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zombiewhacker
Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
USA
1475 Posts |
 Posted - 06/06/2008 : 03:13:49 AM
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I'm not talking about actors whose careers have hit the skids, like Ben Kingsley, F. Murray Abraham, et al. That's too easy. Many good actors who've made a lot of bad career moves at least manage to dignify themselves by turning in a solid performance now and then, displaying flashes of their former brilliance. Michael Caine comes to mind with all those grade Z Swarm-type movies he always wandered into back in the day. The scripts might've been lousy, but Caine always came across like a pro. Good for him.
No, I'm talking about something worse: actors who used to dominate the big screen who now are just hollow shells of their former selves. Regardless of whether they're in a hit movie or not, they're just not the same performers anymore. They've gone lifeless, like they're not even trying.
People like, say, Rutger Hauer. Twenty-five years ago this guy was an up-and-coming star, the Next Big Thing, a performer as intense, charismatic, as compelling as anybody on the big screen. He certainly stole Night Hawks away from Sly Stallone, didn't he? Ditto Harrison Ford in Blade Runner. Then somewhere along the line, something happened. He went from being a symphony to becoming a dial tone. Hey, he still gets a part in a good movie now and then; he was in Batman Begins just a few years back. But the fire's completely gone out of him. Today he's more somnabulist than thespian. And, not knowing anything about his personal history, I don't understand what happened.
Other choices? |
Edited by - zombiewhacker on 06/06/2008 03:20:22 AM
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Sardu
Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
1126 Posts |
Posted - 06/06/2008 : 06:06:50 AM
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Al Pacino?? When's the last time he gave a real performance as opposed to mugging for two hours and collecting a paycheck...
"Meeting you makes me want to be a real noodle cook"
--Tampopo |
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RVHorror
Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
USA
532 Posts |
Posted - 06/06/2008 : 1:18:00 PM
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I think it happens to a lot of actors as they move through their careers. Jon Voight is a good example, I think; starred in some high profile things in the 60's, then got forgotten for a while, now he's doing some pretty good work (generally as a dad-like figure) in other stars' blockbusters (Transformers, National Treasure).
So it's entirely possible we're in the middle phase of Hauer's career, and (say) five years from now he'll be doing interesting character work. |
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Capt. Nemo
Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
630 Posts |
Posted - 06/06/2008 : 8:51:06 PM
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My vote goes to Charles During.
He was the actor who played Det. Snyder in The Sting. The NYPD negotiator in Dog Day Afternoon. The congressman in Tootsie. And the governer in O Brother, Where Art Thou!
Now look at what he does:
[url="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0407732/"]Click Here[/url]
[url="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0393297/"]Click Here[/url]
[url="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0944101/"]Click Here[/url]
Poor guy.
________________________________________________________________________
"Ward, the Beaver blew up the 7-11 again."
"I'll have a talk with him Dear" |
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zombiewhacker
Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
USA
1475 Posts |
Posted - 06/07/2008 : 02:58:34 AM
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| But have you ever seen Durning give a bad performance? I watched him the last few years when he was a recurring character on Everybody Loves Raymond and he was as sharp and funny as ever. |
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Greenhornet
Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
1791 Posts |
Posted - 06/07/2008 : 4:26:36 PM
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Marlon Brando.
I think his last good role was The Godfather, after that, he was appiering in what really ammounted to "bit parts". Look at Superman: The Movie; they paid millions for a five-minute appierance that was as flat as a rehersal. Glen Ford gave a better performance in that movie and I don't think he got half of what Brando did. I know that he didn't get as much mention in the publisity.
"The Queen is testing poisons." CLEOPATRA, 1935 |
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Capt. Nemo
Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
630 Posts |
Posted - 06/07/2008 : 4:59:47 PM
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Maybe we should clarify this point.
Are we talking actors who's CAREERS are out of gas?
or
Are we talking actors who's TALENT has run out of gas?
Brando is a good choice, BTW.
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"Ward, the Beaver blew up the 7-11 again."
"I'll have a talk with him Dear" |
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TheFoywonder
Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
USA
833 Posts |
Posted - 06/07/2008 : 5:06:42 PM
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Anyone taken a long hard look at Dustin Hoffman's filmography of late?
Now Playing in Foyeurism at Foywonder.com: PILOT ERROR 2: EXO-MAN & INFILTRATOR - Two more failed pilots from the past starring power-armored heroes
Plus: B-WARE THE BLOG is alive at http://www.livejournal.com/users/foywonder |
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hentai_wolf
Preeminent Apostolic Prelate of the Discipleship of Jabootu
139 Posts |
Posted - 06/07/2008 : 9:02:46 PM
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quote:
Originally posted by Greenhornet
Marlon Brando.
I don't think it's fair to name actors who are dead. Yes, Marlon Brando is "just [a] hollow shell of [his] former selves" and he's gone "lifeless". |
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Bobby-G
Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
USA
904 Posts |
Posted - 06/08/2008 : 11:25:56 AM
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Capt. Nemo's second example for Charles Durning, FORGET ABOUT IT (99 cents, used, at Amazon -- of course if you want a new copy, that's $26.99...), sounds aptly titled (there aren't even any reviews of this thing at IMDB!), and looks chock full of actors who could be named in this thread; Burt Reynolds, for one.
Rob
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zombiewhacker
Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
USA
1475 Posts |
Posted - 06/08/2008 : 11:26:44 AM
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Actor's whose talent has gone out of gas.
As I've pointed out, we've talked plenty in the past about good actors who end up in lousy films. But good actors who actually turn into bad actors, or worse, lifeless actors (like Brando and Hauer)... well, that's what I was asking about here.
(And deceased actors like Brando are fair game. I didn't mean lifeless literally.) |
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RossM
Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
USA
427 Posts |
Posted - 06/08/2008 : 7:25:15 PM
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| When Marlon Brando cared about a part he could be great. He was hillarious doing a self paridy in The Freshman (his post film griping not withstanding). When he didn't care, whew he stunk. Richard Burton also comes to mind. He was a good actor turned into a terrible actor bloviating his way through pure garbage movies. If you paid him and he was sober enough to stand, he was there. A current actor in the same position seems to me to be Nicholas Cage. |
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BradH812
Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
USA
1294 Posts |
Posted - 06/08/2008 : 9:15:22 PM
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| I'd add Robert De Niro to that groups, Ross. |
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Sardu
Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
1126 Posts |
Posted - 06/08/2008 : 11:28:31 PM
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I don't think I agree on Nic Cage. He chews scenery 110% whether he's in a total POS or not. Just like Shatner or Micheal Caine. Actually, that would seem to negate what I said about Al Pacino but somehow it's different- Pacino obviously doesn't give a flying f**k anymore but Cage will still give a good performance when the movie is worth it. Same deal with Malcolm "Kubrick or Caligula; Whatever" McDowell. He may make a lot of turds lately but he's also done some acclaimed indie work in recent years to offset them.
"Meeting you makes me want to be a real noodle cook"
--Tampopo |
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