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Post by pacinoyes on Jul 15, 2019 10:17:33 GMT
A close parallel to Al Freeman Jr. - indeed the beneficiary not just of his own influential film but also Freeman's in those "70s Black Cinema" films Dutchman spawned is another guy famous in some ways - but not all - for TV : Ivan Dixon.Dixon earned his paycheck in Hogan's Heroes but his version of Dutchman was actually a bigger film and more mainstream too and more acclaimed - Nothing But A Man. A landmark film - not obscure like Dutchman at all - another if you haven't seen it, you can't really discuss race in American film imo - he conceivably could have been nodded for this performance. In its charisma it evokes Denzel Washington and in its subtlety Mahershala Ali too. A whole range of African American actors can be seen in it actually and even outside ethnicity as well. It's a star making performance that didn't make him a star. Dixon used that performance - little seen but that provided a cachet for him to direct and some of those films - The Spook Who Sat By The Door for one have attained a cult status a bit but Nothing But A Man is indicative of a much broader, untapped talent.
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Post by pacinoyes on Jul 16, 2019 10:14:53 GMT
Well today's actor fits with the other previous 2 covered but he was a much bigger star who made bigger career inroads too - and if he had lived well he'd be too big for this thread perhaps. An African American nominated for an Oscar who then subsequently went immediately back to work on his soap opera - seeing the trend here? - Howard Rollins Jr. is a heartbreaking story in that way. Memorable in Paul Winfield's "King" mini-series (recently covered in the Stage/TV/Film thread too), BSA nominated for Ragtime, and then the lead in a big film - Norman Jewison's A Soldier's Story - his career continually spun out in drug fueled decline. He's quite strong on series TV opposite Carroll O'Connor - in TV's In The Heat Of The Night - but his drug use ran him off that show until his death in 1996. Rollins got several chances to straighten out his career - King, Ragtime, A Soldier's Story - even In The Heat Of The Night were chances Al Freeman Jr and Ivan Dixon would have loved to have.........he could have used one more chance. Rollins was 46 when he passed away. In his Oscar nominated role in Miloš Forman's Ragtime:
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Post by pacinoyes on Jul 16, 2019 21:09:56 GMT
Avery reminds me of one of my faves Glynn Turman. A lot of people will recognize him from a lot of things - A Different World, House of Lies, The Wire etc. I'm a huge fan of him in a Law & Order : Criminal Intent where he plays a writer whose son is a plagiarist - one of the very best episodes imo. He often plays military guys because he can be very controlled and precise in his acting - it translates like that. He's had a 50 year career - he's Preach in Cooley High for Godsakes AND he was married to Aretha Franklin too. A real pro as an actor: Congratulations to Glynn Turman a former Emmy winner who was nominated today as well - with the last 3 entries in this thread being for somewhat sad yet triumphant African American actors and Turman being an earlier mention that seems very fitting.
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Post by pacinoyes on Jul 17, 2019 10:25:14 GMT
For some fans of his films or who maybe have not seen all 4 of the ones I reference below - some recommendations and Maria Helena of course from France herself and this after all is a French actor too : HELENA MARIA Mattsby Longtallsally MsMovieStar cranly He's not so much underrated but he is a bit unknown in the US and he played crucial parts in at least 2 all-time classic movies - one lead, unforgettably - Spoorloos and The Return Of Martin Guerre: Bernard-Pierre Donnadieu He never really amounted to a prestige actor per se but in Spoorloos he gave an all-time villainous performance. His face and presence plays a crucial part in Martin Guerre and also as one of the friends in Polanski's The Tenant too and in the very good 1981 film with Jean Paul Belmondo - The Professional I never see discussed on here and maybe the new one for some. He sort of fits this thread and he's hard to make fit anywhere else but I always loved him in everything I saw him in - big role or small. Below in The Return Of Martin Guerre:
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Post by pacinoyes on Jul 18, 2019 0:46:04 GMT
A change of pace to US TV now: Jean Smart - she's somewhat well-known as an Emmy winner - she has 3 including 2 for a wonderful turn on Frasier and memorable in Designing Women too. If you look at her whole career though she's kind of amazing as anyone who saw Fargo Season 2 will attest - she's just unforgettable there and you could say where did that come from but really she can kind of do it all. She can go from comedy to drama seamlessly and sometimes that comedy is wild farce too - this thread is made for her and she's always pleasure to watch - a real pro.
