# Things famous actors do today that they never did before **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 2, 2020, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-famous-actors-do-today-that-they-never-did-before/854935 "2020-06-02T17:09:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**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:** [June 3, 2020, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-famous-actors-do-today-that-they-never-did-before/854935/21 "2020-06-03T00:04:52Z")
> [@salinqmind](#): > > (I think of Jim Carey and Owen Wilson in ‘Dumb and Dumber’ - appearing on Saturday Night Live in a skit or doing a candy bar commercial in Japan are steps up from their thought-provoking bodies of work.) Don’t you mean Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels? ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2020, 5:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-famous-actors-do-today-that-they-never-did-before/854935/22 "2020-06-03T05:16:13Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > Don’t you mean Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels? I get them mixed up, you are correct. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2020, 10:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-famous-actors-do-today-that-they-never-did-before/854935/23 "2020-06-03T10:16:38Z")
> [@salinqmind](#): > > People were lining up to be on the Muppet Show back in the day. And _The Twilight Zone._ ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2020, 10:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-famous-actors-do-today-that-they-never-did-before/854935/24 "2020-06-03T10:38:34Z")
Get ripped. Up until about 20 years ago, leading actors were usually in good physical shape, but the only ones who really cared about muscle definition were your bodybuilders like Arnie or Sly, or martial artists like Bruce Lee or Van Damme. Look at 80’s-era stars like Harrison Ford, Mel Gibson or Bruce Willis: their bodies looked good, definitely, but normal human good. Now, your average male star is expected to undergo six months of work by a personal trainer and have body fat of no more than 2% for just one shirtless scene in a major Hollywood picture. The turning point, I think, was [Brad Pitt in Fight Club](https://static.highsnobiety.com/thumbor/4L0XeriCAsyHMFZnODqbMAVor5E=/fit-in/1000x600/smart/static.highsnobiety.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/31124909/brad-pitt-workout-routine-Feature.jpg). When Hollywood realized they could get non-athlete to look like Greek statues, there was no going back. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2020, 10:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-famous-actors-do-today-that-they-never-did-before/854935/25 "2020-06-03T10:48:28Z")
Just because this needs more love, here’s a UK television commercial from 2015 starring Sylvester Stallone. [He’s selling bread](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z2N_TVdrhTI). ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2020, 11:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-famous-actors-do-today-that-they-never-did-before/854935/26 "2020-06-03T11:14:46Z")
I remember being stunned when Robert Patrick parodied his _Terminator 2_ character on _Wayne’s World_. I also liked when Edgar Wright multi-level referenced that aforementioned scene when _Spaced_ had Olivia Williams parody her character from _The Sixth Sense_. ---
**Author:** ![MrAtoz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@MrAtoz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrAtoz)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2020, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-famous-actors-do-today-that-they-never-did-before/854935/27 "2020-06-03T12:51:55Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > Since you are a fanboy you know that I was quoting directly from the skit That’s what makes me oblivious! 🙂 Incidentally, people often refer to that sketch as “insulting” Trek fans. But I was in college when that episode of SNL first aired, and was watching it along with a bunch of my friends, devoted Trekkies every last one of us. We all thought the sketch was hilarious. ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2020, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-famous-actors-do-today-that-they-never-did-before/854935/28 "2020-06-03T12:58:22Z")
Is [this advert](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=02UES6ghcGs)playing in the US? ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2020, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-famous-actors-do-today-that-they-never-did-before/854935/29 "2020-06-03T13:18:13Z")
It was very common in the early days of TV, where ads were even integrated into the story. Here’s [Humphrey Bogart](https://www.dailymotion.com/video/xn14gd) selling Lucky Strike Cigarettes on _The Jack Benny Show_ And here’s him doing an ad for [Chesterfield cigarettes](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LLW6Hpi2EPo) from radio days. Evidently Bogart was loyal to whatever brand was paying him. [John Wayne](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MbHMZ6WSzlc) did ads for Camels when he was one of the biggest movie stars in Hollywood. ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2020, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-famous-actors-do-today-that-they-never-did-before/854935/30 "2020-06-03T15:46:31Z")
