As we all know from my group's presentation last week, people are obsessed with William Levy. He plays the hunky Capitan Fabre on La Tempestad, and fans have fallen as in love with him as they are with the show. Unfortunately, he has recently declared that this will be his last telenovela. Fans are extremely upset about this news. As I know from the research I did for our consumption report, people are religiously devoted to this actor. He is the main reason some people even watch La Tempestad, and the news that he is retiring from telenovelas is devastating to thousands of fans.
In a recent article published by the Huffington Post, Levy explained that his reason for quitting telenovela acting is the demanding nature of the profession.
“Making these novelas is hard work,” he told reporters. “And as time passes, you find other priorities in life. You start getting a feeling in your stomach to be with your children and spend more time with them.” (from Huffington Post) Awwwww.
The article also mentions that Levy will focus on making films now, instead. This is interesting, especially in light of today's discussion with Marisa Roman. She, too, has become a film actress, and she described how hard it can be to work on a telenovela, explaining that for one novela she would work up to 14 hours a day. I am wondering if we will see this become trend for telenovela actors and actresses.
Nevertheless, many fans are upset about the loss of Levy to Hollywood but excited to see what he will do next. One fan commented on the article, "William is a superb actor. Im glad he's going to give Hollywood a try. He is too handsome for just novelas" (Barzzini).
Read the full article here. Also be sure to check out Levy's ridiculous Pepsi Ad at the bottom of the page!
This is a class blog run by Dr. Carolina Acosta-Alzuru and her students in the course "Telenovelas, Culture and Society" at the University of Georgia during Fall 2013
First of all, WHAT those are the most ridiculous ads ever. To the topic at hand ... I think it's great that William Levy is getting involved in Hollywood if that's what he wants. According to a recent study by the University of South Carolina, latinos play only 4 percent of roles on screen although latinos attend more movies than any other racial group. And latino viewership has been increasing — latinos were the only group to go to more movies in 2012 than 2011. If film studios know their audience, they'll do well to grab this talented, popular latino while they can. According to the article I read, when latinos are cast in Hollywood films, the roles tend to perpetuate stereotypes. I've definitely noticed this, and hopefully it won't be the case for Levy. The article I read is super interesting, so take a look if you have some time: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/11/06/latinos-movies_n_4221232.html?utm_hp_ref=mostpopular#next_slideshow
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