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Post by Mattsby on Jul 18, 2019 2:34:00 GMT
I really thought Fred Gwynne was already mentioned - maybe he was? I'd say easily a wonderful actor, and never nom'd for anything... Star of not one but two well-regarded 60s sitcoms - Car 54 Where Are You and The Munsters his iconic role but a role he was sort of tethered with for too long and possibly impeded his career? An admirable, affable actor.... tree-tall, he knew how to use his length for fun physical comedy, but could play dark too. He was the very memorable judge, his last perf, in My Cousin Vinny too. And I love this pictured scene in particular from The Cotton Club opposite Bob Hoskins.
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Post by Johnny_Hellzapoppin on Jul 23, 2019 10:13:56 GMT
So, with Lesley Manville now being as generally adored as she's always deserved to be, I'm going to throw some love to a couple of other legendary Leigh ladies...
Ruth Sheen
Her work with Leigh is mostly underappreciated / under-discussed, and her lead work in High Hopes, Vara Drake and Another Year can stand up comfortably with some of the very best performances Leigh films have to offer. She is also one of the most reliable faces on British television, with her Jean McIlvanney in my beloved Cracker, living long in my memory.
Alison Steadman
One of the grande dames of British television, who for some ridiculous reason is not a Dame. Her performance in Leigh's television film Abigail's Party (1977) is one of the very best I have ever seen from an actor and she's no slouch in her other work with him. Her lovely leading work in Life is Sweet being another highlight. Few actors have the innate likeability of Steadman, and it is testament to her talents that she makes pretty annoying people like Beverly Moss and Pam Shipman so endlessly lovable.
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Post by pacinoyes on Jul 24, 2019 17:40:56 GMT
Joe MortonAn actor who at one time nearly broke through and had the career that say someone like Don Cheadle has now. A presence for many years in film, an Emmy winner for Scandal and owner of one of the 80s most unusual and perceptive lead performances, John Sayles Brother From Another Planet (photo) below. Can also sing (quite well) in musical work - a versatile and utterly professional character and if you've never seen Brother From Another Planet - it's well worth a watch.
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Post by Mattsby on Jul 24, 2019 21:30:57 GMT
Joe MortonAn actor who at one time nearly broke through and had the career that say someone like Don Cheadle has now. A presence for many years in film, an Emmy winner for Scandal and owner of one of the 80s most unusual and perceptive lead performances, John Sayles Brother From Another Planet (photo) below. Can also sing (quite well) in musical work - a versatile and utterly professional character and if you've never seen Brother From Another Planet - it's well worth a watch. Loveeee him in the Sayles movies. The politician, the veteran, the alien-mute. He's my MVP for Lone Star, a powerful, poignant perf - quiet too, and from what I've seen he's real great at playing subtle and having an understanding of character. The way he builds, pauses and then lifts his manner in his big City of Hope monologue .... and Brother from Another Planet which I watched the same night after seeing Get Out and much prefer as its high concept purview ismuch more clever and tied into its themes and brought out by the Morton perf that is great, I love how he adjusts himself, and btw Ebert said his perf was "worthy of Buster Keaton." Fit right into blockbusters too, T2 and Speed; what can't he do? Lil note- I know someone who's worked on a lot of sets and called him one of the most "kind and humble" actors....
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Post by Mattsby on Jul 25, 2019 2:29:24 GMT
Max Casella.... Solid actor who across tastes you're bound to have seen in something or several somethings. Had a good decade, popped up in a lot, worked with Coens, Scorsese, Woody Allen 3x. Needs some bigger roles - Vinyl was one, I liked him a lot there, alternating btwn relaxed and stressed. Ton of work across TV (largely), movies, and stage - has a Drama Desk nom for Lion King as the original Timon, on/off broadway, (pic below) Beckett's Endgame at BAM opposite Turturro, Elaine Stritch, etc, he got great reviews - "riveting" "vaudevillian" etc.
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Post by pacinoyes on Jul 26, 2019 13:25:06 GMT
Tamara Tunie - is an actress with a very compelling look - in fact her look sticks out even over how adept she is in playing characters across wide range of classes, occupations and type. Memorable in films like Devils Advocate and especially Flight - but moreso for stints on TV (Law & Order SVU and Blue Bloods and major in soap operas) - she always stands out and conveys a keen intelligence and poise. Again, she's someone who's name you'll never know but is perfectly suited to this thread.
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Post by Mattsby on Jul 27, 2019 2:40:40 GMT
Rory Cochrane - very funny, memorable early role in Dazed & Confused (“Ever look at the dollar bill, man?”) and then not much for a while, but usually he’s very laidback, which he would later twist, becoming a smarter actor too almost incidentally. Like the way his reserve is legit frightening in Oculus, an underrated perf, or how he’s complicit in Black Mass, or how deeply sad and affecting he is in Hostiles….. Give the man more roles!
