Five documentaries that explore the hidden lives of famous actors

Actors put on a mask and pretend to be someone else. As Harvey Keitel once said to me, they don’t like playing themselves. This makes it very hard for directors to convince actors to cast aside their screen and public personas and reveal their inner selves.

Evidence of this reluctance can be found in 2024’s Brats (Disney+), where actor-director Andrew McCarthy tries to charm his on-screen buddies from St. Elmo’s Fire (1985) to discuss how their lives were affected when a New York journalist branded them as the “Brat Pack”.

The scars run deep, with some of the cast still refusing to speak publicly four decades later.

Like Brats, the following documentaries and television series have attempted to understand, respect and celebrate their star subjects, to gently lift the masks, not rip them from their faces.

Bombshell: The Hedy Lamarr Story (2017)

Hedy Lamarr became a worldwide sensation when, as a teenager, she ran naked across the screen in her fifth film, Ekstase (1933).

Screen nudity was not uncommon in historical epics about decadent societies, but there was something provocative and exhilarating about Lamarr’s free-spirited naturism (as was her depiction of a young woman having an orgasm, an on-screen first).

Actor Hedy Lamarr in 1946.Credit: AP

Lamarr’s wealthy Viennese family was not amused, so she decided to move to America. Her film career ultimately totalled 35 movies, and she worked with some major directors, but did not make many gems. Jacques Tourneur’s Experiment Perilous (1944) was a notable exception.

Described by television host Ed Sullivan as “one of the most glamorous girls showbiz has ever produced”, and by comedian-director Mel Brooks as “the best-looking movie star that ever lived”, Lamarr was the inspiration for Disney’s Snow White and inspired the comic-book character, Catwoman.

Her beauty made her world-famous but she didn’t allow it to define how she saw herself. As Alexandra Dean’s fascinating Bombshell reveals, Lamarr was also a scientist who invented and patented a “secret communication system” that was crucial to the development of both Wi-Fi and Bluetooth.

At times, Bombshell does attempt to paint Lamarr as a victim, but when she appeared on The Merv Griffin Show, Griffin asks if she has any regrets. “Oh no, no regrets,” she says. “You learn from everything all the time.”

Bombshell: The Hedy Lamarr Story is on Prime, DocPlay, Apple TV, Binge and Foxtel On Demand.

Jane Fonda: In Five Acts (2018)

Susan Lacy’s Jane Fonda: In Five Acts is the story of Henry Fonda’s famous daughter, who was brought up in Hollywood where the children of stars often have difficult lives.

Jane was fortunate to begin her screen career at age 21 with A-list directors, including Joshua Logan on her first movie, Tall Story (1960).

Actor Jane Fonda and director Susan Lacy pose ahead of the launch of the documentary, Jane Fonda: In Five ActsCredit: AP

In part to escape her father, Jane went to France, where she fell for the charms of director Roger Vadim and brought a modern woman’s fearless independence to Vadim’s period film, La Ronde, (1964) and sci-fi sensation, Barbarella (1968).

Some feminists have taken issue with the weightless striptease during the opening credits, but Fonda’s Barbarella is one of cinema’s great feminist heroines, allowing no male to get within cooee of controlling her. Vadim saw and captured Fonda’s rebellious spirit.

Fonda later went to Vietnam and posed with the Viet Cong beside an anti-aircraft gun. Many Americans considered this treason, but Fonda has never been cowed by the opinions of others. She can also be acerbic, as when talking about her father’s affair while still married to her mother.

Five Acts doesn’t mention that Jane had a wildly reported affair while she was still married to Vadim. Both father and daughter later married their lovers.

Jane Fonda protesting in Washington in 2019, half a century after she was accused of treason for protesting against America’s involvement in the Vietnam War.Credit: AP

Five Acts can also be inaccurate, as when Fonda calls They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? Sydney Pollack’s second film as director (it was his sixth) or claims Henry’s third wife was seven years older than her (it was almost 10).

Fonda’s minimising the age gap reinforces the hurt she felt over Henry’s betrayal, but Lacy could have silently corrected Fonda’s mistake about Pollack because it has no hidden meaning.

No matter, the longer one watches Fonda in this documentary, the more one feels closer to understanding her complex struggles. As for Fonda’s talent, that has never been in doubt.

Jane Fonda: In Five Acts is on Foxtel On Demand and Fetch.

Doris Day and Rock Hudson in Pillow Talk.Credit: Alamy Stock Photo

Rock Hudson: All That Heaven Allowed (2023)
Rock Hudson was as handsome and charming a movie star as has ever lived. But the relentless press “leaks” about his female lovers and sudden marriage to his agent’s secretary were part of a mask to hide the fact he was gay.

Hudson’s decision to stay silent would imprison him for the rest of his life, and also led to a series of films with Doris Day (including 1959’s Pillow Talk) where Hudson plays a heterosexual man who pretends to be gay to get Doris Day’s character into bed.

This ill-advised plot twist was thought up by producer Ross Hunter, who also went to great lengths to hide his sexuality, as so many did back then.

What had begun as a heart-warming documentary about a dashing and charismatic star has now morphed into one of the saddest stories ever told. And as Hudson’s protective mask tightens, he gets AIDS and dies.

Despite Hudson’s all-too-obvious anguish at pretending to be what he was not, Hollywood could not resist the urge to insert into his films knowing hints about his sexuality. Has anyone added up how many times the multi-meaning “gay” is used, or analysed why those who knew the truth so wished to tempt fate?

Hudson also starred in John Frankenheimer’s masterpiece, Seconds, (1966) where Hudson’s character has his face, vocal cords, teeth and fingerprints surgically replaced in an unambiguous metaphor for a person wishing to hide behind a false persona.

Stephen Kijak’s Rock Hudson: All That Heaven Allowed is always fascinating and knowledgeable, but throughout I longed for a more joyous honouring of Hudson as an actor and person.

Rock Hudson: All That Heaven Allowed is on Prime Video, Apple TV and Binge.

Stars of the Silver Screen (2011)
This series of one-hour episodes on the careers of movie stars mostly consists of critics talking knowledgeably while seated, intercut with clips that are often not the ones we most want to see (presumably due to rights issues).

Stars of the Silver Screen’s career recaps are a fine accompaniment to an afternoon cuppa because they celebrate the well-known and largely forgotten, preferencing achievement over scuttlebutt.

Stars of the Silver Screen is on Foxtel on Demand.

Remembering Gene Wilder (2023)
While many documentaries about actors have flaws, Ron Frank’s Remembering Gene Wilder doesn’t. It is consistently revealing, often surprising and deeply moving.

Gene Wilder as Willy Wonka in the movie, Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory.

I have never been a fan of Wilder’s loud and unfettered approach to screen comedy, even in gems like Mel Brooks’ The Producers (1967), but Frank’s documentary opened my eyes to Wilder’s genius, and did so from the opening clip from Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (1971).

As for the later screen gag of an umbrella tip getting stuck in some paving stones, Wilder’s behind-the-scenes reveal had me in tears.

Remembering Gene Wilder is blessed to have the witty and erudite presence of 97-year-old Brooks, whose analyses of his Wilder films are a model of clarity and craft. It is also a privilege to listen to excerpts of Wilder reading from his autobiography, Kiss Me Like a Stranger, recorded for the audio book.

Actors put on masks to help tell stories that help us better comprehend and enjoy reality. Our lives would be greatly diminished without them.

Remembering Gene Wilder is on Netflix.

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