The Oscars!

[Richard B]

Originally Posted by chiliD

Exactly HOW difficult (and a stretch of the imagination) is it to play a real life person?

Very difficult. Especially if you're playing a character as quirky as Truman Capote. To be spot on in capturing the essence of someone take after take, scene after scene. Watching Hoffman in Capote had me feeling as though I was watching archive footage of Capote. He was very good, it is very hard to do what he did and he very much deserved the Oscar. Certainly more than H. Ledger.

As an actor, playing your own character creation is easier to do for the most part, not saying it is not difficult, but it's much harder to stay in character playing a known figure than your own character creation.