Both men have long been politically active, expressing their views and endorsing particular candidates. Reagan and Schwarzenegger were both actors before being politicians, so it can be done. This is not to say that actors are not qualified to work in politics, but it got me thinking, how do their prior roles in movies affect their relationship to the public as politicians? Are actors who play particular roles more suited for politics? Perhaps the preparation that goes into more political movie roles would be beneficial, as well as the way that the actor is portrayed on screen. It would be interesting to see what you think.
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ReplyDeleteInteresting post Randy. Based on the limited and sometimes idiotic roles he played when he was a Hollywood actor, no one would ever have guessed Ronald Reagan would someday be a two-term President of the USA. Yet, Reagan did have a different career as spokesperson for GE and there he built up some serious credibility which transfered easily to the political arena. Schwarzenegger, on the other hand, often played serious, heroic roles in films and already had a screen image as a leader. It wasn't tough to parlay that into political office. Personally, I think Matt Damon-- based on his Bourne movies alone-- would make a decent politician. So would, say, George Clooney or Sean Penn. But no one is going to vote for Seth Rogen or Ben Stiller for office unless they work hard to establish an image separate from their acting careers.
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