100 Best Actors Books of All Time
We've researched and ranked the best actors books in the world, based on recommendations from world experts, sales data, and millions of reader ratings. Learn more
New York Chef Tony Bourdain gives away secrets of the trade in his wickedly funny, inspiring memoir/expose. Kitchen Confidential reveals what Bourdain calls "twenty-five years of sex, drugs, bad behavior and haute cuisine." less
Eric RipertI love that Tony’s world in the kitchen was filled with pirate-like renegades when mine was peopled with regimented professionals. How eye-opening and entertaining to read about the other side! (Source)
Jon FavreauGreat book. (Source)
Jason KottkeThis book is 18 years old but aside from some details, it felt as immediate and vital as when it came out. What a unique spirit we lost this year. (Source)
This was supposed to be a very different book. Five years ago, Jessica Simpson was approached to write a motivational guide to living your best life. She walked away from the offer, and nobody understood why. The truth is that she didn’t want to lie.
Jessica couldn’t be authentic with her readers if she wasn’t... more
Yashar AliI love @JessicaSimpson and I love her new book It’s an honest and earnest memoir Lots of juicy tidbits of course, but she’s also heartbreakingly honest about the impact alcohol had on her life See the screenshot for my favorite part 🐘 https://t.co/6O8tOX0SEt https://t.co/LJ8vh6Ms46 (Source)
Emmy and Grammy Award winner, author of the acclaimed New York Times bestsellers Shopgirl and The Pleasure of My Company, and a regular contributor to The New Yorker, Martin has always been a writer. His memoir of his years in stand-up is candid, spectacularly amusing, and beautifully written.
At... more
Adam SavageOn a big road trip, I read it out loud to my wife, she read it out loud to me. Then we got the audio book and we listened to Steve Martin read it. (Source)
James AltucherAnd while you are at it, throw in “Bounce” by Mathew Syed, who was the UK Ping Pong champion when he was younger. I love any book where someone took their passion, documented it, and shared it with us. That’s when you can see the subleties, the hard work, the luck, the talent, the skill, all come together to form a champion. Heck, throw in, “An Astronaut’s Guide to Earth” by Commander Chris... (Source)
Superstar comedian and Hollywood box office star Kevin Hart turns his immense talent to the written word by writing some words. Some of those words include: the, a, for, above, and even even. Put them together and you have the funniest, most heartfelt, and most inspirational memoir on survival, success, and the importance of believing in yourself since Old Yeller.
The question you’re probably asking yourself right now is: What does Kevin Hart have that a book also has?
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Dr. Monali Y. DesaiI’m listening to I Can’t Make This Up because I think Kevin Hart is a really funny comedian. (Source)
Proofed and edited by over forty top Hollywood professionals, the book covers basics like headshots and resumes, but flows quickly into hundreds of more intricate and rarely revealed topics like audition protocols, how films are financed, how TV shows are created, how and where to network, SAG-AFTRA contract categories, on-set terminology and behavior, where legitimate film and TV auditions are sourced, and literally hundreds more pieces of knowledge that are... more
His talent was unbounded -- a raw force that commanded attention and respect.
His death was tragic -- a violent homage to the power of his voice.
His legacy is indomitable -- as vibrant and alive today as it has ever been.
For the first time in paperback, this collection of deeply personal poetry is a mirror into the legendary artist's enigmatic world and its many contradictions.
Written in... more
Formed as a New York City hardcore band in 1981, Beastie Boys struck an unlikely path to global hip hop superstardom. Here is their story, told for the first time in the words of the band. Adam "ADROCK" Horovitz and Michael "Mike D" Diamond offer revealing and very funny accounts of their transition from teenage punks to budding rappers; their... more
Uh, basically everything. It would be eight long years before she landed her Emmy-nominated role of Pam Beesley on The Office—nearly a decade of failure, struggle, rejection and doubt.
