Stars are central to the cinema experience, and this collection offers a variety of fresh and informed perspectives on this important but sometimes neglected area of film studies.This book takes as its focus film stars from the past and present, from Hollywood, its margins and beyond and analyses them through a close consideration of their films and the variety of contexts in which they worked. The book spreads the net wide, looking at past stars from Rosalind Russell and Charlton Heston to present day stars including Sandra Bullock, Jackie Chan and Jim Carrey, as well as those figures who have earnt themselves a certain film star cachet such as Prince, and the martial artist Cynthia Rothrock. The collection will be essential reading for students and lecturers of film studies, as well as to those with a general interest in the cinema.