ABSTRACT
In his essay, “Why Study Film Acting?”, Paul McDonald notes the relatively short shrift given to the analysis of screen performance by film studies in comparison to auteurship, editing and film stars. He also points out that just because acting has been overlooked by film scholars does not by itself provide a good enough reason for studying it. Rather, he stresses, the study of acting requires a warrant: “Analyzing film acting will only become a worthwhile and necessary exercise if the signification of the actor can be seen to influence the meaning of the film in some way. Acting must be seen to count for something.” 1
