W.C. Fields was basically himself in all his movies.
I think it’s interesting that there are some stars that are famous by shear force of personality. Their personalities are so unique, charming, looney, etc. that they themselves are just fun to watch. When I watch Johnny Depp, Robert DeNiro, Meryl Streep or Denzel Washington in a movie I expect to see a great performance. But some folks (like W.C. Fields, John Wayne, Ben Stein) are such characters themselves that they command our attention without having to act.
Eva Gabor could act. Once again I must recommend “A Touch of Evil”
How would anyone know whether Pauly Shore can act? Have any of you seen him in a movie? I haven’t, but I saw the advertising for his movies and considered it a warning that they were really dumb.
And the Jenny McCarthy show on MTV was very funny.
I disagree. I think this is largely because she has been cast in roles with little variety.
To see her stretch as an actress, see Joe vs. the Volcano. This is an odd film, but I really liked it.
To address the other issue, the idea that men can’t really act is absurd. Ever heard of Robert deNiro? Denzel Washington? Patrick Stewart? Sir John Gielgud? Kirk Douglas? Burt Lancaster? Nathan Lane? Christopher Walken? James Earl Jones? Dustin Hoffman?
OTOH, there are a lot of men who are (or were) really just performers, in that they may play variations on a theme, but never really create new characters or personalities: Bruce Lee, Robin Williams, Billy Crystal, Bruce Willis, Nicholas Cage.
OTOOH, this may not be a really bad thing. As others have noted, why would you want to watch the Bogart play anything else? The same thing goes for Jimmy Stewart or Gregory Peck. Or maybe a more nuanced definition needs to be developed here. After all, would anyone say that Peck’s acting was less than superb? and yet his roles were always about these men with incredible integrity and strength. And yet he always knew that he was not the characters he played, and was remarkably humble in his own life. So is he a performer or an actor?
Hey, to begin with it was a guy dog in drag and second, I have it good athority that Lassie also played Asta in the Thin Man series and did Neil (the Saint Bernard) in Topper. That bitch had range (except it was a guy dog of course).
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For those not up on old movies, the part about Neil and Asta was just a joke.
THis is true, except that he pretty much put a stake through Mork’s heart long ago. It’s too bad that the rest of roles (aside from the prof) are mutants from the planet ugh.
There might be a certain sameness to the roles Jack Nicholson has taken lately (I wouldn’t know), but such was not always the case. The characters of Jake Gittes (Chinatown), R.P. McMurphy (One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest), Jack Torrence (The Shining) are just a few that represent his great range at one time.
Helen Hunt. I’m not sure if she’s playing Jamie Buchman over and over and over, of if she’s just playing herself over and over. Either way, it’s extremely annoying and impossible to watch.
I really like and admire Steve Buscemi, and I tend to like movies he’s in. However, he can’t be considered very versatile. Either he doesn’t have any range at all, or he’s always asked to play the same character, or he’s smart enough to have made a career out of playing the one kind of character he does better than anyone else.
Doh! you stole my thunder, pepperlandgirl. Helen Hunt is the definition of a one-note actor. She’s identical in every role she plays. I’ve also noticed that Leelee Sobieski seems to be playing Helen Hunt in her roles as well.
Robin Williams’ wise and worldly professor in Dead Poet’s Society was definitely the same as Robin Williams’ wise and worldly counselor in Good Will Hunting.
And I would say that Robin Williams’ crazy homeless guy Parry in The Fisher King was merely a take on Mork, except that Mork was from another planet, and Parry only seemed to be.
So, Robin Williams has two characters. Does this exempt him from the One Trick Actor List, or perhaps does he just top the list of the Two Trick Actor List?
And why would anyone want Chevy Chase to play anybody but Chevy Chase. Oy Vey that guy makes me laugh, just standing there.
