He seems like an O.K. kind of guy, from what I’ve read in interviews, or what I’ve seen of him in person, on tv. Granted, his movies might not be up to much, but he seems sound. Ditto Dwayne “the rock” Johnston; he comes across as a really nice person. And Jason Statham. Sound bloke.
As opposed to other, bigger celebrities, who act and appear to be real assholes. Tom Cruise, Bill Murray, Mike Myers…
Any other nominees for most down-to-earth, sound, top bloke movie star? Not best actor, now, but best all round good egg.
Don’t be afraid to include the ladies either, or make some nominations for the most hateful, sour-as-cats-piss faceache either!
I completely agree, they seem like pretty great guys, and good role models. I’d include Bill Goldberg ;j, also from wrestling fame, but his acting roles thus far haven’t gotten much beyond “large thug.”
However, with the possible exception of Jason Statham, these guys almost certainly use performance enhancing substances to attain their physiques, which makes them questionable as role models. But otherwise nice guys.
If wrestling dirt rags are to be believed, Goldberg’s a pompous ass with an overinflated sense of self-worth but I liked his character in WCW (I missed most of his WWE run; I’ve been apathetic to the product since late 2002) and despite his shortcomings in the ring, I generally enjoyed his squashes so I’ve nothing against him either.
Or most celebrities, for that matter. Even the Britneys, Parises, and other objects of almost universal scorn. Why should I care?
I do loathe Will Ferrell, though. There’re always an exception.
I’m a huge Bill Murray fan, but I’ve heard from several sources that he’s a prima donna dick with anger management problems. Johnny Depp, my favorite actor, comes across as mercurial and dangerous one moment and very mellow and friendly the next.
That said, I also like Jason Statham and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson a lot. I think they’re the top action superstars of the years to come, but both are actually decent-to-good ACTORS on top of that. Unlike Arnold, Stallone, Van Damme, and Seagal, they seem more like “everymen” – cool, friendly, and down-to-earth, and definitely both have good senses of humor. Most action movies are inherently ridiculous, and those guys always seem to enjoy their material and laugh at themselves, both on- and off-screen. That makes a huge difference, especially after the aforementioned four guys dominated “kick-splode” action movies for most of the '80s and '90s. None of them were ever very good or versatile actors or elevated the material just by their presences in it, but Statham and The Rock certainly do. Plus, I have the utmost respect for Statham, who actually practices martial arts and can do much of his own stuntwork.
Well. I spent a bit of time with Vin Diesel shooting an MTV Cribs Miami House Party to celebrate the premier of Fast & Furious. The guy was a dick to everyone within 100 feet.
OTOH I spent most of a day with Dwayne Johnson. Shooting interviews, then waiting to stage some interview/ hijinks in the ring before a “match”. I enjoyed the guy. When the lights and camera were not on, he was open, very very polite and quietspoken and hung out with the crew. ( Always a plus, since I’m crew ). I generally felt like he knew his star was rising and if he was careful, he’d pack away his fees and solidify his financial future. That’s the stuff he was talking about. Smart fellow. This was after “The Mummy” was out, and just before he went to shoot " The Scorpion King", so it was a few years ago.
He also spoke to us ( on-camera and off- ) about his wife, in terms that were romantic and sweet without being gushy. He seemed very much the real deal in terms of manners.
Just remembered something. I witnessed something rather telling, from a ways off. While we were waiting for our turn to shoot in the ring that afternoon, Dwayne spent quite a while sitting near the ring on a folding chair, listening to a very elderly gentleman as he spoke. The guy didn’t talk much, he sat politely and watched and listened to the man. The guy was dressed very much in average street clothing and didn’t present as a powerful or wealthy guy either in broadcast or wrestling circles.
Dwayne was riveted. The other “wrestlers” were busy joking around, making the most obscenely crude jokes and remarks and generally being loudmouthed louts.
Now and then I’d look over, and he was still sitting, listening. No clue what the context was, but that didn’t matter. The man was a gentleman, polite and deferential to an elder. NOT in front of a camera, and not even in the room with a crew. This was in the main arena in Providence, RI.
A gentleman, and a gentle man. He was amused with my Steadicam and spent a few minutes swinging around the post, making it float and bounce to and fro.
I don’t know about Bill Murray, but I’ve had friends back in LA who have had to deal with both Cruise and Myers on several occassions and they all said they were both pretty nice. Cruise is apparently very friendly and outgoing, but to the point where it seems like he’s trying to make sure everyone likes him (of course, none of them tried to broach the subject of psychiatry with him). Myers is apparently very mellow when he’s not in character. He won’t try to make friends with the help, but he doesn’t do anything to give them a hard time, either, and always says “thanks.”
Dude, you misunderstand me. I meant Statham and Johnson do, COMPARED to those other guys. Read it again. I think Van Damme and Seagal are washed-up jerks who were never that great to begin with.
I’d read that David Spade is a real nice guy. I don’t recall where or in what magazine I’d read this article, but it was basically about who’s naughty and who’s nice in Hollywierd, and they mentioned Spade as one of your nicer, down-to-Earth, non-asshole types. James Gandolfini was mentioned in there as well as one of “the good guys,”, even though it was said that he can be a bit abrupt if you begin talking to him as if he’s really Tony Soprano (gee, go figure).
I never heard of Tom Cruise being a dick to his fans. He may have opinons re other matters, but his public rep with fans is that he is usually polite and respectful.
I once tried to hang out with Suzanne Vega. I was at a post-gig party, after a fund-raiser concert for a friend of hers who had a serious health problem. I was just tagging along with an in-law relative who is a musician.
Her set was, well, something of a flop. She’d hurt her arm some time prior to the show, and couldn’t play guitar. Not having something to do with her hands seemed to leave her very ill-at-ease on stage. This demeanor carried over to the party, where she just hung out in a corner with this one guy, not really interacting with other guests. Her guy friend appeared to be a tad inebriated. At one point he wandered off, and I just figured, what the heck, I’ll talk to her. Hi, liked your show, always admired you, hope your friend is OK, how are you, how’s your daughter Ruby…Got mostly curt, monosyllabic responses. Utterly disinterested in anything I had to say. Feeling kind of awkward, I figured I’d go to the bar and grab a drink. I offered to get her one as well, to which she replied “My boyfriend is getting me a drink. So no thanks.”
Um, Suzy dear? I’m not hitting on you. M’kay? You’ve got nothing to worry about, Ms. Minor Key, 'cause you ain’t my type.
I’m thinking, man, you ain’t exactly A-list anymore, Ms. Vega, nor a waifish ingenue like the Luka days. Seems a bit presumptuous, no? Fine, remind me not to try to be friendly to a “star” again. Hope your boyfriend isn’t driving you home…
My brother was a TV commercial producer. He claims that Jennifer Garner was 100% lovely and sweet to everyone when his crew worked with her. I hope that Ben Affleck is as good of a guy as he seems.