The... more
Matthew WeinerHow lucky for those who dream that Jenna Fischer has written this book and candidly explained the hard work, persistence, and delusion required to become a working actor. This book is generous, practical, and in the right hands will be a talisman for the deserving few who refuse to give up. (Source)
Christina ApplegateIn The Actor's Life, Jenna Fischer lays out exactly what aspiring actors can expect from this crazy, unpredictable industry both practically and emotionally. Nothing is sugar-coated, nor is it cynical. It's just reality, plain and simple. At every level of success, we are all just artists trying to figure it out day by day. That’s the truth. (Source)
Don't have time to read the top Actors books of all time? Read Shortform summaries.
Shortform summaries help you learn 10x faster by:
- Being comprehensive: you learn the most important points in the book
- Cutting out the fluff: you focus your time on what's important to know
- Interactive exercises: apply the book's ideas to your own life with our educators' guidance.
Sheryl SandbergI absolutely loved Tina Fey's "Bossypants" and didn't want it to end. It's hilarious as well as important. Not only was I laughing on every page, but I was nodding along, highlighting and dog-earing like crazy. [...] It is so, so good. As a young girl, I was labeled bossy, too, so as a former - O.K., current - bossypants, I am grateful to Tina for being outspoken, unapologetic and hysterically... (Source)
Prominent voice over coach John Burr developed this handbook when he recognized that his students didn't understand the fundamentals of the English language and grammar-the first step in analyzing voice over scripts.
In this in-depth guide, you'll discover what it takes to become a successful voice over actor. You will acquire the skills to pronounce words clearly, pace yourself through a script, take pauses at appropriate times, and incrementally express... more
"This book... more
Michael Peter Balzary was born in Melbourne, Australia, on October 16, 1962. His more famous stage name, Flea, and his wild ride as the renowned bass player for the Red Hot Chili Peppers was in a far and distant future. Little Michael from Oz moved with his very conservative, very normal family to Westchester, New York, where life as he knew it was soon turned... more
Louis VirtelIn case you’re looking for all of @flea333’s wisdom, whimsy, empathy, and genius in one place, this beautiful book is the fix. Love him. https://t.co/tYJrIxqKFz (Source)
In her hit Netflix comedy special Baby Cobra, an eight-month pregnant Ali Wong resonated so heavily that she became a popular Halloween costume. Wong told the world her remarkably unfiltered thoughts on marriage, sex, Asian culture, working women, and why you never see new mom... more
Patton OswaltPicked up the new @aliwong book over the weekend! Hilarious, brilliant and touching. GET. IT. https://t.co/13Ce1iy4Nl (Source)
In his new book, Charlamagne Tha God presents his comic, often controversial, and always brutally honest insights on how living an authentic life is the quickest path to success. Beginning with his journey from the small town of Moncks Corner, South Carolina to his headline grabbing interviews with celebrities like... more
Ryan HolidayI also loved Black Privilege: Opportunity Comes to Those Who Create It by Charlamagne Tha God, and I wish more celebrity memoirs bothered to do what he did with this book: You know, actually teach people stuff in the form of concrete lessons instead of just talking about their lives. (Source)
For decades, Demi Moore has been synonymous with celebrity. From iconic film roles to high-profile relationships, Moore has never been far from the spotlight—or the headlines.
Even as Demi was becoming the highest paid actress in Hollywood, however, she was always outrunning her past, just one step ahead of the doubts and insecurities that defined her childhood. Throughout her rise to fame and during some of the most pivotal moments of her life, Demi... more
Arianna HuffingtonCongratulations to @justdemi on her intimate and inspiring new memoir #InsideOutBook! Loved our conversation at her book launch at @BNBuzz Union Square — we talked about wakeup calls, evicting the obnoxious roommates in our heads and so much more — and loved the book! https://t.co/W3AJi4642a (Source)
Mike Birbiglia@buckleystuff @NewOneBway absolutely. i had to limit my words based on the twitter limit. i could go on and on and on. one of the best people working in the arts. i think @heidibschreck might be a fan of this book too. and @sakinajaffrey. (Source)
Perhaps you want to know what Mindy thinks makes a great best friend (someone who will fill your prescription in the middle of the night), or what makes a great guy (one who is aware of all... more
Angela Kinsey.@mindykaling I am rereading your book and cracking up. I appreciate your chapter on The Office so much more now. But all of it is fantastic. Thanks for starting my day with laughter. You know I loves ya. ❤️ https://t.co/EB99xnyt0p (Source)
Yashar AliReminds me of one of my favorite lines from @mindykaling's book (even though I'm an early riser): “There is no sunrise so beautiful that it is worth waking me up to see it.” https://t.co/pS56bmyYjS (Source)
Don't have time to read the top Actors books of all time? Read Shortform summaries.
