# Roles in War Films **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [November 5, 2000, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roles-in-war-films/39827 "2000-11-05T19:00:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![vandal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/858c86/32.png) [@vandal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vandal)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2000, 5:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roles-in-war-films/39827/21 "2000-11-07T05:15:40Z")
Nope, no combat scenes in _A Walk in the Clouds_. But, just out of curiosity, what is this war movie you speak of that Norton was in? ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2000, 5:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roles-in-war-films/39827/22 "2000-11-07T05:52:30Z")
No, no, you misunderstood me. I was trying to think of big movie stars who **hadn’t** done combat roles. It seems that most of the big guys try their hands at this genre sooner or later, and I was trying to figure out which ones hadn’t yet. ---
**Author:** ![Snooooopy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Snooooopy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snooooopy)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2000, 10:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roles-in-war-films/39827/23 "2000-11-07T10:31:27Z")
Matthew Broderick? John Lithgow? ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2000, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roles-in-war-films/39827/24 "2000-11-07T15:41:05Z")
Matthew Broderick portrayed Colonel Robert Shaw in **Glory**. Nice job too. I didn’t think he could pull off noble heroism, but he died valiantly, while leading his black regiment in an attack on Fort Something-or-other. The closest I could find for John Lithgow is **Distant Thunder** where he plays a Viet Nam vet, who leaves his family to live as a survivalist in the forest, only to be reunited with them in the end. Or something like that. I know I’ve seen at least parts of this movie, but I can’t remember if there are any combat scenes. ---
**Author:** ![inoci](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/50afbb/32.png) [@inoci](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/inoci)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2000, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roles-in-war-films/39827/25 "2000-11-07T16:32:37Z")
I agree, Broderick did a great job in Glory. As for Keanu, would the Matrix count? After all, its was a wierd kind of war movie, kinda. Do sci-fi movies in general count? And does it have to be a full blown military enagement? There are a lot of movies that deal with spec-ops and skirmishes, and while they don’t have huge battles, some do get into the grit of combat pretty well. And how about things like Braveheart and Gladiator? Both had very good battle scenes, but they were’nt what hte movie dealt with as a whole. ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2000, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roles-in-war-films/39827/26 "2000-11-07T16:43:39Z")
I really didn’t anticipate rules when posted the thread, but I guess I’ve painted myself into a corner. I was thinking of realistic battle scenes, preferably of a historical nature, so **Braveheart** and **Gladiator** would count. Sci-fi? I don’t know. **Starship Troopers** for example, portrayed a fictional war, with battles, missions, objectives, organized troops, etc. - everything you might expect from a war film, but I can’t help but think that such a movie wouldn’t exactly challenge an actor to portray emotions as much as some sort of suspension of disbelief in battling giant insects. I wouldn’t count **The Matrix** as a containing combat scenes, that’s more of an action dealie. Like **Lethal Weapon** , **True Lies** , **Die Hard** , etc. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2000, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roles-in-war-films/39827/27 "2000-11-07T18:26:04Z")
How about actors not normally associated with war movies? Matthew Broderick has been mentioned. Bob Newhart appeared in **Hell is for Heroes** as a desk-jockey whose jeep breaks down and ends up with a company waiting for reinforcements. ---
**Author:** ![vandal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/858c86/32.png) [@vandal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vandal)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2000, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roles-in-war-films/39827/28 "2000-11-07T19:49:32Z")
Oh, now I get it. I thought you meant prominent actors who have made bad war films – “_are there any huge, stupendous movie stars who haven’t made a good war flick?_” – meaning that they could’ve made a bad one (which is why I listed all those bad ones earlier). Anyway, how about Michael Douglas? Or Val Kilmer? (Or does _Top Gun_ count?) How about Arnold? Considering all the action movies he’s done, none of them have been really classified as war films. The closest would be maybe Commando or Predator. But, those two didn’t involve fighting countries (going by the classic definition of war), but rather, man against man. So, would that count? ---