Jay Silverheels’ 1970 Chevy Blazer commercial. Jay Silverheels and Clayton Moore both flacking for Jeno’s Pizza Rolls. And, of course, Jay’s famous appearance on Johnny Carson. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/RwwUuxV9It4/hqdefault.jpg "Kemosabe: Tonto (Jay Silverheels) - Tonight Show 1969") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RwwUuxV9It4) ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2020, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-famous-actors-do-today-that-they-never-did-before/854935/31 "2020-06-03T16:32:48Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > It was very common in the early days of TV, where ads were even integrated into the story. > > Here’s [Humphrey Bogart](https://www.dailymotion.com/video/xn14gd) selling Lucky Strike Cigarettes on _The Jack Benny Show_ > > And here’s him doing an ad for [Chesterfield cigarettes](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LLW6Hpi2EPo) from radio days. Evidently Bogart was loyal to whatever brand was paying him. > > [John Wayne](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MbHMZ6WSzlc) did ads for Camels when he was one of the biggest movie stars in Hollywood. Heck, even The Flintstones [sold](https://youtu.be/5ZRxBtZLeUY) cigarettes. ---
**Author:** ![CaptMurdock](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/captmurdock/32/11736_2.png) [@CaptMurdock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CaptMurdock)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2020, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-famous-actors-do-today-that-they-never-did-before/854935/32 "2020-06-03T16:51:49Z")
This thread reminds me of Sir John Gielgud’s famous answer as to why he agreed to appear in _Caligula_: “For the work, dear boy. For the _work._” Mind you, a cynical person (and I don’t necessarily exclude myself from that category) might translate this as “I needed the bread, yo.” But hey, nothing says that even classically-trained British actors don’t ever look at a script and say, “It’s not Shakespeare, but it could be a laugh. Sign me up.” ---
**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:** [June 3, 2020, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-famous-actors-do-today-that-they-never-did-before/854935/33 "2020-06-03T17:49:30Z")
Seems to me it was usually the Americans who considered themselves “Actors.” The Brits tended to approach it like any paid professional, be it plumber, electrician, whatever. Except [Alan Swann](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eTbLkYmWZJo), of course. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![F.U.Shakespeare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aca169/32.png) [@F.U.Shakespeare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/F.U.Shakespeare)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2020, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-famous-actors-do-today-that-they-never-did-before/854935/34 "2020-06-03T20:26:39Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > Get ripped. > > Up until about 20 years ago, leading actors were usually in good physical shape, but the only ones who really cared about muscle definition were your bodybuilders like Arnie or Sly, or martial artists like Bruce Lee or Van Damme. Look at 80’s-era stars like Harrison Ford, Mel Gibson or Bruce Willis: their bodies looked good, definitely, but normal human good. Now, your average male star is expected to undergo six months of work by a personal trainer and have body fat of no more than 2% for just one shirtless scene in a major Hollywood picture. > > The turning point, I think, was [Brad Pitt in Fight Club](https://static.highsnobiety.com/thumbor/4L0XeriCAsyHMFZnODqbMAVor5E=/fit-in/1000x600/smart/static.highsnobiety.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/31124909/brad-pitt-workout-routine-Feature.jpg). When Hollywood realized they could get non-athlete to look like Greek statues\*\*, there was no going back. Sly himself was no Greek\* statue when they began making _Rocky_ in 1975. In a ‘making of’ documentary on the 25th anniversary DVD, they showed test footage of Sly sparring. Someone (John Avildsen?) remarked on the jelly roll around his waist, and remembered that they’d had to prod him to get in sufficient shape to credibly portray a boxer. And even after he did, his condition in the original was way less cut than he was in _III_ and _IV_. \*Wouldn’t he have been a Roman one? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2020, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-famous-actors-do-today-that-they-never-did-before/854935/35 "2020-06-03T21:08:59Z")
