Star in

Star in

Today’s expression is a quick one—you’re not going to use it that often, but I did use it myself and I want to show you how to use it to. The expression is to “star in.” It’s a phrasal verb.

We use this with actors, actresses, and sometimes musicians . To use this term, the actor has to have some level of accomplishment . The person has to already be known as a “star.” And then, that actor needs to play a prominent role in that movie, TV show, or a theater production. It can’t be a supporting role .

Today you heard about “The Morning Show” and its high-profile cast . Jennifer Anniston plays Alex Levy, a morning television host . She’s one of the main characters, so we say that Jennifer Anniston stars in “The Morning Show.” She also starred in the sitcom “Friends” in the 1990s.

Mindy Kaling appears in “The Morning Show” too. She’s a comedian , a writer, producer, director, and actress. She starred in “The Office” as Kelly. She was one of the main characters. She also plays a character in “The Morning Show.” She plays Audra, a morning TV host for a rival television network .

In the first two seasons, she appears in a few episodes. She has some funny lines and you’ll immediately recognize her style . But I wouldn’t say that she stars in “The Morning Show” because she’s much more of a supporting actress in that show.

You heard about “Phantom of the Opera” closing . It played on Broadway since the mid-1980s. That’s a long time. There have been many cast members during that time. But an actor called Ben Crawford starred in the final Broadway production—he was the Phantom.

You can use this in music videos, too. Sometimes the main singer will invite another performer or singer to act in the music video. But the important thing is—it has to be a famous person, playing a big role in the music video. This is not about playing an instrument on the recording. This is about appearing in the video.

You heard about Ed Sheeran a few weeks ago . He stars in a music video by Taylor Swift. He stars in the music video for the song, “Everything Has Changed.”

You can even use this with commercials —but only if the person is really famous. Tom Brady, a famous football player, stars in a Hertz car rental commercial. Ben Affleck, an actor, stars in a Dunkin’ Donuts commercial. In these cases, the commercials are not really famous, but the actor or celebrity is.

Quote of the Week

Today’s quote is by the author Joyce Carol Oates. She says, “I never change. I just become more myself .” I like that. “I never change. I just become more myself.”

See you next time!

And that’s all for today’s lesson—I hope you enjoyed it. No spoilers. I wanted to, I wanted to share my opinion on some of the things that happened. But like always when I talk about movies and TV series, I refrained . I held back . I didn’t spoil anything. But you should see this show.

I know streaming adds up . We talked about that. But Apple TV+ is worth it. You won’t need it all year long, at least I don’t think so. But it’s one of the cheaper ones. They don’t have a huge library. It’s not Netflix. But what they have is really good. So check it out—”The Morning Show” on Apple TV+ and if that’s not your cup of tea , you can also try out “The Shrink Next Door.” That’s another good one.

That’s all for me today. We’ll be back on Thursday with an episode that will honor the most-hated font in all history. I’ll let you guess what that is. Come back on Thursday to find out. See you then.