Feeling weird about obsessing over a movie character

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This has been driving me insane over the past two weeks. I have what you could call an infatuation with Sybok from Star Trek V. But there's a problem. I'm having a lot of difficulty separating him from his actor. I've got lots of pictures of him (Sybok), and I keep thinking, That's actually a real person you're staring at! What is wrong with you?

So, I feel like I'm disrespecting him. What makes it worse is that he has a daughter my age. I know the movie was made 22 years ago, and he and Sybok look nothing alike. But I still feel pretty uncomfortable.

Do you think actors are flattered when people find their characters attractive and obsess over them (keeping it strictly to the character itself, of course)?

I used to have major problems separating an actor from their character as a kid. This improved somewhere in what I would say was my mid-late teens (15-17 years old). The most I can find appealing now is the character for who they are in their story.

I would think they think, you're a whacko. I had an obsession with trying to act/dress like "Perry" from "Two-moon junction". I tried to act like him and wear similar clothes. But it was the character not him. So, I think that's different. I seen this movie over 100 times. My favourite scene:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VZDw0Hst ... re=related

I felt very strange when I obsessed over Austin Powers. I just didn't feel like myself. My Sid from Flushed Away period was even more of a gong show.

Currently I have an obsession with English actress Helena Bonham Carter. It initially began as an infatuation with her role as Mrs. Lovett in Sweeney Todd, but it eventually spilled over into obsessing over the real person. I'm also starting to go through the same thing with another actress, Anne Hathaway (though of course that obsession takes a back seat to my one about Helena).

At first I felt very strange about having obsessions with real people. I worried that others would view me as a stalker and a creep, or that it was somehow mentally unhealthier than my previous obsessions, which focused on fictional characters. Earlier today I spoke with my mom about it, and she told me that people obsess over celebrities all the time. She gave the example of how so many young girls obsess over Justin Bieber and Robert Pattinson. She even said that she used to obsess over Davy Jones from the band The Monkees. She said that celebrities are well aware that being famous causes people to obsess over them. and they come to expect it.

I've been infatuated with Fairuza Balk ever since I first saw The Craft. So I was really glad when I found out that she is very similar to her character. Well... not a megalomaniac who goes around trying to kill people. But an eclectic pagan, gothic punk type.

Spiderman is pretty amazing. I sometimes fantasize about being Spiderman.

Well, given how some other fans are... I'd think so long as you aren't doing crazy things they'd be slightly flattered their performance made an impression, bit weirded out, maybe a bit concerned this might go further than that... but not much more. Certainly when it's clear the interest is with the character, not with the person of the actor, I think there's less concern and more feeling flattered as it's seen as having done a good job bringing the role to life.

By crazy things I mean it's one thing to have an interest, obsession even, it's another thing to send the actor 30 letters a week, try to follow them in person and steal their pets to be closer to them. So long as you check that you're not going over that line into creepy stalkerdom, I don't see the harm in enjoying your interest. And I don't think having a fascination with the character rather than the actor is bad. Looking at it one way - at least you're able to see the distinction between the two. That's more than a lot of people, NTs most of them even, are able to and quite frankly just shows you haven't lost touch with reality.

Thanks. That makes me feel a bit better. *smiles*