I think that he has definite charisma and he moves very well in front of the camera, which loves him, but his line readings in Purple Rain were rather flat. In Under the Cherry Moon, he showed a flair for comedy and sort of developed more of a character. What do you think?

Zero

He's not good at delivering lines, but he's okay as a physical actor, delivering looks or actions.

I was convinced he was actually turned on by Appolonia during the PR love scene

On a scale of 1 to 5, I would give him a 2. Actually, I would love to see him in another movie. He looks good on the big screen. Besides, there are actors worse than he is making movies right now.

I can just see the posts coming in for this.

I'd give him a 3/5... because he's convincing in some scenes, not so much in others.

The scene where he has his emotional breakdown after the incident with his father is his strongest performance... the last time I saw it (Saturday night) it brought me to tears.

i think if he'd stop getting his own hands into the cake, he'd quit getting it on his face. he's never been given the chance (i.e. given himself the chance) to be an actor. not to say that i haven't enjoyed his movies.

It's hard to know, given the material he's had to work with in the past. If he had a decent script and was able to keep from directing himself...

Of course, he's loathe to reveal too much of himself, emotionally -- which is a real handicap for an actor. You have to be willing to go places and reveal things that are very uncomfortable. He had some amazing moments in Purple Rain, but he'd need a director he could trust to push him to that point again.

I rather doubt he'd be willing to do that.

Hey, he's no---->>

http://www.youtube.com/wa...xYN32pQ_ZQ

http://www.youtube.com/wa...Uoy6xy5AFM

But I give him B - for trying.
[Edited 4/17/07 13:24pm]

I'm glad he's a musical artist!

He will never reveal his true self to anyone that isn't CLOSE to him. Even his acting, is an act.

scriptgirl said:

On scale from 1 to 10???

10 for Presence in front of the camera and sexiness

and about a 5 for acting...(that is too generous, can't help it...I love the guy)

on a scale of 1 to 10? I say he's about a -3.but don't he look great?

Maybe the term actor might be oversteppin.

I prefer to call him an playing-pretend-technician.

babooshleeky said:

Agreed,but he gets a 10 from me 4 acting,as well!

He;s too well-known as a musician to be a successful actor, IMHO. I think the only part he can play is that of himself.

He´s totally underrated and has a lot of potential, especially now that he´s gotten rid of his massive ego and vanity a bit.

He should´ve played the Joker in the Batman movie.The Partyman video was more convincing than Nicholson playing Nicholson again...then again, if it wasn´t for Nicholson, Prince wouldn´t have made the Batman soundtrack, right ? Because Jack is a fan.

Anyway, I think some cool director should rediscover Prince as an actor and give him a bit of guidance, like Tarantino did with Travolta in 94.
Prince has lots of discipline and a legendary work ethic. So, why not ?

sexxydancer said:

Oh boy are you hooked... I thought I was crazy

RodeoSchro said:

funny you should say that...

cuz whenever I watch "Purple Rain", I don't think of Prince playing himself... I think of him playing "The Kid", one of his many alter egos.
If I think of him playing himself... I dunno, something just doesn't compute...

I mean, I can understand Prince being a little stuck on himself, wanting to play only his music. That I understand... even when I watch him do "Let's go crazy", "The Beautiful Ones", and "Computer Blue"... I don't think of him as Prince...
However, his true personality starts to come a little during "Darling Nikki" and "Purple Rain"... but I think he truly shines when he does "I Would Die 4 U/Baby I'm A Star"... that is 100% Prince.

My mind works a little weird, that way...

DreamyPopRoyalty said:

I just think that he has spent so much time and energy crafting his persona that few people will be able to see him onscreen and not think of him performing music.

He is such an incredible dresser, what parts could he play that aren't him? Can you imagine Prince in mechanic's overalls, or as an investment banker in suspenders, or as a waiter in a restaurant?

He's just too pretty to play anyone but Prince.

Prince is a great actor, like many singers. Delivering a song or creating a persona is a form of acting. So Prince is a natural in some aspects. But he's not a great dramatic actor.

NDRU said:

I beg 2 differ.
He made a believer out of me when he has that emotional breakdown and trashes the basement. He's an okay actor overall, but that was his shining moment (as an actor) in my eyes.

DreamyPopRoyalty said:

well, actually that's the scene I was thinking of when I said earlier that he's a pretty decent physical actor, delivering looks or actions.

It's when he's delivering lines like "you think tonight this place'll be jumping?" or "What, a subpoena?" that he doesn't come across so good.

NDRU said:

Yeah, I agree with you there. There, he actually seems like himself, like not he's playing a character. I'm not sure if I think his stint @ the lake was believable as an actor, now that I think about it.

You know, I think I know why I can't see Prince playing himself in the film.
"The Kid" I think is supposed to be 18-20... and Prince himself was 23-25 when he did the movie.

MellowD said:

That's what I say. I don't care I'd see two more Prince movies.

shaedove99 said:

He pretty much has to. He'd never wear jeans and sweats or a normal hair or go without makeup, so he can only play an outrageous superstar at this point.

NDRU said:

That's as much a script problem as it is an acting problem. The subpoena line comes out of left field (we have no reason to suspect the character would be in trouble with the law), so there's almost no way to deliver it that's going to make sense.

There are a lot of lines in Purple Rain that are like that. Even skilled actors have trouble with non-sequiturs and throwaways.

between 0 and 1 out of 5.

scriptgirl said:

I thought Prince was GREAT in all his movies, mostly because he didn't have to get too much out of character. 1-10 I say 8!