“To bed — or to sleep?” Jamie asked. “To act — or to make drinks?” This may have been S’s dilemma at one point. It’d be fair to say that the latter has been winning. An embryonic idea, it may have gained traction after filming S3. The S that answered interview questions upon returning from filming S3 in SA was a very different public S. It was a pissed-off S who had had it. And this, of course, must encompass the personal and the professional — a series of intertwined circumstances that led him to do what he could to take control of his life. But how did we get here? How did we get to the here and now where S’s acting career does not seem to have many prospects but his partner-in-crime costar’s does? For starters, C attaches herself to projects with A-list leads where she plays supporting roles. While she’s very attractive, her appearance is subdued. She can disappear in a role without taking any attention away from the lead actor or the storyline. There aren’t many worthwhile supporting roles for a tall striking male actor who’s already led a successful 8-season series but achieved no significant industry recognition. Likewise, he has too much exposure and too little star power to be the lead in important projects; and he’s too old to be the next Thor. Starz, RDM, politics, “horny grannies,” whatever — they all set him up to do what he’s doing now. It all started with the seemingly harmless female gaze marketing: Empowered modern career woman with magical powers meets hot stable boy/warrior from the past with magical dick. She was promoted for awards; he was not. Simple as that. He was downgraded to a beefcake from the start because, apparently, female audiences are not expected to walk and chew gum. He would bring in the cash; she, the prestige. It was a setup. S did outstanding acting in the first few OL seasons and yet he got no recognition. The industry ignored him. Where to go from there? He must’ve figured, “If not now, when?” All he could count on was the crazed, unconditional fervor of his committed female following. When life gives you lemons, make lemonade — in this case, alcohol, merchandise, fan events. A significant segment of the audience turned him into something that was beyond his control. And then he became it. He turned being the object of desire into a business. A Taurus boy, he has an earthly relationship with money. He was not going to let lemons go to waste. The other side of it is that you can’t be a serious actor or be taken seriously when you spend much of your time and energy promoting your side business, which you deem your passion project. The craft of acting requires a focused mind, and he’s all over the place with business pursuits.

Once upon a time there were two actors who engaged with each other in fun, highly sexual, public banter. They also looked at each other with heart eyes. Then, things turned weird and they suddenly called each other “screen husband” and “screen wife.” A wedding had taken place and language had to change because of the wedding; behavior had to change because of the wedding. (Those, however, did not have to change prior to the wedding, out of respect for a supposedly long-term committed relationship with the would-be spouse.) The banter waned down and eventually ended. Some very fun people here stopped posting because there was no fun left.

I’ve never been a fan of deep-digging. I much prefer observing what’s in front of me and letting my right brain do most—not all—of the work. Here are some observations on SC sex in OL.     Do they or don’t they—have sex? Well, of course they do—did, at least before the IC era. Over the years, a few filmmakers have acknowledged, in in-depth interviews for film journals, that sex was had in their films. They’ve basically said that sex is very hard to fake, so when it looks real (not that often), it’s because it is. By sex being real, I mean actors being deliberately and consensually aroused, experiencing sexual feelings, and allowing those feelings to drive and inform their performances. Those OL viewers/fans who dismiss SC sex scenes as just acting, know very little about acting.

Incidentally, I merely took a few acting and filmmaking classes in college, and never acted professionally, but I knew that. Not because I was explicitly told—I was not. But because it’s something you just get to know in the course of your training. And if I knew, you-really-pulled-it-off Susan S. certainly does. And so does the filmmaking community. This is a craft secret, and for good reason. General audiences who wouldn’t understand that part of the craft (and it really is a part of the craft) are better off not knowing. And the film industry is better off with them not knowing.

"North and South Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, and the cities of Charleston are particular favorite of mine, obviously."

—King Charles III

I’m nauseated by the widespread misogyny expressed here toward S’s most recent female companion, and the bourgeois judgment and expectations regarding the child. Whatever the case, it’s very likely mother and daughter are signed up with a talent agency to get gigs as a family, which is very common. Nothing terrible is going to happen to the child while in the care of a loving and protective parent, which her mother seems to be. It’s not unusual in parades and other crowded public events to lift or hold a child (even 9 years old and older) temporarily, both to comfort a tired/overstimulated child and for the child to get a better view. It happens in families who believe physical closeness is paramount in child development; are mindful of their individual child’s needs; and do as required to be present for and responsive to the child.

Although S’s and companion’s differing attitudes toward each other look decidedly bad in the context of loving relationships between equals, they’d be justifiable in a very specific professional, transactional context. Given this hypothetical, but not unlikely, talent agency gig, she has a job she gets paid for and needs to ensure she does it well—that she plays the role she’s supposed to play. He, on the other hand, is in a very different position. He is the star of this movie where she is background talent—a featured extra.  He might want (and might have been advised) to make sure professional boundaries are clear and to stick precisely to the bare script, as to avoid any confusion and people’s feelings getting hurt. It’s not easy. As a professional performer, he would think of the background talent as background talent. Keyword: background.

Because the background talent (not a real actor) is in a vulnerable position—acting as SO, not in a real movie but in real-life situations—, feelings can get hurt; performance can be confused with real friendship and closeness developing. Furthermore, this is all happening in public view. S might want to preserve plausible deniability—have it both ways. It looks bad, but the alternative would be selling a lie he apparently does not really want to sell. It’s probably not fun for either of them.