Talk:Oscar Isaac

Citation for His Ancetsry

cmon Israeli thats unlikely —Preceding unsigned comment added by 74.72.241.66 (talk) 04:49, 21 January 2009 (UTC)

Personal Life section

Personal Life section could be added. I don't know the specific rules for inclusion but I think it's weighed on notability and I think he has passed it in my view, as of late he's gotten quite "big".

Also not just this section but expanding the others with "fluff". --Mr. Magoo and McBarker (talk) 01:32, 18 January 2016 (UTC)

Lets try to avoid any gossip column material though. SpiritedMichelle (talk) 21:26, 18 January 2016 (UTC)

Informal peer review

I will be look through this article per a request on my talk page. My comments are below:

• The source link for File:Oscar Isaac at the premiere of Ten Year, Toronto Film Festival 2011.jpg leads to an error screen. The source and author links for File:Oscar Isaac 2013.jpg also lead to error screens. This can likely be fixed through used an archived version of this link if that is available.

No archived link available for either of these, unfortunately. I've replaced them with one image from 2012.

That is a shame, but the replacement image looks good to me. Aoba47 (talk) 15:19, 1 June 2022 (UTC)

• For this part, including Baltimore, New Orleans and Miami, I would unlink Miami if not Baltimore and New Orleans are not getting linked as well. It is not consistent and I would believe a majority of readers would already have some level of familiarity with Miami.
• I have a clarification question about this part, as he said one does not worry about having to make them likeable. There is nothing wrong with it, but I'd imagine that an actor would still want to make even a villain engaging to an audience. I know that is not the same as making them likeable, but I am curious if he goes into audience expectation for villains more? This is not necessarily to add to the article (as it would put too much weight on this one part), but I'm genuinely curious.

As I understand, he thought it would allow him to explore his character's further sides, which I've incorporated there.

• I have a clarification question about this part, he initially considered himself unfit for the part. How did he see himself as unfit for either Poe Dameron or a part in Star Wars in general?

Added whatever else there was in the source. He feared he wouldn't make the character interesting and asked why him and not someone else.

• I have a question about this part, To avoid "green screen alien space land". Is this quote in response to his work on Star Wars or is this a more general statement?

The source does not specify, but I believe the "alien" part refers to X-Men since he was not satisfied with the film, but he could just as well mean Star Wars for the whole part.

• I have a question about this part, the film tells the story of a noble family who become ensnared in a war for the desert planet Arrakis. I have not seen Dune (and to be blunt, I have no desire to do so), but I have read the novel a while back. Does the film present this as a "war"? I am only asking because that is not how I remember it being represented in the book.

I've tweaked it slightly to remove "war". While certain sources use this, others don't. I have only seen the first twenty minutes of the film so I can't personally judge it.

• In this part, $399 million against a budget of 165 million, the $ sign should be on both numbers. I'd make sure that is consistent throughout the article.
• Has Isaac ever received any pushback or criticism for playing "a wide range of nationalities"?

If anything, he has been praised for it. I know normally, something like this receives criticism, but I believe it's because he was able to escape being pigeonholed into the roles of lowlifes, drug lords and hot-headed Latino, which is sadly very common for Hispanic actors in Hollywood.

• Are the 2010 reports about him having a wife incorrect? If so, why is that notable enough to mention here? I'd get it if multiple article incorrectly said he was married, but if it was only one publication, it seems rather trivial to me.

I think I read this in other reports but I don't remember if it was their own report or if they were all merely basing their assumption on this report. I will look further into it.

I hope that my comments are helpful. I will read through the article again later this week or likely over the weekend. I have honestly only seen Oscar Isaac in Star Wars, and while I found him to be likable, I was largely disappointed in the sequel trilogy. I only mention this to say that I am coming at this from very much an outsider's point of view. As I have told you before, I do highly respect you for working on articles about very popular/famous celebrities who are still very much in the midst of their careers. That is a difficult thing to do well and that deserves respect. Have a great week! Aoba47 (talk) 03:11, 31 May 2022 (UTC)

Many thanks, Aoba. These are definitely helpful. I have addressed these, and look forward to your reread. Getting recognized for my work from fellow Wikipedians, especially those whose contributions I admire so much, means a lot. The main reason I take on the articles of popular actors/singers is they are visited by millions of readers every year so it’s important for these to have the best quality possible. I do intend to expand articles of underrated artists in the future though.

