My Idols/Heroes
These from television and movies I truly love. Who are my heroes. Who play great characters who have brought a lot of enjoyment to my life. Sure they are the idols of many others too so I have questioned why I think they are so great? Is it buying into the idolsm that is already there? Is it some cheesy joking way I idolise them and deep down I truly do not? No. thinking about it I truly love these people and the characters they play.
William Shatner
Good old Bill has to be at the top. The others come close. The others are Gods and Goddesses amongst men truly, but if I had to choose a favourite it would have to be William Shatner. Of course my love for him comes from the classic original Star Trek series which I used to watch laying on my tummy with my Dad and brother back in the early 80's long before the Next Generation was a twinkle in Gene Rodenberry's eye. Yes the special effects were dated even by that time. But I never noticed. Special effects did not mean so much to me then. Even that bad ones looked marvellous to me. After all I was used to Doctor Who and Blake 7 special effects and nothing could be much worse than those. Yet still I believed them. They looked real to me.
Captain James T Kirk was the archetypical hero and more. He was a great leader, a humanist, passionate, strong, manly always got the girl and defeated the enemy. But he never did so without a struggle which validated how truly great he was. Were he to win easily I would never hold him in such esteem, never believe in the character or the show. No he struggled and won through in the end. He was a man's man and a ladies man. He was THE man and greatest of all heroes Later in life I came to appreciate the other aspects to the character such as how he can be sneaky and devious and has no qualms about cheating. Who can forget the Corbomite manoeuvre? Or how he cheated the Kobayashi Maru simulation by reprogramming it? Or how in fights when against a stronger, tougher opponent such as Khan he has no qualms about grabbing a nearby pipe to batter him about. No he is not your typical square jawed hero who would never think of using something to his advantage, he is not as two dimensional as that> Or is he as boring as too often the modern day hero who reasons his way through such as Picard. He is a hero who has a bit of a rogue in him. He has a rebellious streak and no Prime Directives could deter him.
William Shatner is also well known for being T J Hooker the legendary cop who brings criminals to justice and more recently as Denny Crane in Boston Legal which shows what a great actor he truly is.
And that is the problem. All too often people make little criticism of his acting or his weight or his hair which are unjustified. Yes in the original Star Trek some of the acting was bad. But if you watch it was not just Shatner. Watch Nimoy or Kelly too. Watch any of them. No that was a sign of the times and at times bad direction. Watch them again in other series and movies and you see they can act. Some criticised as part of his acting the...way...he had...pauses...in...his speech. But if you listen to William Shatner speak that is how he often naturally speaks. He just pumped it up a little more for the role. Can you truly say you would prefer Kirk without this? How about that he is overweight? Well in the series he certainly was not. He was actually pretty fit but he has a rather bulky figure, not from fat that is his natural frame. It adds to him being the strong masculine type with true muscles definition not the overly skinny types or fake muscle types you see today. Sure as the movies went along he put on a little weight but that is to be expected for a man in his 50's and 60's. Shows he is human. I never truly understood the wig insults either. No way he could do some of the scenes he has done, including underwater without it being exposed as a wig.
What makes him also great is his love to try something whether he is good at it or not. He knows he cannot sing. He knows it is awful and has even said so and joked about it. Yet he still loves to have a go and sings for the fun of it. And if people buy the albums hey that is an added bonus. Showing his good humour he even sang at a George Lucas celebratory event and made many very funny jokes at George's expense as well as his own and others.
So he is a man who can play these strong roles yet also have a laugh. Has a sense of humour and even laugh at himself. I still love the opening scene from a Police Squad where he played himself drinking a poisoned drink in a bar then doing a over melodramatic and hilarious death scene.
And he really can act and perform. I still cry hard when I watch Wrath of Khan where he had that scene with Spock dying where he truly shows deep emotion and then after where he speaks at Spocks funeral where you can see him saying the words, holding back the emotions only barely. That is good acting. I know I have studied acting for many years.
He has played some of the great legends of TV and cinema and he has played them in a way nobody else could ever have played them, indeed were they played by anyone else those roles would be nowhere near as legendary as they are now.
He is Unique.
Quotes
As Captain Kirk
"KHAAAAAAAAAAAAANNN!!!"
