I find it interesting that actors are able to start up singing careers, and vice versa, so easily in the telenovela world. Dr. A has told us about several models who have been brought into telenovelas simply because they needed another pretty face to attract viewers. Although it is usually clear that they are models and not actors by their lack of acting abilities, they are still accepted as telenovela stars.
I know that in the telenovela I studied, Amigas Y Rivales, there were a couple of actors who were former members of singing groups. One character in particular, Johnny, was played by an actor who was brought on simply for his looks. Even though the audience knew that Johnny was not a true actor, they still followed his love story intensely. I'm not saying that Johnny was the most popular character by any means, but he did have an important role in the telenovela and the audience accepted him as that character. In the United States I think that people would have had a harder time taking him seriously. We typically associate characters with actors, not the other way around.
There have also been several cases in which the telenovela star has been converted into a singing sensation because of their role in telenovales. I feel that we are very pessimistic in the United States by always assuming that someone can't do something before they prove that they can. We are so amazed when someone does have the ability to act, sing and dance that we even gave these people a special name, triple threat.
Overall, I would say that it is much easier to cross over into a different field in the world of telenovelas than in the United States. When a telenovela airs, it's not just a select few people watching, it's the whole country most of the time. It's easier for singers to carry over their fan base from acting to help them jump start their new career. As for models turned actors, I think we all know that beauty is one of the most important aspects of a telenovela. I think that when production decides to select a model to be a member of the cast they are living according to this philosophy: You can never have too many beautiful people in a telenovela.
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I agree, I think it’s easier in a telenovela for a model to get the job. In the U.S., very rarely does a famous model make it onto a sitcom or movie. If they do, it’s a very small role and they don’t have very many lines. It’s weird to me that sometimes (in telenovelas) just because someone has a pretty face they are given a role. Would we rather see good looking people than people that are actually good at acting? However, I feel that US stars find it easy to transition from acting to a singing career or vice versa. I can think of a lot of people, for instance Hillary Duff, Lindsay Lohan, Jennifer Lopez, etc. Sure, they aren’t necessarily great at the new career path they have chosen but they still make a career out of it and people still buy their CD's or watching them act.
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