I’ve watched Isaac mostly in indie films and I find him to be underrated at times, but I’m happy he’s slowly getting his due recognition. If you're ever in the mood for a slow crime drama, watch A Most Violent Year. Other good performances include Ex-Machina (though this one is more Alicia Vikander's film) and Inside Llewyn Davis. He truly shines in these small-scale films. FrB.TG (talk) 17:26, 31 May 2022 (UTC)

• Thank you for the kind words and I will definitely watch some of these in the future. I look forward to re-reading the article in the near future. He is definitely getting more and more recognition and I'd imagine that his career will only continue grow as Moon Knight become integrated in the MCU and when the Metal Gear Solid film is released, though I'm more so looking forward to watching him in more scaled back films. Aoba47 (talk) 15:19, 1 June 2022 (UTC)

• For this part, he worked as an orderly at the hospital his father worked at, I could see a link for orderly being useful for readers who are not super familiar with the concept. For instance, I've heard of it before, but I could not really give you a definition of it.
• I have a question about this sentence: Instead, he studied performing arts at Miami Dade College and continued to act in plays. Did Isaac graduate from Miami Dade College and if so, what degree did he get? When I Googled this, I saw some sites report that he received an associate degree from the college.

He did graduate but like with Julliard, I didn't find any mention of a degree. Was the source you found by chance a reliable one, which says he received an associate degree?

• I am not familiar with performing arts schools, like Juilliard School, aside from just knowing that they exist and are highly respected. However, when I read this sentence, Isaac graduated from Juilliard in 2005, I did wonder what kind of degree he received from this graduation. Is this known?

The official website mentions him as one of their graduates but unfortunately, I found no reliable source, which has info on his degree. Many (unreliable) websites say he received a bachelor's degree though.

• For this parenthetical, who played the title role, I would use Robin Hood instead of title role because it is separated enough from the film's title that I had to look back to make sure who this character is in this context.
• I am uncertain if this is notable enough for this article, but when Scenes from a Marriage was released, most of the coverage I saw about it was about Isaac's full frontal nudity in it. Just curious if that is notable enough to mention here?

Oh, good it's about his nude scene. When I started reading this sentence, I thought you were going to ask about the mention of Isaac smelling Jessica Chastain's armpit because that went quite viral. :D Anyway, I've mentioned his full frontal nude scene.

• Not to get stuck on the Star Wars casting bit, but I have a question about this sentence: Isaac doubted if he would make the character interesting. Could you clarify what is meant by this? To me, it reads more like he had a negative attitude about the character and how he just did not find him interesting, but I am guessing that is not what is meant.

I didn't know if I could make it interesting", "I don't know why me and not anybody else". From these two sentences, I gather he doubted his ability to make it interesting as in not the character was dull or anything but rather he thought that it was out of his depth. I've changed my sentence to "Isaac doubted if his performance would make the character interesting". Hopefully, it clarifies it.

I believe that is everything. Wonderful work with the article. My comments above are pretty nitpick-y, and I am looking to seeing this in the FAC space in the future. Have a great weekend! Aoba47 (talk) 18:57, 4 June 2022 (UTC)

Thanks again, Aoba. You too have a great weekend. FrB.TG (talk) 08:48, 5 June 2022 (UTC)

Where is the Filmography section?

It would make a lot of sense to add a filmography section for him.Barnacles14 (talk) 19:44, 10 June 2022 (UTC)

Since we have the article List of roles and awards of Oscar Isaac, a filmography section isn’t needed here. FrB.TG (talk) 20:20, 10 June 2022 (UTC)

The link to the list page is pretty easy to miss, though. — VORTEX³⁴²⁷ (Talk!) 21:45, 30 November 2022 (UTC)

It's astonishing there wasn't one, maybe some vandal deleted it. There wasn't even a link to the filmography article. I've added the section. Largoplazo (talk) 22:23, 30 November 2022 (UTC)

