"Something That Is US": Robert Donat, Screen Performance, and Stardom in the 1930s

[...] from the start of his career, Donat had to reconcile the demands of studios, who wanted to develop and define his roles in line with his emerging star image, with his personal acting preferences, which included burying the "Donat" image under a variety of differing roles and characterizations. With film acting, as we have seen, the distinction was often made between actors and stars, with the appreciation of "actors" requiring a more particular and specific competency than the appreciation of "stars" (McDonald, "Star Studies" 94). [...] the discursive construction of Donat's performances was crucial in articulating a distinct institutional Identity and expressing resistance to Hollywood values: