Just finished snoozing through the remake of The Thomas Crown Affair. My mind began replaying scenes from movies with him...and seeing one and only one "act."

Remington Steele -- a con man pretending to be rich
Mrs. Doubtfire -- a shallow rich man
TC Affair -- a rich criminal
TND, TWINE, Goldeneye, etc. -- a cynical assassin, high on himself
Taffin -- a resourceful criminal protector
Fast Charlie -- a resourceful criminal hitman
The November Man -- a CIA assassin who later exacts vengeance on a war criminal

The list goes on, of course. But, even Mamma Mia! had some of the same facial expressions, mannerisms, romancing, etc.

I suppose we all are ourselves, and likely we were "programmed" so to be at an early age. Only a few great actors exist, who can artfully convey completely different people across a pantheon of roles.

Who would you list as "the same actor" regardless of movie?

Who would you highlight as "transformative actor" in several movies?

This message has been edited. Last edited by: 4MUL8R,

Yes he is. I remember going to the theater when I was a young lad, to see his 007 picture. I remember him driving a tank, adjusting his tie, and we got up and walked out. Not a fan.

I really enjoy Thomas Crown Affair, I think it's a great movie and a fitting role for him.

Goldeneye was a great Bond flick.

With that said, yeah, he may be a one trick pony.

Rene Russo is a smoke show in Thomas Crown Affair...

quote:

Who would you list as "the same actor" regardless of movie?

Kevin Costner.
He always seems to be KC playing as KC playing a character.

And don't be blaspheming the newer Thomas Crown Affair!
I didn't have high hopes going in and then I really liked it.

Robert Dinero is the quintessential example of an actor playing himself in all roles. The only real exception to that that I can think of is “Awakenings.” He was excellent in that movie.

Ryan Reynolds.

Sam Elliot.

I don't think he's the character you refer to in Dante's Peak but I agree otherwise.

Brosnan in Mobland was epic!

The biggest One trick pony might be Jason Statham. Every movie he's just playing the same character.

I generally like all the action movies. But I feel like everything after The Transporter was just Transporter 2, 3, 4, .....11, 12.. and so on.

Regarding The Thomas Crown Affair, I think his remake was far better than the original...as much as I like Steve McQueen.

Would you rather be a great actor or a movie star? B/c very seldom are the best actors w/ wide range & versatility also considered bankable. Daniel Day-Lewis is the preeminent actor's actor and practically peerless, yet he commands 1/4-1/3rd salary that Dwayne Johnson does for a movie.

Meryl Streep is one of the very few exceptions of an actor who is an A-list draw and also versatile.

Point is, once a actor has success in portraying a type of character, then that's what producers demand. That's what they'll pay for; therefore, it becomes very difficult to break free from that type.

Christopher Reeve was a classically trained actor and a product of the theatre programs at Cornell and Juilliard. He was the acting equivalent of a Rhode Scholar, but of course, everyone remembers him as Superman and not much else.

At Juilliard, one of his teachers told him, "Mr. Reeve. It is terribly important that you become a serious classical actor. Unless, of course, they offer you a shitload of money to do something else."

Brosnan seems to be stretching out more as he ages. I thought he was quite good in "The last rifleman" and "The Thursdays murder club".

His work in Mobland is nothing like anything else he's done, IMO. Good series. Check it out.

Totally agree with the comments on MobLand. That's an entirely different role for him as a violent Irish mob boss and he plays the role very convincingly.

quote:

Originally posted by myrottiety:
The biggest One trick pony might be Jason Statham.

Yes indeed!

Charlton Heston always seemed the same guy in all his movies. Laurence Olivier on the other hand was often difficult to recognize in some of his roles.

I agree with Jason Statham, but I think he knows his role as an actor unlike some others. He knows thats the only type of roles hell get and hes probably happy with it.

quote:

Originally posted by myrottiety:
The biggest One trick pony might be Jason Statham. Every movie he's just playing the same character.

I generally like all the action movies. But I feel like everything after The Transporter was just Transporter 2, 3, 4, .....11, 12.. and so on.

All the action guys fall into this, Schwarzenegger, Stallone, Keanu Reeves, Jeremy Renner, Bruce Willis, Dwayne Johnson, Vin Diesel being the worst of the lot absolutely zero charm or emotional range. Even females stars like Michelle Yeoh and Zoe Soldana are guilty of being one dimensional. Daniel Craig, whose Bond-roles I really enjoy, after watching Knives Out, Glass Onion, Layer Cake and The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo...he just cames across as wooden and stiff.

quote:

Originally posted by 4MUL8R:
Who would you list as "the same actor" regardless of movie?

Humphrey Bogart, Cary Grant, Clark Gable, Spencer Tracy, Kirk Douglas, Steve McQueen, Charles Bronson, Bruce Lee, John Wayne, Harrison Ford, Clint Eastwood, Tom Cruise, Kevin Costner, Matt Damon, Bruce Willis, Sylvester Stallone, Keanu Reeves, etc. Pretty much most of the action stars.

quote:

Who would you highlight as "transformative actor" in several movies?

Actors who can "disappear" into a role/character- Gary Oldman, Daniel Day Lewis, Ben Kingsley, Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Christian Bale, Ralph Fiennes. And actors who were at times capable of doing this earlier in their careers, but eventually morphed into the first group- Marlon Brando, Robert DeNiro, Al Pacino, Jack Nicholson, Johnny Depp, Brad Pitt,