I removed it when I was expanding the article and moved it to Career section. Sections with only a referral link are generally seen as uninformative and lazy, especially in an article that is supposed to represent the best of Wikipedia. FrB.TG (talk) 17:43, 21 December 2022 (UTC)

Proceed

Seeing that Aoba and another user are some of the few users on this page not sure how to remedy the following: Edits on here are not correct or factual at times. Additionally the volume of material is more than is necessary however if the editing was done to a higher standard that wouldn't matter as there are other articles with the same circumstances. The only solution seems to be discussing the edits that are a problem and also the methods being used... Please stop reverting so as to make future editors have to reverse more than ONE edit to accomplish anything. Manual reverts are a hassle, obviously.Pictureperfect2 (talk) 20:19, 23 June 2022 (UTC)

When you fully know how punctuation works and make no grammar mistakes in your edits, you won’t be reverted. FrB.TG (talk) 20:34, 23 June 2022 (UTC)

This is not your personal project. You are not on Wikipedia to fix what you see as tiny punctuation errors. The edits I question have nothing to do with commas or punctuation. You make wrong edits. I will show you the ones to which I am referring.Pictureperfect2 (talk) 20:40, 23 June 2022 (UTC)

You left out the words "he was" and that is something you have likely done before. You can't omit words which are essential to proper grammar.Pictureperfect2 (talk) 20:44, 23 June 2022 (UTC)

It's optional to use "he was" in "While (he was) an infant". They both mean the same thing. When you can write something with fewer words, you do that. As for your punctuation mistakes, this isn't the first time you've made them. I've already explained in details to you why the commas need to be placed and I already pointed out your grammatical error in my revert. The fact that I still have to explain this to you shows just how stubborn your approach is. FrB.TG (talk) 21:03, 23 June 2022 (UTC)

There is nothing stubborn about it. You could go to a large percentage of the pages on here, maybe more than 80 percent and your style if you want to call it that would be questioned. You and maybe three others are adding material here and no media outlet would ever publish something in the style you choose.Pictureperfect2 (talk) 00:59, 24 June 2022 (UTC)

Funnily enough, it was you who changed to "while an infant". At least, stand by your own changes before criticizing "my" style. FrB.TG (talk) 16:16, 25 June 2022 (UTC)

That was because I was making another edit and it was simpler to fix in that fashion.Pictureperfect2 (talk) 00:16, 26 June 2022 (UTC)

The lack of efforts to reach consensus here has been noted.Pictureperfect2 (talk) 08:22, 28 June 2022 (UTC)

And what consensus is that? The fact that you made a change (which wasn't even false) and pinned it on me? And when proven wrong, your excuse was that you were "making another edit"? In what world does this self-explanatory revert even need discussing?

• How is changing "Isaac debuted as a producer with" to "Isaac debut as a producer was" an improvement? Look at that atrocious grammar.
• "...signify his "penchant for moody rumination" that "runs together" -> "signify his "penchant for moody rumination" that" runs together. What's the point of moving the quotation mark?
• Removing the comma in "According to a New York Daily News report, he was". For the nth time, you need a comma after an introductory phrase. See here.
• Removing a comma here just after being reverted for that reason. "In 2015, Isaac portrayed Nathan Hamlet Bateman, the reclusive inventor of a gynoid, in the science fiction film". The parenthetical phrase ("the reclusive inventor of a gynoid") needs to begin and end with a comma. See here.

I hope this puts an end to your removal of punctuation. You cannot justify these removals because they are insignificant. Deliberately removing correctly placed punctuation is nothing short of a disruptive behavior (especially when this has been explained to you multiple times). FrB.TG (talk) 09:00, 28 June 2022 (UTC)

Nationality

Why not Guatemalan-American? He became a US citizen only in 2006. Ciro Lyndo (talk) 03:34, 21 July 2022 (UTC)

Directly from the article Isaac's family immigrated to the US when he was five months old. FrederalBacon (talk) 20:01, 22 August 2022 (UTC)

WP:ETHNICITY. He has lived in the U.S since he was an infant and the U.S is where he appears to primarily reside and where he is most notable as an actor. Furthermore, 'Guatemalan-American' often refers to ethnicity (i.e - an American of Guatemalan descent), which should not be used per guideline. Clear Looking Glass (talk) 06:07, 22 April 2023 (UTC)

