# Actors are more than their roles! **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [August 29, 2016, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-are-more-than-their-roles/764441 "2016-08-29T23:01:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Debillw3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/3bc359/32.png) [@Debillw3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Debillw3)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2016, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-are-more-than-their-roles/764441/1 "2016-08-29T23:01:24Z")
I’m so sick of this. Every time a popular actor dies, some morons out there opt for “RIP [character]” instead of “RIP [actor]” & meme images featuring quotes from the characters on pictures that aren’t even of the actor. Newsflash, morons: if Gene Wilder didn’t play Willy Wonka, those lines would still have been spoken & the character would’ve worn the same purple top hat. Nothing in your “tribute” is remotely unique to Gene. What he brought to his characters goes beyond dialogue & costumes–it goes to something that can’t be represented by a simple still image. It was even worse when Alan Rickman died, because then the quotes posted weren’t even words he spoke–they were just Rowling’s descriptions of Snape from the books. These actors have plenty of quotes of their own. Words they actually wrote and said. But nope. For some reason, people gotta just use the words of the character. It’s bullshit. I get that everyone mourns in their own way, but Willy Wonka ain’t dead. Stu Pickles ain’t dead. It’s the actors who died. So is it too much to ask that we show them respect by not reducing them down to just the parts they played? There’s a big difference between “I loved [him/her] as [character]” and memorials that seem to be for the character with the actor as an afterthought. ---
**Author:** ![snfaulkner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snfaulkner/32/433_2.png) [@snfaulkner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snfaulkner)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2016, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-are-more-than-their-roles/764441/2 "2016-08-29T23:05:03Z")
Word ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2016, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-are-more-than-their-roles/764441/3 "2016-08-29T23:11:16Z")
Bite me. I don’t know Gene. I **do** know Jim, the Frisco Kid, Doctor Frankenstein, Willy Wonka, and all the others he portrayed. So again, bite me. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2016, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-are-more-than-their-roles/764441/4 "2016-08-29T23:13:34Z")
If actors didn’t bring memorable characters to life, they would be forgotten. Lame pitting. Sounds like something **DrDeth** would bitch about. ---
**Author:** ![Debillw3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/3bc359/32.png) [@Debillw3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Debillw3)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2016, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-are-more-than-their-roles/764441/5 "2016-08-29T23:18:01Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > If actors didn’t bring memorable characters to life, they would be forgotten. Lame pitting. Sounds like something **DrDeth** would bitch about. Hm… If only I said something about that in the OP. Oh. Wait. > [@Debillw3](#): > > What he brought to his characters goes beyond dialogue & costumes–it goes to something that can’t be represented by a simple still image. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2016, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-are-more-than-their-roles/764441/6 "2016-08-29T23:20:40Z")
You really have a bug up your ass about this, don’t you? I give this putting a solid two thumbs down. ETA: Who’s going to be remembered more for playing Willy Wonka, Gene Wilder or Johnny Depp? ---
**Author:** ![Debillw3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/3bc359/32.png) [@Debillw3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Debillw3)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2016, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-are-more-than-their-roles/764441/7 "2016-08-29T23:22:12Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > You really have a bug up your ass about this, don’t you? I give this putting a solid two thumbs down. Does this mean I’m out of the running for the Pitties? Damn. ---
**Author:** ![Starving\_Artist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@Starving\_Artist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Starving_Artist)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2016, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-are-more-than-their-roles/764441/8 "2016-08-29T23:25:46Z")
More than anything I think people do that as both shorthand to point out what the actor is most famous for because others might not recognize them by name, and also to honor their performance in that/those standout roles. Most people already know and operate under the assumption that no one actually believes the actor is the movie character. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2016, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-are-more-than-their-roles/764441/9 "2016-08-29T23:30:10Z")
Wilder was an actor. That’s how people, outside of his family and friends, knew him. So it makes sense that most people are going to remember Wilder in terms of the performances he gave. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2016, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-are-more-than-their-roles/764441/10 "2016-08-29T23:40:49Z")
