Range of Character

Re: Range of Characters

Seven, American Beauty, The Usual Suspects, and L.A. Confidential.  And I saw the latter two so long ago I cannot even remember them much at all.  I guess I've just seen enough bits of other movie's he's in and trailers, and maybe even quotes and live appearances that he just always seemed to have that smugness to him.  I remember the trailer for that Bobby Darin movie and he seemed like the biggest smartass around.

I think I probably just watch Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas too often that Johnny Depp has become Hunter S. Thompson to me.

I can't say I've seen enough Cary Grant movies to make a fair assessment either.  Maybe I was just repeating something I heard someone else say about him.

 Yeah I didn't say anything about DeNiro, although I actually don't think he has a huge range either.  He always hold a lot of himself in every role.  But I guess I see his different roles not as different people, but more as what if Robert DeNiro had grown up in the situation of this character, how would he act.

Re: Range of Characters

DeNiro has played lots of mob types, but I see his range as more subtle.  I guess subtle is not what we're going for here.

Actually, some other people that have come to mind that as I consider this:  Ed Harris (he's been his own brand of chameleon with all of the character parts he's played in addition to starring turns like in Pollock) and Jodie Foster (not so much recently but definitely in the 80s and 90s).

Re: Range of Characters

I agree that Edward Norton does show a wide range of characters from his first role in Primal Fear, to Fight Club, Death to Smoochy, The illusionist and even the painted veil.

 Note worthy actor, although not quite "New", is Heath Ledger. Sure he started out with movies like A Knights Tale, but he has done Lords of Dogtown, Brothers Grimm and Brokeback mountain. The accents and characters he developed for the movies were complex and completly original and seperate from each previous role.  In one year he appaered as a womanizer with a british accent in Casonova and a homosexual cowboy with a western one in BrokeBack. I feel that he is more than just a pretty face for romantic comedies like Ten Things I hate about you and A knights Tale and is on par with Depp and Norton.

Re: Range of Characters

Heath Ledger. Sure he started out with movies like A Knights Tale, but he has done Lords of Dogtown, Brothers Grimm and Brokeback mountain

I can agree 100% on this. Although he does not have the most admirable library of films under his belt, to see him go from the role in a Knights Tale ( which as a movie suprised me ) to playing skip in Lords, to me was amazing.

I saw LOD with out knowing anything about the film beside the fact it was the story of the Z-boys, which I was familiar with.

For the first half of the movie I could not be convinced that it was Heath Ledger playing Skip.

If he dosen't become addicted to crack, he could turn out to be a powerful actor.

Havn't seen Brokeback yet

Re: Range of Characters

I don't know if I agree the Andy... To me he's played the bad boy with the bedroom eyes... I'm not convinced that he's got it in him to be that flexible. He was good in Lords, but he played himself basically...

You know who also doesn't have a great range of character? Renée Zellweger.... What a trainwreck of type-casting.

Re: Range of Characters

Yeah I was really pleasently surprised Heath him in The Brother's Grimm.  I think he has shown talent and has real potential to reach the highest tier of character acting.

Re: Range of Characters

I rather like Francis Mcdormand; whether as a 'character actor' or as the 'lead'

Re: Range of Characters

I loved her in Almost Famous what a terrific Mother she was. I love the family whistle...

 Another young actor with great promise, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, in Brick. He started out as the whiney teenaged boy in Third Rock from the Sun, but shows great promise and range as the lead actor in highschool-based Neo-Noir Brick (2005).

I'm pretty certain he has it in him to keep playing with his roles, push the proverbial envelope.

Re: Range of Characters

Concerning Joseph Gordon-Levitt, you should watch Mysterious Skin.  My wife and best friend both hated it because it's borderline gay porn, but the message is powerful, and Gordon-Levitt shows even more range.

1 - Teenage boy, typecast, stereotypical in 3rd Rock and in 10 Things I Hate About You.

2 - Teenage boy, Sam Spade clone, fast-talking, quick-moving, smart detective type in Brick.

3 - Emotionally and physically scarred victim of homosexual pedophelia in Mysterious Skin.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt, if he can continue to survive the "young actor" stigma, will be a hell of an asset to the future of filmmaking.

Re: Range of Characters