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Post by pupdurcs on Apr 7, 2024 10:22:58 GMT
?????
It's certainly up for debate ( hence the question marks), but I feel like he should be in the conversation for that more than he is, but maybe because he does more television than film, he's not really placed as highly on that pedestal ( at least on places like this that put film on a higher pedestal). He's done some great character roles on film, but TV has really exploited his gifts to the fullest. I've seen him in a lot of TV stuff now, from Breaking Bad/ Better Call Saul to The Boys, Homicide: Life On The Street to The Mandalorian to Godfather Of Harlem. He's different in every role. A transformative actor. I think as far as the great American screen character actors of the last 30 years or so, just on pure ability and body of work, he should be talked up alongside the likes of Willem Dafoe and Philip Seymour Hoffman.
A graduate of the Spike Lee school of actors, Esposito first got noticed for film in early Lee films such as School Daze, Do The Right Thing, Mo Better Blues & Malcolm X.
He started as a child actor, making his Broadway debut in 1968 for the musical Maggie Flynn. He went on to win two Obie Awards for his off-broadway performances, though his returns to stage have been very infrequent since the 1980's.
Feels strange that an actor as skilled and transformative as Esposito is not doing more movie work for major auteurs in recent years ( He did more in the 80's and 90's). Because he could/should easily be an Oscar winning actor. But I guess he's found the best roles on TV since Breaking Bad. And TV probably pays him a lot better than film.
But whether it's Villeneuve or Nolan or Tarantino or Spike again, he'd crush anything thrown at him based on what I've seen.
Anyway, thoughts on Esposito?
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Post by pupdurcs on Apr 7, 2024 16:46:53 GMT
Esposito actually talking this week about whether he feels he's given the respect his talent/accomplishments merits.
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Post by quetee on Apr 7, 2024 17:38:08 GMT
I hope he gets the Jeffrey Wright treatment soon. He just needs one good supporting role in a bp contender.
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sirchuck23
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Post by sirchuck23 on Apr 7, 2024 17:49:54 GMT
Based on pure talent, he’s up there for sure. He had a nice run in the Lee films he did in the late 80s, early 90s especially Do The Right Thing. But he’s built his legacy on TV. Should’ve won an Emmy for playing Gus Fring in Season 4 of Breaking Bad. But he’s a very transformative actor. He was going to work with Lee again on Da 5 Bloods but scheduling conflicts nixed that. I think they’ll work together again one day, they’re great friends. Would love to see him get a run in him on film that Jeffrey Wright has gotten. He’s just as talented as Wright is imo. Kind of ridiculous that Parish is his first lead in a tv show. He should’ve gotten that opportunity some years ago. I don’t think he gets the respect he deserves from the industry. Monumental talent.
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Post by Nikan on Apr 7, 2024 17:54:50 GMT
Imagine PSH did TV. Man....
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Post by pacinoyes on Apr 7, 2024 18:19:38 GMT
Imagine PSH did TV. Man.... Well.......there is Empire Falls (2005) my brother................ HBO .....Emmy nominated.............. Paul Newman actually won an Emmy and stuff .........just sayin'    |
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Post by pupdurcs on Apr 7, 2024 19:40:17 GMT
I hope he gets the Jeffrey Wright treatment soon. He just needs one good supporting role in a bp contender. Absolutely. This man's talent deserves to have Oscar winner on his resume. I think scheduling may sometimes be an issue with him though, in terms of accepting potentially Oscar calibre film roles. TV is his bread and butter now, so he may have to turn down some good film opportunities if he's booked for a TV project. |
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Post by pupdurcs on Apr 7, 2024 19:53:47 GMT
Imagine PSH did TV. Man.... It's difficult to think of an American actor outside of Giancarlo Esposito, who has built such an incredible reputation off the strength of so much of his TV work (which isn't to discount a lot of the first rate film performances he's given, particularly those for Spike Lee, and he arguably gave the best performance in Do The Right Thing).
I did a post about David Tennant not long ago talking about how he'd managed to display the kind of range on TV usually only applicable to movie actors, because he made sure every TV role and performance was different, and I think Esposito has pulled off a similar trick.