Considering that he has been a US citizen only since 2006 and is vocal about his Latino heritage, it would be appropriate to mention in the lead sentence that he is "Guatemalan-born". As I said in one of my edit summaries in the article, his deep connection to his Latino roots is evident in his efforts to "latinize" the characters he plays (e.g. the origin of his character in Star Wars and the presence of a Spanish-speaking alter in Moon Knight). Critics also often note his efforts to defy Latino stereotypes in Hollywood. Given the significance of this aspect, it is more fitting to include this mention in the lead sentence rather than delaying it to the second paragraph. FrB.TG (talk) 15:36, 5 June 2023 (UTC)

The question is not whether he's notable and he talks about his Guatemalan origin but whether particular note has been made related to his Guatemalan origin or whether it's come to play in his work. You've persuaded me that it has. Largoplazo (talk) 16:01, 5 June 2023 (UTC)

The mention in the start of the second paragraph is sufficient for that and looks like the initial attempt at a compromise about mentioning it in the lead at all. Having only lived 5 months in Guatemala, it is more an ethnicity identity rather than anything related to his birth location. He will have no memory of ever living there, just what was passed on by his parents. He is not notable for being from there and it really isn't part of why he is notable, just a part of his ethnic background, important to him, like it is to a lot of people.
MOS:BIRTHPLACE and MOS:CONTEXTBIO does support mention in the lead if important but not in the opening paragraph so this FA conformed to that when promoted. The "-born" info in the opening sentence is jarringly against the MOS though.
Also, as an attempt at compromise with the IP editors who want to add Guatemalan to the intro sentence, it is unlikely to solve anything. Based on my past experience there will be continued edits changing "Guatemalan-born American" to "Guatemalan-American" if that is put in the intro. Best to just leave it the way it was when promoted to FA. My interest is to see that level of quality retained. Geraldo Perez (talk) 17:46, 5 June 2023 (UTC)

I suppose you are right about the unregistered users' persistent efforts to add "Guatemalan-American" in the lead sentence. I remember adding "Born in Guatemala" while expanding it for FA and later incorporating "Guatemalan-born" in the lead sentence as an attempt to stop the disruptive editing, but as one can see, it didn't lead anywhere. I have requested for a semi-protection of the page at WP:RPP. FrB.TG (talk) 19:15, 5 June 2023 (UTC)

“American actor” when it clearly says that he’s born Guatemalan. We all know what it should say. No him moving there when he was 5 months old or currently living there doesn’t make him an “American” actor. 45.229.41.98 (talk) 06:40, 31 July 2023 (UTC)

Actually it does. Geraldo Perez (talk) 06:54, 31 July 2023 (UTC)

Getting his American citizenship means he's American. I recommend you don't write things like "We all know" unless you think that people who have voiced opinions to the contrary all came here to write things, for some reason, that are the opposite of what they know. Simply declaring that everybody actually agrees with you isn't a useful way to argue when people have expressed views you disagree with. Largoplazo (talk) 09:44, 31 July 2023 (UTC)

Oscar Isacc (or should I say Óscar Hernández?) is Guatemalan. To only list American in the principal description is so symbolic of the very American cultural imperialism that has played a big role in forcing him to eschew his birth name in favor of one which sounds white. "Guatemalan and American" would be an appropriate edit. Representation matters but Wikipedia's claimed neutrality only serves to bolster the loudest voices (i.e. Americanism) and silence those of minorities. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2A02:C7C:88F8:0:911D:5628:F96:A9D4 (talk) 23:15, 11 October 2023 (UTC)

Do you know what the nationalities are of the people who have been participating in this discussion, or did you just decide to assume everybody's American? Besides that, if in every case where somebody was born in X but moved to Y as a child and became a citizen of Y, and where other circumstances mentioned above apply, the result is that we say in the lead that the person is Y and leave the X to be mentioned later or to be inferred based on birth, then this has nothing to do with American cultural imperialism. Largoplazo (talk) 00:16, 12 October 2023 (UTC)