Shortform summaries help you learn 10x faster by:
- Being comprehensive: you learn the most important points in the book
- Cutting out the fluff: you focus your time on what's important to know
- Interactive exercises: apply the book's ideas to your own life with our educators' guidance.
Comedian, writer, actress, and social media star Amanda Seales is a force of nature who has fearlessly and passionately charted her own course through life and career. Now, in her one-of-a-kind voice that blends academic intellectualism, Black American colloquialisms, and pop culture fanaticism, she’s bringing her life’s lessons and laughs to the page. This volume of essays, axioms, original illustrations, and photos provides Seales’s trademark “self-help from... more
Jimmy Fallon.@HowardStern is here tonight and we are talking about #HowardSternComesAgain! It's funny and irreverent and also moving and inspiring. Pick up his book!! https://t.co/Rsfb9J8L8Q https://t.co/J0pBWfIwsY (Source)
Jose ManginIn Uber to LAX & just read a great @nytimes interview w one of my idols AND @SIRIUSXM co-worker @HowardStern ⭐️ I can’t wait to read his new book #HowardSternComesAgain ✅ Thank YOU Howard for coming to satellite radio and forever changing my life🖤🙏🏽 https://t.co/oC6SDBOrne (Source)
Mike Denison@HowardStern @SteveMartinToGo It’s a great book, Stern (Source)
You want to know about the struggle of growing up poor, black, and female? Ask any girl from any ’hood. You want to know what it takes to rise above your circumstances when all the cards are stacked against you? Ask me.
Comedian Patricia Williams, who for years went by her street name "Rabbit," was born and raised in Atlanta’s most troubled neighborhood at the height of the crack... more
My name is “J” and I’m awkward—and black. Someone once told me those were the two worst things anyone could be. That someone was right. Where do I start?
Being an introvert in a world that glorifies cool isn’t easy. But when Issa Rae, the creator of the Shorty Award–winning hit... more
There are few personalities who evoke such universal feelings of warmth as Fred Rogers. An enduring presence in American homes for over 30 years, his plainspoken wisdom continues to guide and comfort many. The World According to Mister Rogers distills the legacy and singular worldview of this beloved American figure. An inspiring collection of stories, anecdotes, and insights--with sections devoted to love,... more
Miracle OlatunjiYear of Yes helped me realize how living at the edge of our comfort zones makes our world bigger. Shonda Rhimes, best known as the powerhouse behind Grey’s Anatomy and Scandal, used to be someone who would constantly lived her life driven by fear and always said ‘no’ to opportunities that were outside her comfort zone. She realized that by staying within her comfort zone, she would never grow and... (Source)
As twins, the Bellas have always competed. Legend has it that Nikki drop-kicked Brie in the womb so that she could make her grand entrance first. But the rest of the world often treated them as identical and even interchangeable, so they decided to do something about it.
In WWE, the Bellas accomplished so much together: bringing in young girls and women while building the... more
Don't have time to read the top Actors books of all time? Read Shortform summaries.
Shortform summaries help you learn 10x faster by:
- Being comprehensive: you learn the most important points in the book
- Cutting out the fluff: you focus your time on what's important to know
- Interactive exercises: apply the book's ideas to your own life with our educators' guidance.
