MovieChat Forums > The Truman Show (1998) Discussion > The actors in Truman's life must have be...

The actors in Truman's life must have been really heartless.

posted 10 years ago by digitalboy72
20 replies | jump to latest

Take Marlon for example, and the same could be applied to all of the "principal" actors in Truman's life, he spends his own entire life playing this role as Truman's best friend and he never actually comes to love Truman and think of him as a friend?

Marlon, after everything started to fall apart, was acting like he didn't give a damn, that it was "just a role", well how can he possibly feel that way after being Truman's friend (even if it was an act) for 30 years?

That's not even counting Truman's parents, they may have been playing a role but they did indeed raise him from a baby, did they feel nothing for him? That theirs was just a role that they could walk away from without actually feeling love for Truman?

"Mr. Treehorn treats objects like women, man."

[–] JCrusher723 10 years ago

Very Good Post. i think this movie was trying to show that sometimes money/fame will cause you to lose your morality in a way. Marlon and Meryl probably got substanstial paychecks and they were on the most popular show in the world so they probably didnt want to risk growing attached to truman and losing their jobs. Sylvia was the only one who had morality. Even though she was on the show you can tell she felt guilty with people decieving Truman and really did care about him

[–] digitalboy72 10 years ago

Oh yes indeed and I think you're right, but at the same time I still can't help but wonder how they managed to close off their feelings for so long.

They can start out feeling that way sure but I would think that, over time, they would grow to genuinely love and care about Truman.

Marlon especially, role or not, he grew up with Truman and I always found it both odd and sad that he still, after 20+ years, thought of it as just a role.

"Mr. Treehorn treats objects like women, man."

[–] zeuanimals 10 years ago

Did any of the principal characters ever leave, though? I can't imagine Truman's mother and father leaving Truman behind when he was younger unless they "die". There's no point in having fat checks if you're not gonna be able to use them because you can't get off a set because you have to take care of a child.

It felt like the principal characters were pretty much prisoners just like Truman.

[–] ZombieFan 10 years ago

or the fact they let a 10 year old Truman believe he was responsible for his own fathers death. and let him feel this way for 25 years. talk about sick

If time is not true, what purpose have watchmakers?

[–] ihateonionbagels 10 years ago

Yes, I agree that the principle characters in Truman's life were very emotionally cruel. His "wife" said it the best though in her initial interview "My life IS the Truman Show".

Not all of the actors were cruel though. The bus driver seemed genuinely sad that he had to wreck the gears so that the bus could not go anywhere. He only had a small part, but the actor conveyed his sympathy very well.

[–] dkgambler 10 years ago

Yes, the actors were clearly sadistic. But the viewers were worse. Funny how it's kind of playing out today, people love to watch "reality" garbage like an morbidly obese kid called Boo Boo who will have diabetes before her high school graduation and probably won't live to see 50.

[–] the_la_baker 10 years ago

Funny how it's kind of playing out today, people love to watch "reality" garbage like an morbidly obese kid called Boo Boo who will have diabetes before her high school graduation and probably won't live to see 50.

Every time I forget that show exists someone reminds me...

[–] jrtomasso 10 years ago

Wait, what's the point of the main actors getting "substantial paychecks", if they're on the show the whole damn time?! It makes no sense. And that also means that the principle actors can't have a real life of their own. It's a good movie, but you have to suspend of MAJOR disbelief watching it. There are so many other things too...

[–] Kariann1964 10 years ago

Apparently, the man playing his father did leave the show and Truman thought he had died. Then he rejoins the cast 25 years later. Their reuniting was rather bittersweet to me. The father knew everything about Truman, but Truman knew nothing about him. It does make me wonder where his mother was; did she watch the show?

