Judi Dench in formal attire stand in a field, Judi Dench holding an open umbrella.
Acting Up

The chameleonic talents of Judi Dench

by Meaghan Steeves

With a screen career dat­ing back to 1961, the ground­work for Dench’s most famous roles was laid in some of her ear­ly appearances.
Three Black men, one in a police uniform, one in a suit, and one shirtless, against a vibrant purple and orange sky background.
Acting Up

The engrossing ’90s nonsense of Denzel Washington

by Chloe Walker

One of the great­est actors of all time found a com­pelling niche star­ring in some of the decade’s zani­est high-con­cept thrillers.
Stylised portrait of a Black man in the foreground, surrounded by other figures in the background, composed of colourful dotted patterns and gradients.
Acting Up

The gravitas of Ving Rhames

by Taylor Burns

As Pulp Fic­tion turns 30, we take a clos­er look at one of cin­e­ma’s finest sup­port­ing players.
Three women, with dark hair, wearing period clothing, posed in a portrait format.
Acting Up

Saoirse Ronan’s constant coming of age

by Casey Langton

As Saoirse Ronan stars in The Out­run, we exam­ine how her debut as a child star has land­ed her a con­tin­ued pres­ence in the com­ing-of-age genre.
Four men standing in front of a vibrant pink and orange background.
Acting Up

The subversive talents of Dan Stevens

by Carly Mattox

From Down­ton Abbey to an Alpine hor­ror via plen­ty of unnerv­ing roles, Dan Stevens is forg­ing his own fas­ci­nat­ing path through filmmaking.
Four individuals in stylised clothing against a blurred yellow and green background.
Acting Up

Cate Blanchett’s battle for the blockbuster

by Victoria Luxford

As Cate Blanchett stars in Bor­der­lands, we sur­vey her var­i­ous for­ays into the world of high bud­get, high pro­file filmmaking.
Silhouetted figure of a person standing on a yellow star-shaped shape against a dark night sky with stars.
Acting Up

Cruise Control: The Hollywood star in stasis

by Jadie Stillwell

As Risky Busi­ness enters the Cri­te­ri­on Col­lec­tion, we plot the tra­jec­to­ry of a star seem­ing­ly inca­pable of burn­ing out.