**Author:** ![mrblue92](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@mrblue92](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mrblue92)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2000, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roles-in-war-films/39827/29 "2000-11-07T21:21:54Z")
If we were to use IMDB’s genre classification, I think you’d be hard pressed to find more than a few major dramatic actors who haven’t… Michael Douglas - [Shining Through](http://us.imdb.com/Title?0105391) Actors who worked mostly comedies might be better targets: Jim Carrey, Dana Carvey, Adam Sandler, etc. ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2000, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roles-in-war-films/39827/30 "2000-11-07T21:50:19Z")
Looks like mrblue took Michael Douglas off the list. I don’t know about **Top Gun**. I was hoping it wouldn’t come up. Let’s say that’s a border line one. Arnold - definietly. Never did a true combat scene. But I’d almost be willing to cut him some slack for **Conan the Barbarian**. While there’s nothing historical about it, it still has that feel of ancient warfare type tactics. But in the end he’s still on the outs. And after an exhuastive bout of research (5 minutes) all three mentioned comedians are movie-combat-pussies too. The list so far: Edward Norton Bruce Willis Jack Nicholson Kevin Spacey Keanu Reeves John Lithgow Arnold Schwarzenegger Val Kilmer Jim Carrey Dana Carvey Adam Sandler ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2000, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roles-in-war-films/39827/31 "2000-11-07T22:11:08Z")
Now that this littl eproject has begun, I think the wise move would be to write a screenplay for our heros to appear in. Should we go Viet Nam, WWII, Civil War, Revolutionary War, Polyponesian Wars? Hmmm, we could get rich off of this if we put our minds to it. This is what I got so far… Let’s assume WWII The old guys, Nicholson, Lithgow, and maybe Spacey, will be officers caught up in the thick of it. Maybe shot down in transit. Bruce Willis will be the tough-as-nails Captain, Norton his educated-learn-to-kill-or-die Lieutenant, Arnold the don’t-fuck-with-me Sergeant. That’s as far as I got so far, except we’ll make Sandler a fraidy-cat Private so we can have him blown up in the first ten minutes of the movie. ---
**Author:** ![Bottle\_of\_Smoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Bottle\_of\_Smoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bottle_of_Smoke)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2000, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roles-in-war-films/39827/32 "2000-11-07T22:47:50Z")
Jack – If I understand the gist of the OP: > [@](#): > > are there any **huge, stupendous movie stars** who haven’t made a good war flick? I just gotta wonder what Dana Carvey and John Lithgow are doing on the list… ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2000, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roles-in-war-films/39827/33 "2000-11-07T23:33:58Z")
I wondered that myself, but, what the hell. The more the merrier. ---
**Author:** ![mrblue92](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@mrblue92](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mrblue92)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2000, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roles-in-war-films/39827/34 "2000-11-08T00:00:16Z")
Oops… I’ll admit I forgot the “huge, stupendous” part. ---
**Author:** ![Snooooopy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Snooooopy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snooooopy)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2000, 10:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roles-in-war-films/39827/35 "2000-11-08T10:35:51Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Jack Batty \* > \*\*Now that this littl eproject has begun, I think the wise move would be to write a screenplay for our heros to appear in. > Should we go Viet Nam, WWII, Civil War, Revolutionary War, Polyponesian Wars? Hmmm, we could get rich off of this if we put our minds to it. > > This is what I got so far… > Let’s assume WWII > > The old guys, Nicholson, Lithgow, and maybe Spacey, will be officers caught up in the thick of it. Maybe shot down in transit. Bruce Willis will be the tough-as-nails Captain, Norton his educated-learn-to-kill-or-die Lieutenant, Arnold the don’t-fuck-with-me Sergeant. > > That’s as far as I got so far, except we’ll make Sandler a fraidy-cat Private so we can have him blown up in the first ten minutes of the movie. \*\* I think Spacey should turn out to be a traitor. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roles-in-war-films/39827.md?page=1)