What a normal cycle looks like; The best way to chart your cycle and increase your fertility... more
In 1983, four self-described "knuckleheads" burst out of the mosh-pitted mosaic of the neo-punk rock scene in L.A. with their own unique brand of cosmic hardcore mayhem funk. Over twenty years later, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, against all odds, have become one of the most successful bands in the world. Though the band has gone through many incarnations, Anthony Kiedis, the group's... more
Ella BottingAnother book is Scar Tissue. I really resonate with those kind of stories, they stay with me and inspire me daily. (Source)
Jenifer Lewis keeps it real in this provocative and touching memoir by a mid-western girl with a dream whose journey from poverty to Hollywood will move, shock, and inspire readers.
Told in the audacious voice her fans adore, Jenifer describes a road to fame made treacherous by dysfunction and undiagnosed mental illness, including a sex addiction. Yet, supported by loving friends and strengthened by "inner... more
A guide to all kinds of addiction from a star who has struggled with heroin, alcohol, sex, fame, food, and eBay, that will help addicts and their loved ones make the first steps into recovery.
"This manual for self-realization comes not from a mountain but from the mud.... My qualification is not that I am better than you but I am worse." (Russell Brand)
With a rare mix of honesty, humor, and compassion, comedian and movie star Russell Brand mines his own wild story and shares the advice and wisdom he has gained through his... more
The Princess Bride has been a family favorite for close to three decades. Ranked by the American Film Institute as one of... more
"Amy Schumer's book will make you love her even more. For a comedian of unbridled (and generally hilarious) causticity, Schumer has written a probing, confessional, unguarded, and, yes, majorly humanizing non-memoir, a book that trades less on sarcasm, and more on emotional resonance." —Vogue
"The Girl with the Lower Back Tattoo is an alternatingly meditative, sexually explicit, side-splittingly hilarious, heart-wrenching, disturbing, passionately political, and always staggeringly authentic ride through... more
In this follow-up to her critically acclaimed memoir, Home, Julie Andrews shares reflections on her astonishing career, including such classics as Mary Poppins, The Sound of Music, and Victor/Victoria.
In Home, the number one New York Times international bestseller, Julie Andrews recounted her difficult childhood and her emergence as an acclaimed singer and performer on the stage.
With this second memoir, Home Work: A Memoir of My Hollywood Years, Andrews picks up... more
Graham Norton Show#DameJulieAndrews' brilliant new book 'Home Work' is out now! 📕 #TheGNShow https://t.co/9C5i8x54Ht (Source)
In this candid and often hilarious memoir, the celebrated director, comedian, writer, and actor offers a comprehensive, personal look at his tumultuous life. Beginning with his Brooklyn childhood and his stint as a writer for the Sid Caesar variety show in the early days of television, working alongside comedy greats, Allen tells of his difficult early days doing standup before he achieved recognition and success. With his unique storytelling pizzazz, he recounts his departure into... more
Don't have time to read the top Actors books of all time? Read Shortform summaries.
Shortform summaries help you learn 10x faster by:
- Being comprehensive: you learn the most important points in the book
- Cutting out the fluff: you focus your time on what's important to know
- Interactive exercises: apply the book's ideas to your own life with our educators' guidance.
(Disclaimer: This is NOT the original book. If you're looking for the original book, search this link: http: //amzn.to/2GygI4e)
A collection of essays of what it means to be a modern woman by hollywood actress Gabrielle Union.
A heartbreaking and crude title from a former victim of sexual assault, Gabrielle Union reveals... more
Charlamagne Tha GodThese are the books I recommend people to listen to on @applebooks. (Source)
Ryan HolidayI also recommend The 50th Law, which while not technically a biography tells the stories of many such individuals and will stick with you just as long. (Source)
In Talking as Fast as I Can, Lauren Graham hits pause for a moment and looks back on her life, sharing laugh-out-loud stories about growing up, starting out as an actress, and, years later, sitting in her trailer on the Parenthood set and asking herself, “Did you, um, make it?” She opens... more
Even before she made a name for herself on the silver screen starring in films like Pitch Perfect, Up in the Air, Twilight, and Into the Woods, Anna Kendrick was unusually small, weird, and “10 percent defiant.”