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Post by pacinoyes on Jul 27, 2019 20:35:41 GMT
Today an actor you've definitely seen but I'd venture to say you don't know his name - Austin Pendleton A guy who has absolutely mastered the "guest TV spot" he pops up for years now on series TV usually in a one-off role and often as an intellectual and doctor. He's also an esteemed playwright, theater actor and director too. He's a classic example of the big time small time star - who used to pop up all the time in film and eventually settled in a TV recurring pattern and never, ever phones it in. With Madeline Kahn in particularly hilarious form in What's Up Doc?
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Post by pacinoyes on Jul 28, 2019 13:51:53 GMT
Peter Greene was almost famous........and he almost died. Those two things were what defined him - he gave 4 performances of not just searing specificity but of pop culture resonance too. Laws Of Gravity, Pulp Fiction (as Zed), The Usual Suspects and his acting masterclass in Clean, Shaven - 4 variations not merely of a type but of excitedly - in tone. Those performances all came within his first 4 years and came with a crushing heroin (and crack) habit. His career spun out but he still acts - and he's alive - and that work will always survive. I'm always happy when I see him - but not just for his work now. Laws of Gravity the least seen of those films tapped him as the next big thing right from the start. A Mean Streets rip-off that actually worked with Greene in the Keitel role and the acting beyond imitation. With Edie Falco in Laws of Gravity - if you've never seen it - you should:
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Post by Mattsby on Jul 28, 2019 18:40:46 GMT
Geoffrey Lewis Over 200 IMDb credits, most known for Westerns and his eight (?) collabs with Clint Eastwood. He's also Juliette Lewis' father. Culpepper Cattle Company, Bad Company, High Plains Drifter, Thunderbolt and Lightfoot, or you might recognize him from Salem's Lot. Idk if I'd call him "wonderful" lol but I like what I've seen and he has an unforgettable face - very expressive. He has a mean mug and those ominous light eyes so easily cast as villainous but could play daft and turn it around - you see it across his Culpepper perf for example. Helluva lot of TV work I haven't seen too....
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Post by pacinoyes on Jul 28, 2019 20:43:14 GMT
Chris Parnell - as far as I know the only guy fired from SNL twice (!) - is a genius of survival and perseverance and straight faced deadpan comic delivery.
On film and TV he's been part of the sturdiest teams ever - Dewey Cox and his band - Ron Burgundy's broken hearted loyal station team member and hilariously as 30 Rock's ever present doctor to everyone - Dr. Spaceman (Spa-CHE-men).
Parnell pops up continuously on TV - voice work, supporting work and (finally!) a show of his own that of course got cancelled. It's ok because he will always be there to have Natalie Portman hit him with a chair or as the Progressive box on exceedingly witty and absurdist commercials.
From his classic Lazy Sunday with his partner in crime, Andy Samberg - what up 'Parn? Indeed.
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Post by pacinoyes on Jul 29, 2019 18:41:18 GMT
Kevin Anderson is a guy who should have had more - with today's Irishman news I am reminded of his Bobby Kennedy opposite Nicholson in Hoffa. He's opposite Finney in my beloved play/film Orphans and he loses his head (so to speak) to Jessica Chastain in Salome. He also played John Kennedy and can be quite funny too. Probably best known for the Nothing Sacred TV series he's a gifted guy and I hope to see him pop up in something else too. Anderson as Bobby Kennedy in Hoffa :
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Post by pacinoyes on Jul 30, 2019 1:25:14 GMT
Dominic Chianese - Johnny Ola in Godfather II..........Sonny's father in Dog Day Afternoon........Arthur Kirklyn's always in trouble client in ........And Justice For All. Some fine episodic TV work lead to the role of his life Corrado "Junior" Soprano where he's wise.......scary.....funny....sometimes sings a little too. As Junior - leave the gun, take it from the top:
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Post by pacinoyes on Jul 30, 2019 18:50:58 GMT
Moses Gunn was a commanding presence on TV screens and 70s movies especially. Often playing men in positions of authority but he could play the complete opposite too and he never allowed that characteristic to feel inappropriate - his characters had dignity regardless of their status in life. Joe Mott in the filmed Iceman Cometh and many memorable roles on episodic TV - he is in some ways a precursor to many "heirs of James Earl Jones" acting types - wise, knowing, not one to be toyed with and deeply sympathetic from the moment he came on screen. You always felt like you knew him already whenever he popped up.
