Long ago, D-Rod suggested I blog about the typecasting of Ben Affleck. The main problem with this is that Ben directed the awesome movie Gone Baby Gone. This officially made me a "Ben Affleck fan," and as such I cannot publicly criticize any of his work. But the suggestion has made me think about typecasting. It's real. It's worth a tangent.
The most typecast actors
1. Matthew McConaughey
Without a doubt, to me, the actor most obviously pigeonholed into the same role is Matthew McConaughey.
Now, there are plenty of Matthew's movies I haven't seen (in addition to being a typecast actor, I think he's a bad actor). But in most of the ones I have seen, he's the same dude. For example:
How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days
Two for the Money
Failure to Launch
Ghost of Girlfriends Past
(I've never seen Fool's Gold, but obviously)
In each one of these movies, he plays some immature, womanizing, success-or-adventure-obsessed character who over the course of the movie grows a conscience and/or an appreciation for monogamy. Seriously, same character every time.
2. Jennifer Aniston
3. Michael Cera
4. Jason Statham
This guy plays awesome roles in awesome movies. But Handsome Rob, the Transporter, and all his other roles (though he's less suave and invincible in Snatch) are basically just one and the same awesome b.a. guy with a cool accent.
5. Seth Rogen
It's somewhat embarrassing to say, but I like Seth Rogen movies. I like his character in all of them. It reminds me of a stoned, somewhat idiotic version of myself.
Concluding remarks
This list isn't necessarily a knock on these people as actors. If I were an actor and people kept offering me jobs that just happened to all be pretty much the same the role, I'd keep taking them. Especially if it was the role of a brilliant but surprisingly approachable and charming dude who ends up saving the world and getting the girl.
But it is more impressive when an actor can take on a variety of vastly different roles. Some people who come to mind for this distinction -- Brad Pitt, Russell Crowe, Charlize Theron, Dustin Hoffman, and Matt Damon.
Other who could have made the typecast list -- Zooey Deschanel. That's all I got.
Add to the list(s)
Who else do you think are the most predictable or versatile actors?
Was I wrong about anyone above?
Jon
Kate Hudson (but I still like her)
ReplyDeletePerhaps I need to update my chick flick watching, but I feel like every one that I have ever seen in my life has Hugh Grant as the lead male character.
ReplyDeleteAlso, Arnold always played the same, macho character.
On the other hand, I think Denzel Washington is definitely one of the most versatile actors. Although he has had some overlapping roles, he can effectively play the coach in Remember the Titans to crime boss in American Gangster to thug/police officer in Training Day (which I think I saw with you, Zach, and Seidler).
I agree with your list, with the possible exception of Matthew McConaughey. He has played some serious roles with success (i.e. A Time to Kill, The Lincoln Lawyer).
ReplyDeleteAlso, are we intentionally not mentioning the most versatile actor of this era? Johnny Depp!
@Wesley: definitely have to agree with Hugh Grant. He plays the exact same character in the exact same genre every time. And, off the top of my head, all of the movies are terrible!
I agree with Kmech's vote on Kate Hudson. I think Reese Witherspoon goes in the same category. They both play the same ridiculously adorable, well-clad character in every single movie--and I will happily continue watching.
ReplyDeleteAlso--I'd like to protest the designation "failure" by my name under your interactive pool of topics. LOL. With the link to perhaps the biggest blog comment fail of all time. Hilarious.
Any Anne Hathaway fans on the versatility vote? Cutesy (Devil Wears Prada), raw (Rachel Getting Married), star-struck (the Oscars)...
I was actually in a conversation tonight about Zooey Deschanel...they always write in an excuse for her to sing. Love her...but definitely always plays the same quirky character...and sings.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Wes that Denzel is really versatile, but recently he's pretty much always a cop/some armed agent. I'm a fan, but it is getting a little predictable.
ReplyDeleteI feel that Nicholas Cage is typecast into the same action, adventure star. He's probably my least favorite actor so I guess that plays into my annoyance of the same role over and over again. Years ago I did like the movie The family man, which is a different role. But other than that... just the same character.
And I agree that Johnny Depp is the most versatile actor of this age!
Thanks for the opinions, everyone. My thoughts about your thoughts:
ReplyDeleteYes, Denzel is awesome, but for sure has a niche in terms of characters he plays. The persona is b.a. in a general enough way that it can be a good guy (Dejavu) or bad guy (American Gangster), but still sort of the same role.
I defend Matthew McConaughey's presence on the list. His "serious roles" are infrequent and boring.
Everything and everyone else mentioned, I agree with. No comments needed.
Don't forget McConaughey in We Are Marshall; quite good and a bit different from his traditional roles. But yes, still mostly typecast.
ReplyDeleteDepp is possibly the most versatile...except for Paul Giamatti. Seriously - John Adams, Santa in Fred Claus, Hertz in Shoot 'Em Up...not to mention Sideways, Saving Private Ryan (yes, he was in that), Cinderella Man, The Illusionist.
Edward Norton deserves some mention here too: Fight Club, American History X, Italian Job, Keeping the Faith, Frida, The Painted Veil, Kingdom of Heaven and what I believe is his best performance ever - Primal Fear.
Same with Jeff Daniels: Dumb and Dumber, Gettysburg/Gods and Generals, Arachnophobia, the Squid and the Whale, and 101 Dalmatians.
Cage, Hudson, Denzel, Anniston, that blond guy in, heck the entire case of, those car-driving movies, and anything that involves Jack Black, Will Ferrell, Adam Sandler, the young fat guy with the curly hair...they're pretty much always the same character.