At the ripe age of thirteen, she had already resolved to “keep the crazy inside my head where it belonged. Forever. But here’s the thing about crazy: It. Wants. Out.” In Scrappy Little... more
Rick Ross is an indomitable presence in the music industry, but few people know his full story. Now, for the first time, Ross offers a vivid, dramatic and unexpectedly candid account of his early childhood, his tumultuous adolescence and his dramatic ascendancy in the world of hip-hop.
Born William Leonard Roberts II, Ross grew up “across the bridge,” in a Miami at odds with... more
That’s Supernatural.
There’ll Be Peace When You Are Done: Actors and Fans Celebrate the Legacy of Supernatural is an emotional look back at the beloved television show Supernatural as it wraps up its final season after fifteen unprecedented years on air.
With heartfelt chapters written by both the series’ actors and its fans—plus full-color photos and fan illustrations—There’ll Be Peace When You Are Done traces Supernatural’s... more
Voices are increasingly in demand for commercials, video games, audio books, cartoon characters, announcements, and other spots. This outstanding handbook explains how to launch a career and work in the field of professional voice-overs. Along with sample commercials and script copy, the author gives advice on vocal exercises, self-promotion, and business matters. Chapters cover everything from breaking into the industry, getting an agent, and marketing your talent to exercises in... more
In Physical Expression on Stage and Screen Bill Connington, a renowned teacher of the Alexander Technique, shows you how to recognize and release the tension that keeps you from performing at your best. If you're ever not certain of what to do with your hands or how to make a meaningful gesture, or if your movement feels fine in daily life but then you suddenly become self-conscious when onstage or in front of a camera,... more
With a sensibility that recalls her beloved screen characters, including NASA physicist mathematician Katherine G. Johnson, Yvette, Queenie, Shug, and the iconic Cookie from Empire, yet is all Taraji, the screen actress writes of her family, the one she was born into and the one she created. She shares stories... more
Don't have time to read the top Actors books of all time? Read Shortform summaries.
Shortform summaries help you learn 10x faster by:
- Being comprehensive: you learn the most important points in the book
- Cutting out the fluff: you focus your time on what's important to know
- Interactive exercises: apply the book's ideas to your own life with our educators' guidance.
From his rapid-fire stand-up comedy riffs to his breakout role in Mork & Mindy and his Academy Award-winning performance in Good Will Hunting, Robin Williams was a singularly innovative and beloved entertainer. He often came across as a man possessed, holding forth on culture and politics while mixing in personal revelations – all with... more
"Unvarnished. Funny. Leaving no stone unturned." . . . So say the publishers about this book I've written. What I say is that this is the story of my life, told as clear as a Texas sky and in the same rhythm that I lived it.
It's a story of restlessness and the purity of the moment and living right. Of my childhood in Abbott, Texas, to the Pacific Northwest, from Nashville to Hawaii and all the way back again. Of selling vacuum cleaners and encyclopedias while hosting radio shows and writing song after song,... more
Martin Short is one of few celebrities in show business who has continually worked hard, found success, and maintained a normal, happy family life. His memoir is a reflection on his diverse collection of experiences, both hilarious and heartbreaking.
Short takes us through his career, from his early years with Second City Toronto and... more
"I want to be healthy and fit 52 weeks of the year, but that doesn't mean I have to be perfect every day. This philosophy is a year-round common-sense approach to health and fitness that involves doing your best most of the time—and by that I don't mean being naughty for three days and good for four. I mean doing your absolute best most of the time during every week, 52 weeks of the year."—Carrie Underwood
Carrie Underwood believes that fitness is a lifelong journey. She wasn’t born with the toned arms and strong legs that fans know her for. Like all of us, she has...
moreA teen idol at fifteen, an international icon and founder of the Brat Pack at twenty, and one of Hollywood's top stars to this day, Rob Lowe chronicles his experiences as a painfully misunderstood child actor in Ohio uprooted to the wild counterculture of mid-seventies Malibu, where he embarked on his unrelenting pursuit of a career in Hollywood.
The Outsiders placed Lowe at the birth of the modern youth movement in the entertainment industry.... more
Reese Witherspoon’s grandmother Dorothea always said that a combination of beauty and strength made southern women “whiskey in a teacup.” We may be delicate and ornamental on the outside, she said, but inside we’re strong and fiery.