"It was fun....oh my...."
"We have them just where they want us. "
Brian Blessed
It would be easy to dismiss Brian Blessed who is an actor who just plays the same character. Indeed the two characters I loved him most for have similarities with each other and indeed him as being very loud, over the top and dramatic. But he truly can act. He is a well known shakespearean actor, he has performed wonderfully in roles on TV such as I, Claudius playing against type. He is a great actor.
But yes I do love him for the image he has. Loud, dramatic, boisterous. He is a bit like a viking, a warrior chief of old who is feared by his enemies yet has a jolly happy nature which makes him much loved like a fun uncle who tell you stories at home.
The two roles I love him most for are Prince Vultan, leader of the Hawkmen in Flash Gorden. Where I probably first saw him and where I certainly first came to love him as a little girl. :) His character was the great winged warrior who led his winged warriors to attack Ming the merciless' palace and without which Flash Gorden would be smear in a sky. He stole that movie.
I also later came to love him in the first Blackadder series. He also stole much of that as the loud, boisterous King. I would love a King like Brian Blessed. It prooves how he was not only a big powerful man in roles but also in real life when in Blackadder there was a big thick oak door which was meant to be a fake and one in which in a scene he smashes down. A mistake was made and a real thick oak door was put in place instead. He smashed it down as easily as if it were the prop and in just as short a time. And I don't just mean kicked it open it was smashed to pieces. Whattaguy.
I just love his loudness, strength and friendliness. He is truly larger than life.
Quotes
As Prince Vultan
"Flash Gorden's Alive"
"Hawkmen.....DIVE"
Tom Baker
For many the best of all the Doctor Who's. Yes I agree with that. Usually a person's favourite Doctor is the one they grew up with. Tom Baker started as the Doctor before I was born. So he was the first Doctor I knew. When I first started to enjoy watching it it was with him. When it had the greatest ever regeneration it was when he died and regenerated. He era was the great era of the Master who I loved as a villain. Yet probably I was only able to enjoy his era for two years I was so little at the time. Peter Davidson was the Doctor I far more grew up with and I did like him but Tom Baker far out-shined any other Doctors and some of the other Doctors were truly great in their own right.
After Doctor Who his television roles were scant for a period. He was not on our screens much though every time he was I eagerly watched. he has shown himself to be a great actor and as time went on he started getting more roles. In recent years he is best known as the voiceover for a new and already legendary comedy called Little Britain and has won over many new fans with his quirky comments.
Quotes
"I think quite often a fate worse than death is life - for lots of people."
"When I got the role of the Doctor I was trying to think of how I can play an alien..someone so strange and quirky...so in the end I decided to just play the role like Tom Baker as that is what I am."
Alyson Hannigan
The first three of my idols I developed a love of in the very early years of my life between the ages of four and 7. Alyson Hannigan, who is also the only woman in my list I developed a love on much later in life as my adulthood.
Of course she is young herself so has a lot of time to shine in new roles but it is in the role of Willow in Buffy the Vampire Slayer that my love for her grew.
Despite Buffy being the main character, the typical beauty, the action girl it was the quiet geeky girl I started to love early on. the one who was adorably cute in a geeky way, who came out with amusing things. He was someone like you or me. In the series as time went on she became a witch but showed it in a positive light and also got into a lesbian relationship. Sure other shows had done this before but none as well as this or indeed as her who is heterosexual woman in normal life. She utterly convinced you she was in love with Tara (the character Willow was in love with in Buffy) indeed so convincing was it if she had not married rl I would swear she was a lesbian rl. (Perhaps she is actually bi) I think what most other shows failed to do when showing lesbian relationships was the love. You really felt the love between Willow and Tara. It was so living it could bring you to tears. there was such a strong bond, a soulmates bond and Jamie and I loved watching this and talking about it together.
Willow grew to be very powerful as a Witch in the show and for three episodes even became a villain and she played this very well.
Alyson Hannigan also played a very funny role in the American Pie movies and though not one of the main characters for the first two movies at least who scenes were always incredibly funny as the band camp girl.
I have seen her in many interviews and read many interviews with her and she comes down as a down to earth, witty woman who is very open.
