SAG Awards

This past Saturday, I participated in my annual bout of celebrity stalking at the SAG Awards at the Shrine Auditorium across from campus. It was a fairly successful day. I saw some of my favorite stars, most notably, Colin Firth (I adore Mr. Darcy!), Meryl Streep, much of the cast of "Glee," all of the cast of "Modern Family", and Tony Shaloub among many others. Though my brief glimpse of Colin Firth was quite rewarding, I was quite disappointed that Matthew Morrison (Will Shuester on "Glee") did not make an appearance as I have followed him every since he originated the role of Link Larkin in "Hairspray" on Broadway (before he became enormously popular on a TV show).

However, I have to give credit to both Cuba Gooding Jr. and Benjamin Bratt for taking the time to cross the street and shake our hands/say hello. However this presents an interesting query....None of the newcomers, who largely appeared overwhelmed by everything, or the A-list stars took the time to do this (in fact, many failed to even turn around and wave at us as we called their names). In my estimation, Benjamin Bratt and Cuba Gooding Jr. fall safely on some middle ground, which makes me wonder what about their level of stardom caused them to come over and say hello? Were they trying to increase their fandom or are they just really nice people?

Now while I have done this every year in the hopes of catching a glimpse of (or even getting to shake the hand of) my favorite stars, I noticed things I had never considered before entering this course. Many of the stars, particularly those new to the awards show circuit and famous for one particular television role rather than a variety of movie roles, were known to the supposedly adoring fans across the street only by their character name (this was most marked with the members of the cast of "Modern Family," all, excluding Ed O'Neill, relatively new to his level of exposure/popularity), which contradicts with Dyer's comments on "name" in relation to the construction of a star. Additionally, the stars had an interesting and varied reaction to this recognition by character name...while some would respond, most when called by their character name continued to head towards the entrance to the red carpet. For example, Phil from "Modern Family," played by Ty Burrell, did not respond to several people calling Phil, but when Ty was yelled from the crowd, he turned and waved. This observation led me to two questions...are celebrities offended when only known by their character names? Or do they feel this means they are successfully accomplishing what they set out to do...creating a memorable, unique character? Additionally, what is the tipping point for someone being known for their own star persona/name rather than merely associated with a particular character? Is it length and level of exposure or perhaps the medium they appear on and the number of roles they've played? Just some things I've been mulling over since Saturday...

Additionally, for your viewing pleasure, I have attached some photos I took of Helen Mirren, Patricia Arquette, Edie Falco, and Benjamin Bratt. *** So for some reason, it won't allow me to upload the pics...I'll try to add them later, but enjoy the one of Benjamin Bratt
-Maureen