Reese’s southern heritage informs her whole life, and she loves sharing the joys of southern living with practically everyone she... more
Charlamagne Tha God, New York Times bestselling author of Black Privilege and cohost of Power 105.1’s The Breakfast Club, reveals his blueprint for breaking free from your fears and anxiety to reach that elusive next level of success.
Fear is holding you back. It’s time to turn the tables and channel your fears to actually fuel your success.
Being “shook” is more than a rap lyric for Charlamagne, it’s his mission to overcome. While it may seem like he is ahead of the game and should have nothing to worry about, he is... more
Don't have time to read the top Actors books of all time? Read Shortform summaries.
Shortform summaries help you learn 10x faster by:
- Being comprehensive: you learn the most important points in the book
- Cutting out the fluff: you focus your time on what's important to know
- Interactive exercises: apply the book's ideas to your own life with our educators' guidance.
Winner of the IACP Cookbook Design Award
This ain’t no cookbook. This ain’t no memoir. This is Action Bronson’s devotional, a book about the overwhelming power of delicious—no, f*cking amazing—food. Bronson is this era’s Homer, and F*ck, That’s Delicious is a modern-day Odyssey, replete with orgiastic recipes, world travel, siren songs, and weed.
Illustrated, packed with images, and unlike any book in the entire galaxy, Bronson’s F*ck, That’s Delicious includes 40-plus recipes inspired by his... more
The world may know Shania Twain as many things: a music legend, a mother, and recently, a fixture in the news for her painful, public divorce and subsequent marriage to a cherished friend. But in this extraordinary autobiography, Shania reveals that she is so much more. She is Eilleen Twain, one of five children born into poverty in rural Canada, where her family often didn’t have enough food to send... more
Reel Inequality examines the structural barriers minority actors face in Hollywood, while shedding light on how they survive in a racist industry. The book charts how white male gatekeepers dominate Hollywood,... more
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One of the most celebrated, beloved, and enduring actors of our time, Sally Field has an infectious charm that has captivated the nation for more than five decades, beginning with her first TV role at the age of seventeen. From Gidget's... more
Whether producing, writing, directing, or acting, the Duplass Brothers have made their mark in the world of independent film and television on the strength of their quirky and empathetic approach to storytelling. Now, for the first time, Mark and Jay take readers on a tour of their lifelong partnership in this unique memoir told in essays that share the secrets of... more
Valerie Harper was an unknown actress when she won the groundbreaking role of Rhoda Morgenstern, Mary Tyler Moore’s lovable and self-deprecating on-screen best friend. Bold and hilarious, the native New Yorker and struggling working girl was unlucky in love and insecure about her weight—in other words, every woman’s best friend.
Harper represented a self-reliant new identity for women of the... more
The Michael Chekhov technique is today seen as one of the most influential and inspiring methods of actor training in existence. In The Michael Chekhov Handbook, Lenard Petit draws on twenty years of teaching experience to unlock and illuminate this often complex technique.
Petit uses four sections to guide those... more
Don't have time to read the top Actors books of all time? Read Shortform summaries.
Shortform summaries help you learn 10x faster by:
- Being comprehensive: you learn the most important points in the book
- Cutting out the fluff: you focus your time on what's important to know
- Interactive exercises: apply the book's ideas to your own life with our educators' guidance.
'The book is meant to spread joy, personal acceptance, and most of all understanding. Each of us is living our own private journey, and the more we know about each other, the healthier and happier the world will be.'
Growing up gay in a traditional South Asian family in South Yorkshire, Tan France could never have imagined he’d become part of a worldwide phenomenon. One of the few people of colour at his school, he experienced racist bullies, found solace at his grandad’s denim factory and eventually discovered his true calling at fashion college. Told...
moreGrowing a perfect moustache, grilling red meat, wooing a woman—who better to deliver this tutelage than the always charming, always manly Nick Offerman, best known as Parks and Recreation’s Ron Swanson? Combining his trademark comic voice and very real expertise in woodworking—he runs his own woodshop—Paddle Your Own Canoe features tales from Offerman’s childhood in small-town Minooka, Illinois—“I grew up literally in the... more
Find work through a variety of sources
Deliver stunning... more
Don't have time to read the top Actors books of all time? Read Shortform summaries.