[–] selthe 10 years ago

Kristoff (The Director) was a master controller, he designed Truman's world from the ground up, selected Truman controlled every aspect of his life from the weather to the food he ate and the life he lived in. He personally selected every actor and actress that were meant to play any remote significance in Truman's life. He most likely had a psychological model of the kind of person he wanted working in those conditions. Sociopaths and easily manipulated individuals who would have very little emotional connection to the subject but able to submerse themselves in the roles and follow his direction without question. Such as his parents. Sociopaths with a single task to maintain the illusion. They were by all extensions puppets following his whims. Marlon as Truman's friend was obviously hand selected and bred as an outside/inside man for Kristoff's purposes. An Anti-Truman almost, allowed to leave and go outside and play and at the same time come back and serve the needs as Truman's best friend whenever necessary. His wife was a later addition and simply invented as the ideal mate for whom he could manipulate and bend to his needs, an actress so eager for the part that she married and physically gave herself to Truman on a daily basis. All at the direction of one man. He never had any real bosses no one to reel him in. The Truman show was his life's work. A personal Sim City. Where he played a manipulative God. It was never all about Truman, thats the mistake everyone made. He was controlling and manipulating everyone. He had complete control over everything and everyone in that town down to the choreographed extras. Truman was just the centerpiece.

[–] coolaree 10 years ago

I don't get the Marlon bit at all. Did they really grow up together?? Or were actors swapped out at a certain age. He must have been one hell of a child actor.

How can you just lie to your friend like that. At least the other actors came in as adults, preformed.

Yes major suspension of disbelief is required.

[–] tucostevens54 10 years ago

If you check the deleted scenes Marlon seems to have a bit of a heart, he spots Trumps during the search but turns a blind eye.

[–] omoxus 10 years ago

I created a thread about this a while back. People today try to figure out how could anyone turn a blind eye and/or accept the evils of American Slavery. It's very hard for a person living today to reconcile it. It's been said that infanticide was a way of life for Neanderthal man. It was a way to conserve resources, survive the harsh environment. Morality is fluid. In the Truman Show universe, that was acceptable. He was a basically the property of a corporation. For example. The Jerry Springer Show has a large audience. Is this midget fight entertainment or exploitation?

http://youtu.be/cqpXLRlkHk0

I am the Alpha and the Omoxus. The Omoxus and the Omega

[–] pearlimaew 10 years ago

You mentioned people turning a blind eye to the evil's of slavery. Given how many people throughout the course of history and in this very country were able to ignore it for long periods of time, I don't find it hard to believe that people like viewers/extras/crew could see Truman's situation as perfectly fine, especially since he doesn't seem to suffer any physical abuse. Major psychological abuse, what with the "death" of his father and did you see that rottweiler on the bridge??? Holy crap. But people tend to disregard psychological abuse a lot, even in our world. So it doesn't seem completely implausible that the average joe sitting at home or an extra on the set who never has occasion to speak to Truman would be cool with being a party to something like this. But Meryl is something of a head case. Unless they were going to straight up lie to Truman about a pregnancy, tell him that Meryl had to fly to Timbuktu for a nursing whatever, then have her come back in nine months with another corporation owned-I'm sorry, adopted-baby, she was planning on having his child. Which incidentally, would be her child as well. His "parents" as well, for apparently being willing to hunt him down an army of neighbors and an evil dalmatian. It is mentioned that the guy who plays Marlon felt bad for Truman, but we don't see anything in the final cut to indicate the veracity of that plot point.

[–] Lisaluv1 10 years ago

Rewatching it now and perhaps I thought about that (especially with the mothers role) when I first saw it. My theory is maybe they only appear when need be and he perhaps also had various nannies / teachers in and out of his life to fill in for when she wasn't available to play mommie dearest.

Of course with the father ... he also perhaps wasn't needed around much when he was a kid (i.e. they played the fathers off to work card). Obviously the actor only wanted to rtn for the prestige role and not because he cared about Truman as a person. Think they made sure that Silvia (Lauren) was showcased as only 1 who cared about his well being.

[–] ewaf58 10 years ago

I liked the way the two 'friendly' twins and the two dogs became really nasty when forced to search for Truman.