Life’s most unrelentingly flawless actor!
By Michael Moriarty
web posted August 13, 2018
As an actor myself, I’ve had, during my 77 years of life and 50-some years as a performer, a number of acting favorites: James Dean, Marlon Brando, Laurence Olivier and Paul Scofield; but none of them seemed to be, unequivocally, my “favorite”.
Recently, however, I’ve concluded that, as far as I’m concerned, there is my favorite “actor” as there is also my favorite “actress”.
The Goddess of Transparency
She, of course, is the unrelentingly breathtaking French actress, Simone Signoret.
Why Ms. Signoret? Because of what she herself describes as her “transparency”.
An actor, equally as transparent as Simone Signoret?
The American legend, Gary Cooper.
The God of Acting Transparency
Recently, I treated myself to a kind of Gary Cooper Festival and I found the experience the perfect confirmation of what I’ve just told you.
The Westerner led off and almost single-handedly sealed his throne beside Simone Signoret.
As Handsome as he Was,
He Always Seemed
1,000 Miles Away from Us!
The mystery of acting genius: making it look so easy it becomes rather terrifying when you begin to think about it.
Or as the great acting teacher, Stella Adler, always said to herself when confronting genius, “Something terrible just happened!”
He allowed this photo of an older Gary Cooper because he was “sharing the screen” with his friend, Ernest Hemingway.
Two American Giants
The mystery of Gary Cooper’s soul only deepened with age.
My favorite Gary Cooper film?
Friendly Persuasion.
Born to be His Own Mt. Rushmore
He was, without question, his own, very distant Solar System. 
Michael Moriarty is a Golden Globe and Emmy Award-winning actor who starred in the landmark television series Law and Order from 1990 to 1994. His recent film and TV credits include The Yellow Wallpaper, 12 Hours to Live, Santa Baby and Deadly Skies. Contact Michael at rainbowfamily2008@yahoo.com. He can be found on Twitter at https://twitter.com/@MGMoriarty.