Acting (law)

In law, when someone is said to be acting in a position it can mean one of three things.

The term "acting" is often used in one of these senses to refer to a temporary occupant of an office in government. An "acting" official holds office to ensure both the stability and continuity of his department will continue despite the absence of a formal leader.

For example, if the U.S. Secretary of Defense died suddenly in office, the U.S. Deputy Secretary of Defense would take over. However, he/she would only be "acting" in the position, as he/she will not formally hold the office unless he/she is nominated by the President and confirmed by the United States Senate, as required by the Constitution.

Acting officials typically play a caretaker role, as it is usually considered questionable for someone to exercise full authority in a very activist way without having been specifically hired or elected to the office.

Acting

Acting is the work of an actor or actress, which is a person in theatre, television, film, or any other storytelling medium who tells the story by portraying a character and, usually, speaking or singing the written text or play.

Most early sources in the West that examine the art of acting (Greek: ὑπόκρισις, hypokrisis) discuss it as part of rhetoric.

Definition and history

One of the first actors is believed to be an ancient Greek called Thespis of Icaria. An apocryphal story says that Thespis stepped out of the dithyrambic chorus and spoke to them as a separate character. Before Thespis, the chorus narrated (for example, "Dionysus did this, Dionysus said that"). When Thespis stepped out from the chorus (year 12 BC), he spoke as if he was the character (for example, "I am Dionysus. I did this"). From Thespis' name derives the word thespian.

Acting requires a wide range of skills, including vocal projection, clarity of speech, physical expressivity, emotional facility, a well-developed imagination, and the ability to interpret drama. Acting also often demands an ability to employ dialects, accents and body language, improvisation, observation and emulation, mime, and stage combat. Many actors train at length in special programs or colleges to develop these skills, and today the vast majority of professional actors have undergone extensive training. Even though one actor may have years of training, they always strive for more lessons; the cinematic and theatrical world is always changing and because of this, the actor must stay as up to date as possible. Actors and actresses will often have many instructors and teachers for a full range of training involving, but not limited to, singing, scene-work, monologue techniques, audition techniques, and partner work.

Law

Law is a system of rules that are enforced through social institutions to govern behavior. Laws can be made by a collective legislature or by a single legislator, resulting in statutes, by the executive through decrees and regulations, or by judges through binding precedent, normally in common law jurisdictions. Private individuals can create legally binding contracts, including arbitration agreements that may elect to accept alternative arbitration to the normal court process. The formation of laws themselves may be influenced by a constitution, written or tacit, and the rights encoded therein. The law shapes politics, economics, history and society in various ways and serves as a mediator of relations between people.

A general distinction can be made between (a) civil law jurisdictions (including Catholic canon law and socialist law), in which the legislature or other central body codifies and consolidates their laws, and (b) common law systems, where judge-made precedent is accepted as binding law. Historically, religious laws played a significant role even in settling of secular matters, which is still the case in some religious communities, particularly Jewish, and some countries, particularly Islamic. Islamic Sharia law is the world's most widely used religious law.

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Jude Law

David Jude Heyworth Law (born 29 December 1972), known professionally as Jude Law, is an English actor. He has received nominations for two Academy Awards, two Screen Actors Guild Awards, three Golden Globe Awards and two British Academy Awards, winning one. In 2007, he received an Honorary César and was named a Chevalier of the Order of Arts and Letters by the French government.

Law came to international attention for his role in Anthony Minghella's The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999), for which he won the BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role and was nominated for the Golden Globe Award and the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. In 2004, he received Academy Award, Golden Globe Award and British Academy Film Award nominations for his role in Anthony Minghella's epic war film Cold Mountain (2003). Law's other notable films include Gattaca (1997), Enemy at the Gates (2001), A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001), Road to Perdition (2002), Alfie (2004), Closer (2004), The Holiday (2006), Contagion (2011), Hugo (2011), Anna Karenina (2012), Side Effects (2013), and The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014). He portrayed the role of Dr. Watson in Guy Ritchie's Sherlock Holmes (2009), and Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows (2011).