# Successful transitions from wimp to badass **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 25, 2004, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/successful-transitions-from-wimp-to-badass/247012 "2004-05-25T17:10:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![CalH](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3ab097/32.png) [@CalH](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalH)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2004, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/successful-transitions-from-wimp-to-badass/247012/21 "2004-05-25T23:03:43Z")
> [@](#): > > **Exgineer** :It may not seem like a huge change in retrospect, but it was at the time (for me at least) and really abrupt. > > I can remember watching the trailer for Die Hard and saying, “Bruce Willis? What are they thinking?” Heh. This gives me a wry smile. I’m a kid of the 90’s whereas my brother’s a kid of the 80’s. He grew up on _Moonlighting_. I remember watching _Die Hard_ and (at the same time, I was watching re-runs of _Moonlighting_ - I had watched as a little kid but really couldn’t remember too well) saying “I can’t believe he did _Moonlighting_ before _this_!” and he replies, “What the hell are you talking about??? I couldn’t believe after _Moonlighting_ he went and did _Die Hard_! It was a totally crazy!” ---
**Author:** ![CalH](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3ab097/32.png) [@CalH](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalH)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2004, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/successful-transitions-from-wimp-to-badass/247012/22 "2004-05-25T23:06:19Z")
Bump Ed Norton. _Rounders_ whining pathetic wimp. I couldn’t believe the transition he made for _AHX_. ---
**Author:** ![Riqay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a8b319/32.png) [@Riqay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riqay)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2004, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/successful-transitions-from-wimp-to-badass/247012/23 "2004-05-25T23:33:40Z")
John Travolta made the move from Vinnie Barbarino (_Welcome Back, Kotter_), Tony Manero (_Saturday Night Fever_ and _Staying Alive_), and Danny Zuko (_Grease_) to Vincent Vega (_Pulp Fiction_), Castor Troy (_Face/Off_), and Terl (_Battlefield Earth_). Wait, can we ignore that last one? Please?? Also, I have to admit that Keanu Reeves came a long way from Ted Logan to Neo. ---
**Author:** ![CalH](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3ab097/32.png) [@CalH](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalH)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2004, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/successful-transitions-from-wimp-to-badass/247012/24 "2004-05-26T00:12:27Z")
> [@](#): > > Also, I have to admit that Keanu Reeves came a long way from Ted Logan to Neo. Yeah, from guy who can’t act in a rubbish film to guy who can’t act… in… a … well, you be the judge - I say that rock hasn’t shifted an inch. ---
**Author:** ![Ms\_Boods](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5e9695/32.png) [@Ms\_Boods](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ms_Boods)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2004, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/successful-transitions-from-wimp-to-badass/247012/25 "2004-05-26T01:41:05Z")
Would Clint Eastwood as Rowdy Yates to Clint Eastwood as the Man with No Name, Dirty Harry, Josey Wales, et al count? ---
**Author:** ![fighting\_ignorant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ac8455/32.png) [@fighting\_ignorant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fighting_ignorant)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2004, 12:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/successful-transitions-from-wimp-to-badass/247012/26 "2004-05-26T12:33:16Z")
How bout the kid who used to be on Head of the Class but now is on NYPD Blue? ---
**Author:** ![syncrolecyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f08c70/32.png) [@syncrolecyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/syncrolecyne)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2004, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/successful-transitions-from-wimp-to-badass/247012/27 "2004-05-26T16:35:51Z")
> [@fighting ignorant](#): > > How bout the kid who used to be on Head of the Class but now is on NYPD Blue? Do you mean Rick Schroder (“Silver Spoons”) or Mark-Paul Gosselaar (“Saved By The Bell”)? The first film that came to my mind was Dustin Hoffman’s role in _Straw Dogs_. ---
**Author:** ![Equipoise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/equipoise/32/151_2.png) [@Equipoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Equipoise)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2004, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/successful-transitions-from-wimp-to-badass/247012/28 "2004-05-26T18:02:27Z")
> [@RogueRacer](#): > > How about Brad Pitt? He’s considered to be a Hollywood pretty boy, but I thought he was very believable in both _Fight Club_ and _Troy_. Yes, and don’t forget **Kalifornia**. Pitt’s frighteningly believeable as a spree killer. Keanu Reeves is pretty damned scary as the wife-beater in **The Gift**. ---
**Author:** ![mbacko1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@mbacko1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbacko1)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2004, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/successful-transitions-from-wimp-to-badass/247012/29 "2004-05-26T18:18:32Z")
> [@CalH](#): > > Yeah, from guy who can’t act in a rubbish film to guy who can’t act… in… a … well, you be the judge - I say that rock hasn’t shifted an inch. Hey, give him some credit. Reeves reacts well, which is what makes the Matrix movies work for him. Its his acting that is a problem. 🙂 Mike ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2004, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/successful-transitions-from-wimp-to-badass/247012/30 "2004-05-26T18:21:39Z")
Tom Hanks going from _Bosom Buddies_ to _Saving Private Ryan._ Kevin Costner going from _The Big Chill_ to … well… anything with a pulse… ---
**Author:** ![Voorvie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/22d042/32.png) [@Voorvie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voorvie)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2004, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/successful-transitions-from-wimp-to-badass/247012/31 "2004-05-26T18:58:09Z")
My vote would have to go for Will Smith. From Fresh Prince to Men in Black to Ali…that’s quite a transition. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2004, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/successful-transitions-from-wimp-to-badass/247012/32 "2004-05-26T22:40:32Z")
Also making the transition within the space of a single film: Vincent D’Onofrio in [Full Metal Jacket](http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0093058/). ---
**Author:** ![kittenblue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ba8739/32.png) [@kittenblue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kittenblue)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2004, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/successful-transitions-from-wimp-to-badass/247012/33 "2004-05-26T22:51:26Z")
Woody Harrelson went from sweet Woody on Cheers to Natural Born Killers. ---
**Author:** ![Blake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a9a28c/32.png) [@Blake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blake)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2004, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/successful-transitions-from-wimp-to-badass/247012/34 "2004-05-26T23:22:36Z")
My vote goes to Eric Bana. From stand up and sketch comedy characters and Con Petropoulous in “The Castle” to underworld killer Chopper Read in on smooth transition. Tom Hanks is a close second. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Cheatem\_Undhow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/13edae/32.png) [@Dewey\_Cheatem\_Undhow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Cheatem_Undhow)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2004, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/successful-transitions-from-wimp-to-badass/247012/35 "2004-05-27T01:01:30Z")
No mentions of George Bush Sr. yet? (For our younger Dopers: during the 1988 presidential campaign, the media label for Bush was that he was a wimp – one major newsweekly even famously ran a cover story entitled “The Wimp Factor.” Fast forward a few years, and Saddam Hussein invades Kuwait, the US puts together Desert Storm, and those same newsweeklies start writing about how Bush has shed his wimp image. I dunno if Bush Sr. actually is or is not a wimp, but that’s the way the media ran FWIW.) ---
**Author:** ![jweb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/71c47a/32.png) [@jweb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jweb)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2004, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/successful-transitions-from-wimp-to-badass/247012/36 "2004-05-27T01:04:03Z")
> [@Riqay](#): > > Also, I have to admit that Keanu Reeves came a long way from Ted Logan to Neo. The Matrix (the original) works because Keanu Reeves only acting talent is a ‘what the f-ck is going on here’ character (see also: Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure). In Reloaded and Revolutions, he’s supposed to know (essentially) what’s going on, which he does horribly. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/successful-transitions-from-wimp-to-badass/247012.md?page=1)