Gwyneth Paltrow: An ActingStar

            
             Paltrow is an acting star who refuses to be type cast by playing varied roles in her films. She stars in fourteen of her twenty films, and the box office receipts prove she is a star with drawing power. Paltrow was introduced to the acting early by watching her mother act in summer-stock theater. Her first acting experiences were in theater plays and musicals. On the stage, she learned to use her graceful body to communicate a variety of emotions and character traits. These techniques are used in Shakespeare in Love. Paltrow plays Viola, an heiress who is deeply touched by Shakespeare's work, and poses as a man so she can act in his play. She also has a romance with him as a female. With her previous stage experience, she is able to act out her cross-dressing character perfectly. She knows how to adjust her body to the different characters. The chemistry between Paltrow and Fiennes is great. Paltrow speaks like a British heiress, and the constant close-ups accent her expressive facial expressions. In Se7en, she plays a Tracy Miller, a gentle housewife who is not able to cope with moving into the city. She tries to play be a proper wife, but the subtext of her dialog and interactions with Freeman show us how close she is to falling apart. Paltrow plays the frail character brilliantly. In sharp contrast to her role in Se7en, is her depiction of Estella in Great Expectations. Paltrow seems right at home playing a cold and emotionally challenged tease. She uses her body language to depict interest in Pipp (Hawk) one scene, and then shows no physical response to him the next. Paltrow has shown great diversity in her roles. She will continue to expand her characters become a brighter acting star. .