The 2014 Virtuosos Award by Sara Grab

The 2014 Virtuosos Award by Sara Grab

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The Santa Barbara International Film Festival continues its custom of dedicatory the year’s standout performers by awarding The 2014 Virtuosos Award to Daniel Brühl (Rush), Adèle Exarchopoulos (Blue Is The Warmest Color), Oscar Isaac (Inside Llewyn Davis), Michael B. Jordan (Fruitvale Station), Brie Larson (Short Term 12), Jared Leto (Dallas Buyers Club) and June Squibb (Nebraska), it was hosted by SBIFF Executive Director Roger Durling. The Vitrosos award was generated to honor a group of actors and actresses who have exceeded expectation in their roles in the past year.

I thought it was very interesting hearing what each actor had to say and being able to see their “real life” characters. I really liked how humble the actors were. Brie Larson was hilarious and kept the crowd laughing with her witty yet modest remarks. She was thrilled to be nominated for best female actress along with five of the films most influential actresses. Brie talked about her early childhood, telling the audience she had always dreamed of being an actress. She was homeschooled in order to pursue her acting career. She talked to the audience about the importance of playing a role and taking time and dedication to really get to know and become the character you are playing.

Jared Leto was great! the conversation with him was very interesting, he has a way with connecting to the audience. When Leto walked out on the stage one of the audience members shouted out at him “ a man shouldn’t be able to win an academy award for dressing up as a women” she was referring to the role he played in Dallas Buyers Club. Leto played Rayon who was a Homosecual transvestite with AIDS. Leto handled the womens remarks in a charismatic way. He then said to the women are you saying a gay man shouldn’t play a straight part? At that point she shut up up and the audience applauded the handsome actor. I thought it was really interesting viewing a real life confrontation between Jared Leto and a stranger I was impressed with how poised he was and after his talk he invited the stranger to meet him back stage to finish their conversation. Leto was defiantly my favorite actor to watch not only because I am a fan of his but also he has a way to capture his audience. His stage presence is so strong. I thought it was very interesting that he has never seen the end result of the movie! I have never heard of an actor not watching the actual film. When asked why he hasn’t seen the film he responded by saying “ I was there the whole time I know the story I know what happens”. It is apparent that Leto put his whole heart into the performance and is still carrying the character Rayon with him. Leto said that Rayon will always be apart of his life and she will never fully leave him. It was funny because during parts of the interview I could hear him go into his rayon character so I guess he is serious when he says she will always be apart of him. Overall the awards were spectacular it was inspiring to hear from all the actors!


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