A very good character actor who makes you believe they are the character? Or, a big name actor?
Who Would You Rather See In A Movie?
- Thread starter Modern Day Myth Prod. LLC
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I would rather have an actor who plays the character believably. There are some big name actors who do both but in general I prefer little-known actors who give a great performance than a big star.
@Sweetie
I think that you can find out about these kinds of actors just by watching films. I like Kang-sheng Lee's work with Tsai Ming-liang but he is not really a "big name actor."
@Sweetie
I think that you can find out about these kinds of actors just by watching films. I like Kang-sheng Lee's work with Tsai Ming-liang but he is not really a "big name actor."
I want an actor who makes me believe they are the character, whether they are a big name or someone who has never acted in their life.
It depends really because I don't mind seeing a big name actor just do a character for a movie even if they're only in it for a couple of minutes. But the funny thing for me is that I don't really think character actors vs big name actors I just think about whether I enjoyed their performance and if I think they're a good actor.
Burt Young as Paulie in Rocky is a good actor, he's someone you would call a character actor.
Burt Young as Paulie in Rocky is a good actor, he's someone you would call a character actor.
So in this scenario does the big name actor fail to make you believe in the character? It seems like that's a problem regardless of how well known they are. I'd always choose the actor who makes me believe in the character over the one who doesn't.
The reason name actors are in studio productions is to add a brand name to a film. I find name actors distracting to a film because I see too many people paying attention to the brand name and not enough attention to the story and the acting. In Judge Dredd Stallone distracted Judge Dredd fans by taking off his helmet so people could see him and not the character.
Sweetie, there are a lot of people who consider Patricia Arquette a horrible actress. But, she is a brand name that sells movie tickets.
I personally don't care who is in a film. I want whoever plays a role to make me believe they are the characters in the film.
An actor is only doing a good job, if they are making you believe that they are that character. It's irrelevant who they are; if Brad Pitt helps sell tickets, then good for the studio. So long as when I'm watching his performance I believe in his character, I couldn't care less.
In regards to Judge Dredd, I liked the characters in the new 2012 remake better because they were playing the part and not their usual selves. For the life of me I can't remember the actor's name but I know he plays the CIA agent in the first Red film, he may not be as famous as say Tom Cruise or whatever but he plays Dredd amazingly. That's all that really matters to me.
I agree with this, but I think that a really good performance can transcend that and make the performance believable even if it is a star actor. But in many films where performances are average or bad, having star performances makes the film even worse for me because you feel like you're watching the name actor instead of watching the character he/she is playing.
I agree about Dredd being a better adaptation of Judge Dredd. I liked the Stallone version for what it was and at the time I really enjoyed it. It's a bit cheesy now especially when you look at the tone and feel of the new version and compare the two movies.
Karl Urban is the actor's name. He is originally from New Zealand and one of his earlier roles was as Cupid in Hercules: The Legendary Journeys. His major breakthrough role was in Lord of the Rings as Eomer.
From that perspective, yes, I agree with you and a lot of other people in the thread. I also prefer a character that has been portrayed well as opposed to an actor that has a name. I prefer not to be pulled out of the suspension of disbelief.
From that, I presume this is just a "what I prefer when I've already decided to watch a movie" question, as opposed to what movie I'll end up deciding on what to watch.
I'm sure there are plenty of films with great actors that I'm never ever going to see. When there is over 5000 movies coming out every year, I simply don't have the time to watch them all. At that point, I work out which movie I'd prefer to watch. I tend to base that off perceived enjoyment of the films. I do consider who's in the film (if I know them), who's making the film (if I know them) and the genre.
Depends if I think the performance of the big name is good or not. I don't necessarily believe the roles of Christopher Walken, but I enjoy them. Although if the big name actor is not good, I'd much rather see an unknown deliver a fantastic performance.
That's true, there are some actors whose performances are just enjoyable even though they are not necessarily the most realistic. Now that I think of it, there are a lot of acting styles that aren't realistic that I still think are great. So I change my mind, the performance doesn't have to be believable but it has to be engaging.
Well, look at the casting and marketing behind, Superman The Movie, when the filmmakers deliberately cast an unknown starving play actor, Christopher Reeve, so viewers who pay attention to the story and let the character of Superman unfold without distracting their audience with a name actor for the role. I found it refreshing.
Clancy Brown is a great actor. He has been cast recently in the Warcraft movie. I thought he was the best villain out of all the Highlander movies and I liked his role in Cowboys and Aliens too.
So, you are falling into that trap of a name actor over the story and characters?
There are a lot of famous "character actors" that made a name for themselves through the years. Andy Devine (a distant relative of mine) comes to mind as he played in many early "oaters" (westerns) with a lot of big named actors such as John Wayne and Jimmy Stewart. Here is an IMDB list of famous characters and their bios.
http://www.imdb.com/list/cFRki6hqA2I/
As far as the original question I'd rather see a good character actor in a convincing performance than to see a big name star hack his way through lines that may or may not fit his character but were written to suit him.
http://www.imdb.com/list/cFRki6hqA2I/
As far as the original question I'd rather see a good character actor in a convincing performance than to see a big name star hack his way through lines that may or may not fit his character but were written to suit him.
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