Any theories as to why major stardom eluded this super-talented actor?
Too abrasive a persona. He always played some sort of heel and his nicer roles were unmemorable (does anyone remember he was in On Golden Pond?).
He certainly was talented, and great in many things (his sitcom, Buffalo Bill is an underrated gem). But without leading man looks or a likable persona, he was at a disadvantage.
Well, half-a-dozen Emmy nominations is pretty respectable.
But ask yourself this: when would you cast him instead of Clint Eastwood? And that’s not fair, because Clint Eastwood was one hell of a movie star. So, okay: when would you ever cast him instead of, uh, Gene Hackman? Or maybe Tommy Lee Jones? Or how about James Garner? (I’m not asking about Paul Newman, or Warren Beatty; I’m asking about folks that Coleman sometimes seems to be in the same vein as.)
And the only answer I can readily come up with is, when you need a smirking and smarmy guy who’s maybe a little smug and then it turns out he isn’t as on top of things as he thinks he is. And that’s a great supporting role in a light comedy or whatever; but like the man said, it’s not exactly a one-way ticket to Protagonistville.
He’ll one day be in one of those little TCM tributes; “Dabney Coleman- what a character”.
Plus, his name is Dabney. How far can you go in life with a name like that?
A different kind of name didn’t hold back Billy Bob. And who would have thought a name like Walter Pidgeon would fly?
He always struck me as okay as an actor, but just one note. I thought he did a solid job as the jackass boss in 9 to 5, but other than that, I’ve never understood why so many people see him as a neglected comic genius.
He recently had a great role in Boardwalk Empire.
I see what you did there…
Full thread title should really read ‘…now that we need you?’.
Correct, but a shame if it was. Exactly the same could be said about Jeffrey Tambor, who has finally gotten his day in the sun.
Compared to British TV, American shows have always seemed to draw on a much smaller stock of older, cynical funny men [and women]. We need the Dabney Colemans and Jeffrey Tambors to offset a medium where young and vapid seems to be the key casting imperative.