His birth in Guatemala is mentioned in the lead - it isn't ignored. We don't classify him as a Guatemalan actor as he has done no acting in Guatemala. Everything he has done since the age of 5 months is in the US where he lives, works and grew up. His Guatemalan ancestry is about as relevant as his Cuban ancestry - important to him but not really relevant to why he is notable and where he did all his notable activities which is what drives the nationality context in the intro sentence per MOS:CONTEXTBIO. The name he uses is his choice, we don't try to second guess his reasons, and we respect his choice in the article. Geraldo Perez (talk) 00:17, 12 October 2023 (UTC)

Typical Wikipedia gatekeeping attitude. Not sure why I expected anything to change. 2A02:C7C:88F8:0:911D:5628:F96:A9D4 (talk) 07:29, 12 October 2023 (UTC)

Why I keep changing Oscar Isaac's portrait?

I keep editing Oscar Isaac's current portrait because I simply don't like it as much as I do with the old portrait. I know that's a stupid reason but that's pretty much my reason. I don't want to start any problems so far now, I'm going to leave the portrait alone for now. SpectrumGamer05 (talk) 23:21, 22 February 2024 (UTC)

The latest image is a much more professional portrait image and a more recent representation of how he looks. Also it doesn't have a microphone obscuring part of his face. Geraldo Perez (talk) 23:23, 22 February 2024 (UTC)

Usually we stick with the most recent good quality picture while the subject is alive. After the subject has died, then we discuss what is the most appropriate picture for a historical representation. Peaceray (talk) 04:02, 23 February 2024 (UTC)

Gotcha! SpectrumGamer05 (talk) 19:23, 23 February 2024 (UTC)

I recently just changed Isaac's portrait for a more modern look. Just pointing it out. SpectrumGamer05 (talk) 21:10, 12 March 2024 (UTC)

Original portrait picture is better. No reason to change it. Geraldo Perez (talk) 22:11, 12 March 2024 (UTC)

Name

Isaac is his middle name (second forename for Spanish speaking people). It’s like calling Kennedy “Fitzgerald” all the time. In Spanish culture it’s either “Óscar”, or his first family name “Hernández” that is usually used. Ibn Gabirol (talk) 15:56, 6 March 2024 (UTC)

Are you sure he hasn't formally changed his name, treating "Isaac" as a surname? And that he hasn't chosen to treat it as a surname for professional purposes?

If you're correct, then perhaps we should be referring to him in full, as "Oscar Isaac", throughout. Compare Tone Loc. Largoplazo (talk) 16:44, 6 March 2024 (UTC)

Scanning through the sources it appears that Isaac is being treated in the press as his surname so presumption is that it is his current professional surname per how he uses it. He is living and working in the US so will be using American naming conventions and filling out American legal forms that require a surname. Marion Morrison chose John Wayne as his professional name and we didn't really question that Wayne became his new surname Geraldo Perez (talk) 17:31, 6 March 2024 (UTC)

WP:COMMONNAME applies here. He is clearly billed & known as Oscar Isaac. The article already notes his birth name. You can discuss this ad infinitum & ad nuseam, but Oscar Isaac as the article name & the de facto use of Isaac as a surname is going to be what is used as per the WP:COMMONNAME article title policy. Peaceray (talk) 18:33, 6 March 2024 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 15 October 2024

Oscar Isaac is not an “American actor.” He was born and raised in Guatemala (as stated by his own Wikipedia page) and should be called a “Guatemalan actor.” Actor Diego Luna is correctly intorduced in their Wikipedia page as a “Mexican actor.” or Pedro Pascals “Chilean-American actor.” The same should be written for Isaac. 2001:56A:76E0:6C00:212C:48B6:1480:81F3 (talk) 16:03, 15 October 2024 (UTC)

 Not done Isaac's family immigrated to the US when he was five months old, and they frequently moved around the country, living in Baltimore, New Orleans and Miami, where they eventually settled. Isaac became a United States citizen in 2006.

Your statement that Isaac was raised in Guatemala is unfounded.

As for comparison with Diego Luna (who was raised in Mexico & had a career there) & Pedro Pascals [sic] (because he has Dual Citizenship in United States, Pedro Pascal is listed as a Chilean and American actor and not a Chilean-American actor), please see the WP:WHATABOUTX essay. Peaceray (talk) 16:39, 15 October 2024 (UTC)

References