I also have a huuuge crush on her. :)
Quotes
"There should be a law that there's a pajama day every few weeks."
As Willow
"I think I might be kinda gay..."
From american Pie
"And this one time, at band camp, I stuck my flute in my pussy."
William Shatner
Good old Bill has to be at the top. The others come close. The others are Gods and Goddesses amongst men truly, but if I had to choose a favourite it would have to be William Shatner. Of course my love for him comes from the classic original Star Trek series which I used to watch laying on my tummy with my Dad and brother back in the early 80's long before the Next Generation was a twinkle in Gene Rodenberry's eye. Yes the special effects were dated even by that time. But I never noticed. Special effects did not mean so much to me then. Even that bad ones looked marvellous to me. After all I was used to Doctor Who and Blake 7 special effects and nothing could be much worse than those. Yet still I believed them. They looked real to me.
Captain James T Kirk was the archetypical hero and more. He was a great leader, a humanist, passionate, strong, manly always got the girl and defeated the enemy. But he never did so without a struggle which validated how truly great he was. Were he to win easily I would never hold him in such esteem, never believe in the character or the show. No he struggled and won through in the end. He was a man's man and a ladies man. He was THE man and greatest of all heroes Later in life I came to appreciate the other aspects to the character such as how he can be sneaky and devious and has no qualms about cheating. Who can forget the Corbomite manoeuvre? Or how he cheated the Kobayashi Maru simulation by reprogramming it? Or how in fights when against a stronger, tougher opponent such as Khan he has no qualms about grabbing a nearby pipe to batter him about. No he is not your typical square jawed hero who would never think of using something to his advantage, he is not as two dimensional as that> Or is he as boring as too often the modern day hero who reasons his way through such as Picard. He is a hero who has a bit of a rogue in him. He has a rebellious streak and no Prime Directives could deter him.
William Shatner is also well known for being T J Hooker the legendary cop who brings criminals to justice and more recently as Denny Crane in Boston Legal which shows what a great actor he truly is.
And that is the problem. All too often people make little criticism of his acting or his weight or his hair which are unjustified. Yes in the original Star Trek some of the acting was bad. But if you watch it was not just Shatner. Watch Nimoy or Kelly too. Watch any of them. No that was a sign of the times and at times bad direction. Watch them again in other series and movies and you see they can act. Some criticised as part of his acting the...way...he had...pauses...in...his speech. But if you listen to William Shatner speak that is how he often naturally speaks. He just pumped it up a little more for the role. Can you truly say you would prefer Kirk without this? How about that he is overweight? Well in the series he certainly was not. He was actually pretty fit but he has a rather bulky figure, not from fat that is his natural frame. It adds to him being the strong masculine type with true muscles definition not the overly skinny types or fake muscle types you see today. Sure as the movies went along he put on a little weight but that is to be expected for a man in his 50's and 60's. Shows he is human. I never truly understood the wig insults either. No way he could do some of the scenes he has done, including underwater without it being exposed as a wig.
What makes him also great is his love to try something whether he is good at it or not. He knows he cannot sing. He knows it is awful and has even said so and joked about it. Yet he still loves to have a go and sings for the fun of it. And if people buy the albums hey that is an added bonus. Showing his good humour he even sang at a George Lucas celebratory event and made many very funny jokes at George's expense as well as his own and others.
So he is a man who can play these strong roles yet also have a laugh. Has a sense of humour and even laugh at himself. I still love the opening scene from a Police Squad where he played himself drinking a poisoned drink in a bar then doing a over melodramatic and hilarious death scene.
And he really can act and perform. I still cry hard when I watch Wrath of Khan where he had that scene with Spock dying where he truly shows deep emotion and then after where he speaks at Spocks funeral where you can see him saying the words, holding back the emotions only barely. That is good acting. I know I have studied acting for many years.
He has played some of the great legends of TV and cinema and he has played them in a way nobody else could ever have played them, indeed were they played by anyone else those roles would be nowhere near as legendary as they are now.
He is Unique.
Quotes
As Captain Kirk
"KHAAAAAAAAAAAAANNN!!!"
"It was fun....oh my...."