I think Philip Seymour Hoffman would have thrived on TV and gotten more lead roles than he did on film, but you never know. It also could have been a straitjacket. Vincent D'onofrio , also a brilliant character actor, spent 10 years on a generic TV procedural cop show Law & Order, and I think he wasted of lot of time playing a role that was not a challenge to him, because he had bills to pay and family to support. PSH may have ended up in a similar situation, so you never know. |
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Post by pupdurcs on Apr 7, 2024 20:08:53 GMT
Based on pure talent, he’s up there for sure. He had a nice run in the Lee films he did in the late 80s, early 90s especially Do The Right Thing. But he’s built his legacy on TV. Should’ve won an Emmy for playing Gus Fring in Season 4 of Breaking Bad. But he’s a very transformative actor. He was going to work with Lee again on Da 5 Bloods but scheduling conflicts nixed that. I think they’ll work together again one day, they’re great friends. Would love to see him get a run in him on film that Jeffrey Wright has gotten. He’s just as talented as Wright is imo. Kind of ridiculous that Parish is his first lead in a tv show. He should’ve gotten that opportunity some years ago. I don’t think he gets the respect he deserves from the industry. Monumental talent. When you are one of the most booked and busy actors on TV, I could see how scheduling could stop you from accepting a lot of juicy movie roles. So it sucks to hear that he was nearly back with Spike on Da 5 Bloods, but scheduling nixed it. Yeah, he should have had a lead TV role before Parish.
In movies, he seems to be really holding out/campaigning to play Professor X for the new iteration of the X-Men with Marvel. I believe Marvel tried to hire him for another role, but he turned it down because that's the role he wants. He's also pushing for Denzel Washington to play the role of Magneto opposite him. Don't know if Denzel would ever accept the part if offered ( multiple MCU movie commitments might turn him off), but it'd be fascinating to see these two great actors replicate their own version of the Ian Mckellen & Patrick Stewart dynamic.
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Post by stephen on Apr 7, 2024 20:18:05 GMT
Always loved the man, ever since Homicide: Life on the Street, where he had such a good rapport with Yaphet Kotto, and Esposito's best scenes in the show involved their dynamic. Kotto's disapproving father against Esposito's naively ambitious son. Though Esposito was a late entrant in the series's cast, you'd have thought he was on a hell of a lot longer because those guys immediately clicked.
I obviously came to his work with Spike Lee later than that, and of course he shows up with his signature role as Gustavo Fring and immediately becomes iconic. A normally explosive and dynamic actor, Esposito showed that he was the master of restraint and minimalism. Man should've swept the Emmy conversation for Season 4 of Breaking Bad. And then he goes and fucking one-ups himself on Better Call Saul.
Obviously, a lot of his post-Gus career has had him playing variations on that theme, particular Stan Edgar in The Boys. I've not seen him on Andor yet (I'm waiting for it to finish to make sure it doesn't shit the bed), but I've heard good things.
Ultimately, I think Esposito feels like a J. K. Simmons-type. Give him a high-profile role like Whiplash and he'll sweep the field, I'm sure. It just needs someone taking a risk with him, but I know it would pay off massively.
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Post by pupdurcs on Apr 7, 2024 20:37:58 GMT
Obviously, a lot of his post-Gus career has had him playing variations on that theme, particular Stan Edgar in The Boys. I've not seen him on Andor yet (I'm waiting for it to finish to make sure it doesn't shit the bed), but I've heard good things. Try and watch Esposito in the first few seasons of Godfather Of Harlem ( you can almost think of it as an American Gangster prequel, because it follows the exploits of Bumpy Johnson , who was the boss of Frank Lucas and died in his arms in the movie). Esposito gives a brilliant performance as Reverend Adam Clayton Powell in Godfather Of Harlem ....not even close to a variation or retread of Gus Fring. He's this vain dandy type of character (an opportunist, but not really evil, and kinda likeable despite his opportunistic nature), and the way Esposito adopts very specific mannerisms and vocal cadences to portray him is impressive. He deserved to win an Emmy for this performance, but it wasn't on a Network that was on the Emmy radar. But he was on a show full of the best character actors in America ( Forest Whitaker, Vincent D'onofrio, Chazz Paliminteri, Nigel Thatch), and his performance stood out to me as the most vivid and fully realised. Anyway, here's a clip with Esposito as Powell and Nigel Thatch as Malcolm X.
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Post by pupdurcs on Apr 7, 2024 20:52:28 GMT
It just needs someone taking a risk with him, but I know it would pay off massively. I don't think any film director/auteur is going to be thinking they are taking a "risk" with him. The whole industry knows what he can do. I think most indie film directors would give their left arm to cast Esposito. I genuinely think he priotisises his TV commitments, and he has a lot of them. A Whiplash type indie film script with a strong director may hit his desk, but he has to say no because he's shooting season 4 of The Boys at the same time. It's obvious that he has to turn down some good movie opportunities because of his TV work, like a role in Da 5 Bloods. |
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Post by pupdurcs on Apr 8, 2024 11:27:53 GMT
Ahh...this is very cool to see. A pair of young actors come up to Esposito on a red carpet event while he's being interviewed, and start fanboying over him and his various TV roles....they bring up Breaking Bad, The Boys, The Mandalorian. You can tell Esposito doesn't think they know of him as well as they do, so he's quite humble and hitting them with lines from his various characters.
