Imbi

Do people consider John Turturro to be a good actor?

I rarely see him mentioned when favorite actors are being talked about, so i was just wondering do people actually rate him as an actor, and if not, why?

Anthony Neilson

Turturro is an excellent actor. I wouldn't say he is a character actor exactly, as he adapts roles to his persona rather than adapting his persona to roles (Big Lebowski excepted) ; but he is a quirky presence, so rarely allowed to carry films outside of the independent sector.
Check out his performance in QUIZ SHOW, which is incredibly moving without being in any way sentimental. BARTON FINK is probably his finest hour overall, but I'm sure there are great things ahead as long as he's given the chance.
Mainstream actors like Cruise and Ford are popular because they're rather bland ; this can be an asset, as it means there are no particular obstacles to audience identification. Turturro is one of those actors that you either like or you don't. Luckily for him, Spike Lee and the Coen Brothers are in the former category, and that's not bad company to keep.

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Bjørn Olav Nyberg

I would think the main reason why he's not mentioned as much, is he rarely gets the main character role, he tends to play smaller roles. I guess that can be both an advantage as well as an disadvantage when we start picking apart his roles though

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Michael Reuben

Another reason you may hear less about Turturro is that he routinely returns to the stage instead of doing only films. He spent the last six months or so in a play on Broadway (Life x3 by Yasmin Reza; not a good play, but I liked Turturro in it).

For other examples of Turturro's great character work, check out Rounders and Thirteen Conversations About One Thing.

M.

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Ricardo C

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Scott Weinberg

Turturro is the best sort of character actor: a guy you always recognize but still does something a bit different each time.

Aside from his humiliating schtick in various Adam Sandler movies, I dig everything I've ever seen him in.

That he wasn't nominated for Miller's Crossing is a travesty.

Mark Turetsky

Turturro is one of my favourite actors and a personal idol of mine. Here's a litte story about when he was first getting some attention and starting out. When he appeared in the off-Broadway hit Danny and the Deep Blue Sea by John Patrick Shanley in 1983, he became one of the hottest upcoming actors in New York. His agent booked him an audition for a national commercial spot for Ronzoni Pasta, told him about it, and John responded that he would not audition for them. His agent responded that the audition was already scheduled and confirmed. John responded that his agent was supposed to be working for him, not telling him what jobs he would get. Now, a national commercial is nothing to sneeze at, considering that it can provide actors with enough income to subsidize serious theater work. However, John wouldn't sell out and has gone on to much greater things, that he may not have achieved had he set his sights lower than he did.

Seth Paxton

Scott, I think the fact that Turturro can even do good comedic work within (often) bad Sandler films simply belies just how strong an actor he is.

He's got to be in the top 10 out there. Personally I can't think of a role that I thought he failed to bring a strong effort in, even if the film around it wasn't good.


I would think he has to be considered the number one character actor working today, and perhaps in the top 5 all-time of character actors. What can't he do, what hasn't he done? He has the rare ability to be both chameleon-like in his acting and yet also maintain a dominate screen presence (think of Jesus in Lebowski vs. Pino is DtRThing vs. Mazilla in Clockers vs. Stemple in Quiz Show).

His characters immediately demand attention when they enter a scene, and yet they create this demand with very different character traits and behaviors. He is remarkably talented.

It should tell you something that both the Coens and Spike Lee keep bringing him back again and again.

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JohnRice

Turturro is a true rock of acting. He is the type of actor I think of as a foundation in film. There are several others I think of that way as well, such as Harry Dean Stanton, Emmett Walsh, Danny Trejo (that's right) and Brion James (yes, again) but he is probably the most talented as an actor of the bunch. I could also come up with more if I put my mind to it.


Mark's story about Turturro makes me think of Billy Crudup, another fine film and stage actor, who reportedly turned down a request to read for the lead in Titanic. Gotta admire that!

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JustinCleveland

Tuturro is a mixed bag with me... his over-the-top performance in Big Lebowski seemed too much for me, but then again, since his sub-plot was unresolved, I have other, serious issues with it. But his work in the aformentioned Barton Fink, Quiz Show, and O Brother are all brilliant in their subtlty and humor.

I would call him a truly great actor.

Keir H

I liked him in all of teh Spike Lee movies he's been in and also along with Clooney in O Brother...great character actor.