Dale Samms
actor • voice artist • writer
It’s peculiar how easily the word “talent” is tossed around. For the longest time, it seemed it was a label reserved for athletes, musicians & other artists. In recent years, it’s been regularly attributed to every profession & duty imaginable. Politicians, executives, animal trainers, surgeons, caregivers… if you can name […]
Sydney Poitier is gone. A legend who dazzled on stage & screen with class, charm & fire as the dominant traits that defined his performances. He portrayed men that until that era had never been seen on camera before. His movies of the 50s and 60s were touchstones for generations […]
Anyone can tell jokes & share amusing anecdotes. At it’s highest level, comedy isn’t about trying to be funny. It’s not done to generate laughs. It’s about delving into real life. Finding lightness & humility in the mundane & status quo. It tackles controversy, pain & hot buttons topics. It’s […]
The most radical and revelatory ambition an actor can conceive is to inhabit another consciousness, and to bring the audience along on that parapsychological journey. This is more than just disappearing into a role, or methodically activating parallel memories. It’s a kind of self-authorized rebirth, as if Athena could spring […]
I didn’t understand why so many took the position that Sean Connery was the one true James Bond. My astigmatism to that perspective speaks to the importance of exposure: simply put, he was before my time. His successor, the late Roger Moore, is who I came to know first as […]
Wesley Morris, a critic for the New York Times wrote: “In playing dignity, Chadwick Boseman often seemed tasked to perform its burden. But there was always more to him in these parts than heft.” In sorting through my memories of Mr. Boseman’s performances, interviews, his commencement speech & what others […]
Michael Jordan is my favorite baller. I followed him & his Chicago Bulls during his rise to stardom, emerging as the undisputed best basketball player of his time. He altered the game & was at the forefront of the cultural wave the sport would create. The long shorts & short […]
It’s strange how sometimes you don’t realize a thing that’s been right in front of you all along. Take Leonardo DiCaprio for example. The guy has quietly (as ridiculous as that sounds) made himself into one of the biggest, most sustainable, most bankable stars ever. Leo has seemingly followed a […]