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Post by Johnny_Hellzapoppin on Aug 7, 2019 12:26:47 GMT
Geoffrey Lewis Over 200 IMDb credits, most known for Westerns and his eight (?) collabs with Clint Eastwood. He's also Juliette Lewis' father. Culpepper Cattle Company, Bad Company, High Plains Drifter, Thunderbolt and Lightfoot, or you might recognize him from Salem's Lot. Idk if I'd call him "wonderful" lol but I like what I've seen and he has an unforgettable face - very expressive. He has a mean mug and those ominous light eyes so easily cast as villainous but could play daft and turn it around - you see it across his Culpepper perf for example. Helluva lot of TV work I haven't seen too.... This guy will forever be ingrained in my mind thanks to Salem's Lot, seeing as he was involved in one of the two creepiest moments in the show. I had no idea he was Juliette Lewis was his daughter, but it is so perfectly obvious when you see them in the same pic.
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Post by Johnny_Hellzapoppin on Aug 7, 2019 13:00:59 GMT
Another couple of editions from my favourite actors, who both did some of the best work of their careers a few years ago in National Treasure...
Julie Walters
Thanks to her work in television for the most part, but she has plenty of great film work to her name, Walters is perhaps one of my original 'favourite' actresses. I'd make a case for her as one of the greatest comedic actresses ever, but I don't need to as her work speaks for itself. Whether she is flawlessly playing the elderly Mrs. Overall, when she was only in her mid thirties or any other of the numerous characters she created with Victoria Wood, she is always on the money. She's no slouch in the drama department either, with her previously mentioned work in National Treasure, along with Boys from the Blackstuff, Personal Services, Calendar Girls and Mo all being particular highlights. Still, 'Dramedy' is where she excels and her work in Educating Rita (one of my all-time favourite performances) and Billy Elliot where rightly recognised with Oscar nominations. Mainstream film audiences audiences will obviously know her as Molly Weasley and from Mamma Mia, but a little digging into her filmography will unleash a host of great work in some fine film and television.
Robbie Coltrane
Walters Harry Potter and National Treasure co-star has been a favourite of mine since the early 90s. The long standing debates over who gives the greatest lead-actor performance in television has never been a debate for me. Robbie Coltrane as Dr. Eddie 'Fitz' Fitzgerald in Cracker has always be the champ in my eyes. It's complete, lived in and unflinchingly honest stuff. Like Walters, Coltrane is best known for comedy, and even in non-comedy he is often comic relief, but this doesn't lessen him among my favourites in the slightest. He's a scene stealer extraordinaire, with no small part ever being left forgettable by him.
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Post by pacinoyes on Aug 7, 2019 19:35:58 GMT
Robbie Coltrane and Julie Walters are great ones and reminded me of Billy Connolly. So great in Mrs. Brown and in some other movies and a lot of TV and stand-up that's like Performance art at times. He's one of those guys like I mention sometimes in the TV/Film/Stage thread of guys who are almost too talented for any of the industries they are in (like Robin Wllliams, Andy Kaufman, John Leguizamo).
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Post by Johnny_Hellzapoppin on Aug 9, 2019 9:14:13 GMT
Robbie Coltrane and Julie Walters are great ones and reminded me of Billy Connolly. So great in Mrs. Brown and in some other movies and a lot of TV and stand-up that's like Performance art at times. He's one of those guys like I mention sometimes in the TV/Film/Stage thread of guys who are almost too talented for any of the industries they are in (like Robin Wllliams, Andy Kaufman, John Leguizamo). Billy is a great shout, and I'm surprised I didn't mention him myself. I suppose it may be because as much as I enjoy him on-screen, its as a stand up comedian that I always first and foremast think of him. In that arena he is untouchable as far as I'm concerned.
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Post by stephen on Aug 11, 2019 2:43:48 GMT
I'd like to take this opportunity to talk about an extraordinarily underrated Best Actor nominee who was up against the likes of Pacino, Washington, Eastwood and Downey, Jr. in a heavy-hitting year: Stephen Rea.
The perpetually dour-looking Irish legend who looks like he should've remade every Robert Mitchum film while set in the Troubles has always been a delight for me to watch. The Crying Game rightly put him on the map, and he did go on to be something of a muse for Neil Jordan, but I always felt he should've been far more prolific and high-profile than he is. Maybe it's because of his personal life (he was married to an IRA bomber, and their relationship really could've fueled an amazing film on its own merits; I suspect he drew on those experiences when he made The Crying Game). He's a perennial favorite of some excellent BBC series, and he recently cropped up in one of my favorite films of 2018: Black '47.
His back catalogue is also deceptively rangy. He's made his mark in film, TV and the stage. Not bad for a glum fellow from Belfast.
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Post by pacinoyes on Aug 11, 2019 14:09:51 GMT
Another actor that I'd consider a lesser Stephen Rea or Rea with less gravitas is John LynchA guy who was once on the verge of being the Colin Farrell of his day - he's settled into a sort of cool craggy late middle aged. He pops up on TV more nowadays and I'll actually seek those shows out just to see him a bit more that's how nice it is to see him on screen
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