For that matter, perhaps he wouldn’t even be considered a Roman statue. Stallone is only half Italian in ancestry. He father was born in Italy. His mother was partly of French (or perhaps more precisely of Breton, which is might be considered Celtic) ancestry and partly of Ukrainian Jewish ancestry. His background was not much like that of the character of Rocky. His family was somewhat more well-off than Rocky’s. Stallone went to American College of Switzerland for the first part of his college career, later transferring to the University of Miami. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2020, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-famous-actors-do-today-that-they-never-did-before/854935/36 "2020-06-03T21:42:25Z")
Duplicate ---
**Author:** ![mack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mack)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2020, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-famous-actors-do-today-that-they-never-did-before/854935/37 "2020-06-04T21:47:47Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > Get ripped. > > Up until about 20 years ago, leading actors were usually in good physical shape, but the only ones who really cared about muscle definition were your bodybuilders like Arnie or Sly, or martial artists like Bruce Lee or Van Damme. Look at 80’s-era stars like Harrison Ford, Mel Gibson or Bruce Willis: their bodies looked good, definitely, but normal human good. Now, your average male star is expected to undergo six months of work by a personal trainer and have body fat of no more than 2% for just one shirtless scene in a major Hollywood picture. > > The turning point, I think, was [Brad Pitt in Fight Club](https://static.highsnobiety.com/thumbor/4L0XeriCAsyHMFZnODqbMAVor5E=/fit-in/1000x600/smart/static.highsnobiety.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/31124909/brad-pitt-workout-routine-Feature.jpg). When Hollywood realized they could get non-athlete to look like Greek statues, there was no going back. I was going to mention this as well and add how Robert De Niro went the other way and famously gained 60-70 lbs to transform himself from peak Jake LaMotta to bloated Jake LaMotta for **Raging Bull** (1980). ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2024, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-famous-actors-do-today-that-they-never-did-before/854935/38 "2024-07-24T17:46:26Z")
A couple of recent examples of unexpected stars taking the commercial shilling over here: Gillian Anderson is [advertising beds](https://youtu.be/2tiWWnODQ44?feature=shared) And the BBC/ITV archive UKTVPlay has rebranded so that its various channels all are U&[whatever], so what song did they choose to emphasise “U” and which singer to be green-screened into clips from their shows? > **[UKTV | Cher, stars in new advert from UKTV](https://corporate.uktv.co.uk/newsroom/global-superstar-cher-stars-in-new-advert-from-uktv-celebrating-todays-introduction-of-u-its-free-streaming-service)** > > Global superstar, Cher, stars in new advert from UKTV celebrating today's introduction of U, its free streaming service ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2024, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-famous-actors-do-today-that-they-never-did-before/854935/39 "2024-07-24T20:28:57Z")
> [@Andy\_L](#): > > And in 1986 Shatner insulted Trek fans on SNL while Star Trek IV was still in theaters. Remember- that was a comedy sketch, and not to be taken seriously. Nor did Nixon really want people to “sock it to me”. > [@Wendell\_Wagner](#): > > The way I’d put it is that one percent make their living through acting, while fifteen make some significant percentage of their living through acting: > > [Only 2% of actors make a living. How do you become one of them? | Movies | The Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/film/shortcuts/2019/jun/05/only-2-per-cent-of-actors-make-a-living-how-do-you-become-one-of-them) I knew some actors in Hollywood- they pretty much all made their living thru acting and adjacent roles- like commercials, parties, , etc. But none were wealthy, living in one room or studio apartments, etc. One guy made a Bud beer ad, and the residual checks kept him in groceries. > [@Alessan](#): > > Get ripped. Or be “pretty boy” handsome. Look at Bogart, ‎Broderick Crawford (star of Highway patrol, etc), or be older- look at the 50 year old Jack Lord in Hawaii Five-0 replaced by the 30 something pretty boy Alex O’Loughlin when they redid the show. Many older TV shows had mature and “interesting looking” stars, all replaced by pretty boys. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2024, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-famous-actors-do-today-that-they-never-did-before/854935/40 "2024-07-24T22:52:50Z")
Taking any old role to have enough SAG hours or salary to get health insurance is why Ian Ziering agreed to play Fin in the first “Sharknado” movie. His wife was pregnant at the time, and the rest is bad-movie history. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-famous-actors-do-today-that-they-never-did-before/854935.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-famous-actors-do-today-that-they-never-did-before/854935.md?page=3)