Shortform summaries help you learn 10x faster by:
- Being comprehensive: you learn the most important points in the book
- Cutting out the fluff: you focus your time on what's important to know
- Interactive exercises: apply the book's ideas to your own life with our educators' guidance.
Written by award-winning New York City playwright Douglas M. Parker, Contemporary Scenes provides young actors with the material they need to have fun while exploring a full spectrum of emotions, situations and relationships, ranging from the humorous to the heartfelt. less
Phoebe Robinson is a stand-up comic, which means that, often, her everyday experiences become points of comedic fodder. And as a black woman in America, she maintains, sometimes you need to have a sense of humor to deal with the absurdity you are handed on the daily. Robinson has experienced her fair share over the years: she's been unceremoniously relegated to the role of "the black friend," as if she is somehow the authority on all... more
Beloved writer Samantha Irby returns to the printed page for her much-anticipated, sidesplitting third book following Meaty and New York Times bestselling We Are Never Meeting in Real Life.
Irby is turning forty, and increasingly uncomfortable in... more
Chinatown is the Holy Grail of 1970s cinema. Its twist ending is the most notorious in American film and its closing line of dialogue the most haunting. Here for the first time is the incredible true story of its making.
In Sam Wasson's telling, it becomes the defining story of the most colorful characters in the most colorful period of Hollywood history. Here is Jack... more
Royal Hastings is quickly learning what the... more
Hollywood was created by its "others"; that is, by women, Jews, and immigrants. Salka Viertel was all three and so much more. She was the screenwriter for five of Greta Garbo's movies and also her most intimate friend. At one point during the Irving Thalberg years, Viertel was the highest-paid writer on the MGM lot. Meanwhile, at her house in Santa Monica she... more
Distilling difficult concepts to their simplest form, DeKoven explains how to accurately capture and portray human behavior... more
Unlike “scene books” that reprint 50 to 75 monologues excerpted from plays but don't include any background information, this annotated guide tells you what you really need to know about audition material from more than 300 contemporary plays.
Here is how the book works. Suppose that you're looking for a dramatic male/female scene. When you scan “Part One: Play Synopses and Analyses,” you come... more
Don't have time to read the top Actors books of all time? Read Shortform summaries.
Shortform summaries help you learn 10x faster by:
- Being comprehensive: you learn the most important points in the book
- Cutting out the fluff: you focus your time on what's important to know
- Interactive exercises: apply the book's ideas to your own life with our educators' guidance.
Barely out of his teens, David Cassidy landed a role on a new sitcom about a musical family that toured in a psychedelic bus. The critics blasted it—but TV viewers loved it! And the young female audience especially loved Keith Partridge. Not only did they tune in each week, they bought The Partridge Family’s hit single, “I Think I Love You,” in the millions, and plastered David’s image on their bedroom walls.... more
There are thousands of students enrolled in school drama classes in yet very often young actors cannot be heard, are... more
From the bestselling author of The Long Run comes an emotional and adventurously funny true story of a man, a van, and a family on an epic journey of rediscovering what matters most.
It’s been a rough time for Mishka Shubaly and the women in his family. In a failed quest for something stable, they’ve all arrived at a crossroads. Divorce, unemployment, eviction, addiction, sobriety, an abusive marriage, grief, homelessness, breakups, and abandonment. Can Mishka, still single, self-doubting, and on the lost side of forty, help? Maybe. He’s got the idiotic idea of a...
moreDrug lord... more
Don't have time to read the top Actors books of all time? Read Shortform summaries.
Shortform summaries help you learn 10x faster by:
- Being comprehensive: you learn the most important points in the book
- Cutting out the fluff: you focus your time on what's important to know
- Interactive exercises: apply the book's ideas to your own life with our educators' guidance.