Harry Morgan on the difference between acting on stage versus acting in television

Life on the stage can help prepare an actor for any challenge, but can the same be said for another medium?

Everett Collection

Television often gets a bad rep as a lower-class form of entertainment. However, after many decades of award-winning shows and series, television has more than proven itself as a decent form of entertainment.

But while television is no longer viewed as "less than," many actors argue that there is a difference between acting on stage and on camera.

In an interview with the Journal Gazette and Times-Courier, Harry Morgan discussed his opinions regarding television. Morgan had enjoyed a career on both the stage and screen, starring in programs like Dragnet and M*A*S*H.

In the interview, Morgan was asked whether on-camera work helped prepare an actor for future work acting onstage.

"No, I don't think it helps at all," said Morgan. "I don't think there is any training in television - you just get up and do it! You don't rehearse for four weeks, as you do in the theatre."

In addition to the added prep work of stage acting, Morgan also argued that in television, there was a lesser chance of upward growth, for actors to graduate from starring in television shows to movies.

"And, in the same vein, you can name on one hand the ones who have gone on from television to movies - Steve McQueen, Jim Garner, and a few others," said Morgan. "But they are very few. The standards are not as high in television as they are in movies."

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