"We have them just where they want us. "
Brian Blessed
It would be easy to dismiss Brian Blessed who is an actor who just plays the same character. Indeed the two characters I loved him most for have similarities with each other and indeed him as being very loud, over the top and dramatic. But he truly can act. He is a well known shakespearean actor, he has performed wonderfully in roles on TV such as I, Claudius playing against type. He is a great actor.
But yes I do love him for the image he has. Loud, dramatic, boisterous. He is a bit like a viking, a warrior chief of old who is feared by his enemies yet has a jolly happy nature which makes him much loved like a fun uncle who tell you stories at home.
The two roles I love him most for are Prince Vultan, leader of the Hawkmen in Flash Gorden. Where I probably first saw him and where I certainly first came to love him as a little girl. :) His character was the great winged warrior who led his winged warriors to attack Ming the merciless' palace and without which Flash Gorden would be smear in a sky. He stole that movie.
I also later came to love him in the first Blackadder series. He also stole much of that as the loud, boisterous King. I would love a King like Brian Blessed. It prooves how he was not only a big powerful man in roles but also in real life when in Blackadder there was a big thick oak door which was meant to be a fake and one in which in a scene he smashes down. A mistake was made and a real thick oak door was put in place instead. He smashed it down as easily as if it were the prop and in just as short a time. And I don't just mean kicked it open it was smashed to pieces. Whattaguy.
I just love his loudness, strength and friendliness. He is truly larger than life.
Quotes
As Prince Vultan
"Flash Gorden's Alive"
"Hawkmen.....DIVE"
Tom Baker
For many the best of all the Doctor Who's. Yes I agree with that. Usually a person's favourite Doctor is the one they grew up with. Tom Baker started as the Doctor before I was born. So he was the first Doctor I knew. When I first started to enjoy watching it it was with him. When it had the greatest ever regeneration it was when he died and regenerated. He era was the great era of the Master who I loved as a villain. Yet probably I was only able to enjoy his era for two years I was so little at the time. Peter Davidson was the Doctor I far more grew up with and I did like him but Tom Baker far out-shined any other Doctors and some of the other Doctors were truly great in their own right.
After Doctor Who his television roles were scant for a period. He was not on our screens much though every time he was I eagerly watched. he has shown himself to be a great actor and as time went on he started getting more roles. In recent years he is best known as the voiceover for a new and already legendary comedy called Little Britain and has won over many new fans with his quirky comments.
Quotes
"I think quite often a fate worse than death is life - for lots of people."
"When I got the role of the Doctor I was trying to think of how I can play an alien..someone so strange and quirky...so in the end I decided to just play the role like Tom Baker as that is what I am."
Alyson Hannigan
The first three of my idols I developed a love of in the very early years of my life between the ages of four and 7. Alyson Hannigan, who is also the only woman in my list I developed a love on much later in life as my adulthood.
Of course she is young herself so has a lot of time to shine in new roles but it is in the role of Willow in Buffy the Vampire Slayer that my love for her grew.
Despite Buffy being the main character, the typical beauty, the action girl it was the quiet geeky girl I started to love early on. the one who was adorably cute in a geeky way, who came out with amusing things. He was someone like you or me. In the series as time went on she became a witch but showed it in a positive light and also got into a lesbian relationship. Sure other shows had done this before but none as well as this or indeed as her who is heterosexual woman in normal life. She utterly convinced you she was in love with Tara (the character Willow was in love with in Buffy) indeed so convincing was it if she had not married rl I would swear she was a lesbian rl. (Perhaps she is actually bi) I think what most other shows failed to do when showing lesbian relationships was the love. You really felt the love between Willow and Tara. It was so living it could bring you to tears. there was such a strong bond, a soulmates bond and Jamie and I loved watching this and talking about it together.
Willow grew to be very powerful as a Witch in the show and for three episodes even became a villain and she played this very well.
Alyson Hannigan also played a very funny role in the American Pie movies and though not one of the main characters for the first two movies at least who scenes were always incredibly funny as the band camp girl.
I have seen her in many interviews and read many interviews with her and she comes down as a down to earth, witty woman who is very open.
I also have a huuuge crush on her. :)
Quotes
"There should be a law that there's a pajama day every few weeks."
As Willow
"I think I might be kinda gay..."
From american Pie
"And this one time, at band camp, I stuck my flute in my pussy."