Description

Few actors have had a career as dynamic as that Kathleen Turner's; success has followed her from the television screen to major blockbusters, from indie films to the theater stage. Over her forty-year career, Turner has developed an instinctual knowledge of what it takes to be a successful actor, and, in her conversations with esteemed film professor Dustin Morrow, she shares these lessons with the world.

With her iconic wit on full display, Turner dazzles readers with her shrewd insights on the craft of acting and charming anecdotes from her own storied career. Touching on each of her roles, she expounds on the lessons she’s learned and describes her journey of discovery in the world of acting.

An epic and intense one-on-one master class in acting from the best teacher imaginable, Kathleen Turner on Acting is a must for acting and directing students of every age, established actors and directors, filmmakers, theater pros, and artists of every stripe.

About the author(s)

Kathleen Turner, acclaimed stage and film actress, graduated from American School in London in 1972 and earned her bachelor of fine arts degree from the University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC) in 1977. Turner made her film debut in Body Heat in 1981, propelling her to stardom and becoming one of the defining roles of her career. She continued to garner commercial and critical success with performances in The Man with Two Brains (1983), Romancing the Stone (1984), The Jewel of the Nile (1985), Prizzi’s Honor (1985), Peggy Sue Got Married (1986), The War of the Roses (1989), and The Virgin Suicides (1999). Turner has also had a long and renowned career as a stage actress with starring roles in productions such as Indiscretions, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, The Graduate, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, and The Year of Magical Thinking. She currently lives in New York City.

Dustin Morrow is an Emmy Award–winning filmmaker, author, programmer and educator with more than twenty years of professional film production experience and more than fifteen years’ experience teaching at the university level. He was born and raised in western Illinois and received his MFA from the Department of Cinematic Arts at the University of Iowa in 2003. He is currently a tenured associate professor at Portland State University in Portland, Oregon, where he teaches courses in digital cinema production and film studies.

Reviews

“Kathleen Turner opens up about her incredible career on the big screen, TV, and, of course, on the stage taking us behind the scenes in her new book…She dishes on her career, on-screen lovers, health struggles and more…Turner’s book is a masterclass in life for actors and non-actors alike…Quite the read.” — Good Morning America

"So great for actors and directors to learn from such a great actress and pro! I feel so lucky to have gotten to to work with Kathleen, and am so enjoying her taking us through her work in these conversations." — Sofia Coppola, director of The Virign Suicides and the Academy Award-winning screenwriter and director of Lost in Translation

PRAISE FOR KATHLEEN TURNER

“Through all of her roles--personal, professional, and in service to others-- Kathleen Turner stays true to herself, and I admire that. ...an exceptional actress who is also a very gutsy, out-there woman.” — Jane Fonda

“Kathleen has always told it like it is. She has good insight, a great sense of humor....” — Michael Douglas

“She's a movie star, and there aren't many left. She's grand, she's intimidating, and she knows she's intimidating. And she's a great actress. I'd say that first.” — John Waters

PRAISE FOR Send Yourself Roses

“A real page Turner.” — Cindy Adams, New York Post

“Turner provides interesting insight into the mechanics of acting, as well as enjoyably bitchy frankness.” —Guardian

“With great candor, she details some of her worst struggles, battling both rheumatoid arthritis and alcohol. In the end, she's realized it comes down to ‘taking the lead role’ in her own life. Turner’s vision of life's many possibilities—even as she gets older—is surely inspiring.” — Publishers Weekly

“Kathleen Turner opens up about her incredible career on the big screen, TV, and, of course, on the stage taking us behind the scenes in her new book…She dishes on her career, on-screen lovers, health struggles and more…Turner’s book is a masterclass in life for actors and non-actors alike…Quite the read.” — Good Morning America

"So great for actors and directors to learn from such a great actress and pro! I feel so lucky to have gotten to to work with Kathleen, and am so enjoying her taking us through her work in these conversations." — Sofia Coppola, director of The Virign Suicides and the Academy Award-winning screenwriter and director of Lost in Translation

PRAISE FOR KATHLEEN TURNER

“Through all of her roles--personal, professional, and in service to others-- Kathleen Turner stays true to herself, and I admire that. ...an exceptional actress who is also a very gutsy, out-there woman.” — Jane Fonda

“Kathleen has always told it like it is. She has good insight, a great sense of humor....” — Michael Douglas

“She's a movie star, and there aren't many left. She's grand, she's intimidating, and she knows she's intimidating. And she's a great actress. I'd say that first.” — John Waters

PRAISE FOR Send Yourself Roses

“A real page Turner.” — Cindy Adams, New York Post

“Turner provides interesting insight into the mechanics of acting, as well as enjoyably bitchy frankness.” —Guardian

“With great candor, she details some of her worst struggles, battling both rheumatoid arthritis and alcohol. In the end, she's realized it comes down to ‘taking the lead role’ in her own life. Turner’s vision of life's many possibilities—even as she gets older—is surely inspiring.” — Publishers Weekly

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