> [@Starving\_Artist](#): > > More than anything I think people do that as both shorthand to point out what the actor is most famous for because others might not recognize them by name, and also to honor their performance in that/those standout roles. Most people already know and operate under the assumption that no one actually believes the actor is the movie character. Gene Wilder was very memorable, but yeah, it’s an homage to him to pay tribute to him for his movies such as _Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory_, _Young Frankenstein_, and _Blazing Saddles_. It doesn’t diminish him as a human being in the slightest. He was a very special and talented human being. ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2016, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-are-more-than-their-roles/764441/11 "2016-08-29T23:50:04Z")
I think most of us latch on to the first character we see an actor play. when I was a kid, Willy Wonka was the first film I saw Gene Wilder in, and even though I shortly read Roald Dahl’s books (and grudgingly saw Johnny Depp try to turn Wonka into Michael Jackson) and saw _Young Frankenstein_ and _Blazing Saddles,_ as far as I’m concerned Gene Wilder _is_ Willy Wonka and vice versa. and if you have the DVD release of the film, when they interview him he explains how much input he had into his performance.That whole scene near the end where he tears Charlie & Grandpa Joe a new one? That was all Gene. So consider that. I know of Gene Wilder because of an iconic role he played. I may not have ever known of him otherwise. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2016, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-are-more-than-their-roles/764441/12 "2016-08-29T23:53:54Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > If actors didn’t bring memorable characters to life, they would be forgotten. Lame pitting. Sounds like something **DrDeth** would bitch about. That last part was what I was expecting after reading the thread title and before reading the OP. ---
**Author:** ![Count\_Blucher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Count\_Blucher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Count_Blucher)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2016, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-are-more-than-their-roles/764441/13 "2016-08-29T23:55:36Z")
> [@Debillw3](#): > > Damn. I second the motion! Mr Chairman, I call for a vote that **Debillw3** be damned. All those in favor of shoving his POV back where it came from, please signify by saying, Aye! ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2016, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-are-more-than-their-roles/764441/14 "2016-08-29T23:58:38Z")
AYE!!! And “Bite me!” ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2016, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-are-more-than-their-roles/764441/15 "2016-08-30T00:03:24Z")
Eye!!! Oh, you meant aye? :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Count\_Blucher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Count\_Blucher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Count_Blucher)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2016, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-are-more-than-their-roles/764441/16 "2016-08-30T00:13:36Z")
Motion carried, POV shoved. Sergeant at Arms, any new business? _looks at grimy note_ Oh, not that same POV again…! ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2016, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-are-more-than-their-roles/764441/17 "2016-08-30T00:41:46Z")
I am not INTERESTED in death! The only thing that CONCERNS me is the preservation of LIFE! [beat] CLASS . . . IS . . . DISMISSED! ---
**Author:** ![Backwater\_Under\_Duck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ba8739/32.png) [@Backwater\_Under\_Duck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Backwater_Under_Duck)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2016, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-are-more-than-their-roles/764441/18 "2016-08-30T00:53:48Z")
Put the candle back. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2016, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-are-more-than-their-roles/764441/19 "2016-08-30T00:57:37Z")
> [@Debillw3](#): > > Newsflash, morons: if Gene Wilder didn’t play Willy Wonka, those lines would still have been spoken & the character would’ve worn the same purple top hat. Nothing in your “tribute” is remotely unique to Gene. What he brought to his characters goes beyond dialogue & costumes–it goes to something that can’t be represented by a simple still image. FWIW, Wilder altered that costume in general, and the hat in particular. > [@](#): > > These actors have plenty of quotes of their own. Words they actually wrote and said. But nope. For some reason, people gotta just use the words of the character. It’s bullshit. Hey, my quote was from YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN. Wilder wrote YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2016, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-are-more-than-their-roles/764441/20 "2016-08-30T01:03:00Z")
I’m fairly certain that anyone who devotes their life to a craft would be utterly delighted to have their works shared after their death. None of us are mourning Jerome Silberman, the man. We didn’t know him. It would be inexcusably presumptuous for us to mourn him. That’s for his family and friends to do. We are mourning Gene Wilder, and more specifically and selfishly, the ending of the work of Gene Wilder that moved us personally and collectively. And if you can read the words to “Pure Imagination” or “That’s Frankensteen…” _without_ hearing them in Gene Wilder’s voice, with his inflections, his tone, his acting choices, his WORK, then you are an unusual person. Now, a year or two down the road when people start putting his characters’ words in inspirational quotes, like he was the one who said them? Yeah, I find that annoying too. But not in the moments of mourning. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-are-more-than-their-roles/764441.md?page=2)