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Post by pupdurcs on Apr 18, 2024 22:46:28 GMT
Da Fuck  This is some dark shit. Guess that's how he can tap into them Gus Fring type roles. |
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Post by sirchuck23 on Apr 19, 2024 0:18:41 GMT
Da Fuck This is some dark shit. Guess that's how he can tap into them Gus Fring type roles. Man there’s rock bottom and then there is this. Super glad he got that out of his head and that his career had a renaissance. By far the best addition to Breaking Bad imo. |
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Post by pupdurcs on Apr 19, 2024 0:27:32 GMT
Da Fuck This is some dark shit. Guess that's how he can tap into them Gus Fring type roles. Man there’s rock bottom and then there is this. Super glad he got that out of his head and that his career had a renaissance. By far the best addition to Breaking Bad imo. That story also somewhat explains why he's prioritises steady TV work (and the checks that come with them) rather than hold out for low paying indie films that might get him Oscar consideration, if he's lucky. Even a supporting role in a bigger budget film by a famous auteur might not pay him that much compared to the leads and the director. Being a character actor in films, even a respected one, can be inconsistent in terms of how much you earn. The man has bills to pay and a family to provide for. He's probably earning the kind of money on TV that will allow him to leave something substantial behind for his children when he is no longer around. It's great that he still does his best to accept quality projects, rather than just accept any project for a paycheck though. |
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Post by sirchuck23 on Apr 19, 2024 6:51:26 GMT
Man there’s rock bottom and then there is this. Super glad he got that out of his head and that his career had a renaissance. By far the best addition to Breaking Bad imo. That story also somewhat explains why he's prioritises steady TV work (and the checks that come with them) rather than hold out for low paying indie films that might get him Oscar consideration, if he's lucky. Even a supporting role in a bigger budget film by a famous auteur might not pay him that much compared to the leads and the director. Being a character actor in films, even a respected one, can be inconsistent in terms of how much you earn. The man has bills to pay and a family to provide for. He's probably earning the kind of money on TV that will allow him to leave something substantial behind for his children when he is no longer around. It's great that he still does his best to accept quality projects, rather than just accept any project for a paycheck though. Indeed, and seeing how his stature has risen in the past 15 years as a tv actor, he’ll probably be in demand for tv projects as long as he wants to keep acting. |
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Post by pupdurcs on May 3, 2024 9:38:41 GMT
Ahhh....this just released Fiat commercial with the legendary Spike Lee and the great Giancarlo Esposito is probably the most joyous thing I've seen all week. If this doesn't make you smile, you have no soul  |
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Post by therealcomicman117 on May 3, 2024 17:05:27 GMT
I still think about that article I read where he said broke prior to Breaking Bad. I'm so happy for him, even if Gus has typecast him for the time being.
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sirchuck23
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Post by sirchuck23 on May 3, 2024 17:37:44 GMT
Ahhh....this just released Fiat commercial with the legendary Spike Lee and the great Giancarlo Esposito is probably the most joyous thing I've seen all week. If this doesn't make you smile, you have no soul Spike needs to cast Giancarlo again in one of his movies STAT! You can tell being good friends they have such a shorthand. Come on Spike make it happen. |
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Post by quetee on May 3, 2024 17:40:40 GMT
With Giancarlo, it was probably one of those situations where Hollywood didn't know what to do with him. He made a huge impression in Do the Right Thing and then would pop up in random TV projects here or there. I would go...oh there's buggin' out. I'm just glad he's been able to find his footing and is given a proper showcase to show his talent.
By the way, one of my favorite movies is Trading Places and I remember on a rewatch going... what.. a young Giancarlo.
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Post by fiosnasiob on May 3, 2024 19:30:44 GMT
I Saw this commercial yesterday, good to see these two together, Giancarlo was a Spike's regular until the early 90's and then nothing, I don't know if something happened between them and when you see how he struggled as an actor... Anyway, I always liked his presence, his multiracial heritage gave him some special, handsome physical traits, French women were crazy about him when he did that sexyyyy musical clip in 1995 (California, directed by Abel Ferrara) with French biggest female singer of the 90's Mylène Farmer. Seeing his career's opportunities since BB is the kind of Hollywood story we want to see more. I think his overall body of performances in films is too small to see him as a potential Greatest or anything close to that, I like him a lot in Fresh : 
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