# 2001: A Space Odyssey Questions (Actors, mostly) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 30, 2002, 5:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2001-a-space-odyssey-questions-actors-mostly/130205 "2002-09-30T05:50:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![flertbert](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e5b9ba/32.png) [@flertbert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flertbert)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2002, 5:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2001-a-space-odyssey-questions-actors-mostly/130205/1 "2002-09-30T05:50:52Z")
1.) Does Keir Dullea ever age? (He looks the same in _2010_ as he did in _2001_.) 2.) Why didn’t William Sylvester reprise his role as Heywood Floyd in _2010_? 3.) Does Douglas Rain (Hal in _2001_ & _2010_) always speak in such a monotone voice? 4.) Any plans to do _2063_ as a film? ---
**Author:** ![Snooooopy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Snooooopy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snooooopy)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2002, 6:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2001-a-space-odyssey-questions-actors-mostly/130205/2 "2002-09-30T06:00:33Z")
The third book was _2061_. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2002, 6:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2001-a-space-odyssey-questions-actors-mostly/130205/3 "2002-09-30T06:43:12Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by flertbert \* > \*\*1.) Does Keir Dullea ever age? (He looks the same in _2010_ as he did in _2001_.) > 2.) Why didn’t William Sylvester reprise his role as Heywood Floyd in _2010_? > 3.) Does Douglas Rain (Hal in _2001_ & _2010_) always speak in such a monotone voice? > 4.) Any plans to do _2063_ as a film? \*\* 1. I suspect makeup. 2. Floyd was the lead role in 2010, and I suspect they needed slightly more of a headliner than Sylvester. Kubrick made Floyd a boring lackey (he was much more with it in Clarke’s book) and he’s the hero in 2010. 3. He’s a computer, remember. Rain is (was?) a Shakespearean actor, so I suspect he has a wider range than Kubrick gave him. None the less, he still has the most emotional scene. 4. Doubt it. I don’t think 2061 (or 3001) was much of a seller, and they don’t quite have the appeal of the other two. Did you know Larry King likes 2010 more than 2001? Echh. Voyager - who saw 2001 in Cinerama where it opened in NY, and who has the program from the road show run. ---
**Author:** ![Skip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ebca7d/32.png) [@Skip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skip)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2002, 12:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2001-a-space-odyssey-questions-actors-mostly/130205/4 "2002-09-30T12:01:10Z")
As a side note, Kubrick gave a tape recorder to Rain and a script to record the voice of Hal and Rain did it in a single afternoon with no direction. Kubrick used it as given to him the next day. ---
**Author:** ![Baldwin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baldwin/32/7264_2.png) [@Baldwin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baldwin)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2002, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2001-a-space-odyssey-questions-actors-mostly/130205/5 "2002-09-30T14:11:07Z")
_2001_ – my favorite movie. It recently played in a single showing in Atlanta, in a restored 70 mm print at the Fox Theatre. I couldn’t go because of illness, and that may well have been my last chance to see this movie in its proper format. I’ve got the DVD, but have never had the heart to watch it on a tv screen. Gary Lockwood was good too, although as was so often the case with Kubrick, all the performances seemed emotionally muted. (As I recall, for 1968 _Planet of the Apes_ got an Oscar for the ape makeup – but if you look at the beginning of _2001_ I think you’ll agree it deserved the award for the man-apes, even though it was a short sequence.) ---
**Author:** ![Enola\_Straight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dec6dc/32.png) [@Enola\_Straight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enola_Straight)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2002, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2001-a-space-odyssey-questions-actors-mostly/130205/6 "2002-09-30T14:51:21Z")
Kier Dullea most certainly does age. The latest I’ve seen him in an acting role was in an episode of Law & Order as the attorney of a soft-spoken serial killer who defends himself in court. He looked about as old as the 2001 scene in which an aged Dave is eating dinner in the Hotel Suite at the end of the movie. ---
**Author:** ![China\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/779978/32.png) [@China\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/China_Guy)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2002, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2001-a-space-odyssey-questions-actors-mostly/130205/7 "2002-09-30T15:04:04Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Baldwin \* > \*\*_2001_ (As I recall, for 1968 _Planet of the Apes_ got an Oscar for the ape makeup – but if you look at the beginning of _2001_ I think you’ll agree it deserved the award for the man-apes, even though it was a short sequence.) \*\* Arthur C Clarke said the same thing in the Making of 2001 (?). His wag was that the judges thought they were real apes. ---
**Author:** ![flertbert](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e5b9ba/32.png) [@flertbert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flertbert)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2002, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2001-a-space-odyssey-questions-actors-mostly/130205/8 "2002-09-30T15:40:31Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Enola Straight \* > \*\*Kier Dullea most certainly does age. > > The latest I’ve seen him in an acting role was in an episode of Law & Order as the attorney of a soft-spoken serial killer who defends himself in court. > > He looked about as old as the 2001 scene in which an aged Dave > is eating dinner in the Hotel Suite at the end of the movie. \*\* That was a half-joking question on my part, _but_ if you look at [this](http://www.criticdoctor.com/features/ebertfest/image/keirdullea.jpg) photo of Dullea from last year and compare it to a picture of his co-star from the film, [Gary Lockwood](http://www.starbase21ok.com/2001_memories.htm) (who is a year _younger_ than Dullea), you can see that by comparison, Dullea looks positively youthful. In any case, I hope that when I’m the same age as Dullea (66) I look as good as he does. Oh, and **Voyager** , I didn’t ask about _3001_ because I’ve read it, and would have been just as happy if they never printed another copy of the book again. Clarke’s best work is behind him. _2061_ wasn’t a bad read and would make an interesting film, though it probably wouldn’t make a heck of a lot of money. Still, it’d probably have a larger gross than _Jason X_ did. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2002, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2001-a-space-odyssey-questions-actors-mostly/130205/9 "2002-09-30T18:36:42Z")
> [@](#): > > the attorney of a soft-spoken serial killer who defends himself in court. Is that a koan? ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2002, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2001-a-space-odyssey-questions-actors-mostly/130205/10 "2002-09-30T21:01:38Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by flertbert \* > \*\*That was a half-joking question on my part, _but_ if you look at [this](http://www.criticdoctor.com/features/ebertfest/image/keirdullea.jpg) photo of Dullea from last year and compare it to a picture of his co-star from the film, [Gary Lockwood](http://www.starbase21ok.com/2001_memories.htm) (who is a year _younger_ than Dullea), you can see that by comparison, Dullea looks positively youthful. In any case, I hope that when I’m the same age as Dullea (66) I look as good as he does. > > Oh, and **Voyager** , I didn’t ask about _3001_ because I’ve read it, and would have been just as happy if they never printed another copy of the book again. Clarke’s best work is behind him. _2061_ wasn’t a bad read and would make an interesting film, though it probably wouldn’t make a heck of a lot of money. Still, it’d probably have a larger gross than _Jason X_ did. \*\* Since I didn’t look as good as Dullea when I was the age he was in the movie, I doubt I’ll look as good as he does when I’m 66. 🙂 I agree with you about 3001, alas. It seemed like he changed all the rules of the universe - an awful failure of nerve.