Inspired by the “hidden gems” thread, i noticed how many of us posting in it were fans of Bruce “Don’t Call Me Ash” Campbell, the common feeling i got there was the simple presence of B.C. makes a film worth watching, even if it’s worthless drek
…sorta makes me wonder, if a shot-for-shot remake of Manos; Hands of Fate was made (with B.C. playing Torgo), would it make that film worth watching, the only change would be B.C. as Torgie, everything else would be the same, would fans of Bruce be able to withstand the horrors of Manos, or would Bruce win 'em over
then i got to thinking, what other actors or actresses have a rabid cult following? someone you’d watch read the dictionary/phonebook?
Tim Curry, that’s clear, the man will forever be seen as Dr. Frank 'N Furter for the rest of his life, as well as Pennywise the clown, Tim Curry is a guaranteed draw
Patrick Stewart, another solid draw
Anthony Hopkins?
Samuel L. Jackson?
Ben Browder?
an actress i’d gladly follow would be Claudia “Aeryn Sun” Black, as well as Gigi Edgely, Anthony Simcoe, Wayne Pygram, oh who am i kidding, i’m not exactly impartial when it comes to the cast of Farscape…
I’m also a fan of Steve Buscemi, Bill Murray, Samuel L. Jackson, Edward Norton, and Johnny Depp in almost anything. Now I’m very fond of most of the Buffy and Angel cast members, Zach Braff from Garden State and Scrubs, and most of the Arrested Development cast as well.
John Lithgow is always fun to watch, playing any sort of larger-than-life character. (To connect to the hidden-gems thread, try to find the outtake of him playing Harry Zell in L.A. Story.)
He writes children’s books, and I went to reading a couple years ago. There were dozens of kids sitting on the floor of the bookstore. He came out and did the “hi, kids! (kids mumble “hi”) Well, (looking disappointed) you don’t sound very happy to see me. Let’s try it again. Hi, kids!” The kids explode in greeting, and they’re his for the next hour. It was just too perfect; there’s a reason that the classics become the classics.
Diana Rigg certainly used to be a cult favorite, mostly because of The Avengers and On Her Majesty’s Secret Service. I remember when I was an undergrad in the 1970s. Someone posted a movie schedule, and after each put “starring Diana Rigg”, even though only 2 or three did. And Diana Rigg movies in which she didn’t play a cat-suited spy-fighter ( like theater of Blood and A Midsummer Night’s Dream ) still were more heavily attended than they should have been.
I’ll watch just about anything that has Bette Midler in it. As a result, I’ve watched some pretty rotten stuff. Bette doesn’t always choose her projects wisely, IMHO.