Actors who failed to live up to their potential (1 Viewer)

[Kevin Alexander]

I feel that the Colin Ferrell hype machine will die quickly, and he'll be a wealthy bust.

 

[chris winters]

I love the law and order shows, and I have to say that while criminal intent is alright, it doesnt hold a candle to the original. Dinafrio is good, but the whole show seems a bit cheesy and a little too hammy somtimes. When he connects the dots it somtimes borders on parody. The cases are also much more pulp and extreme just for shock value. The origional Law and Order has much subtler writing and still great performances by all the cast. There is a reason its been on for like 14 years or so. If I was ranking the Law and Orders I would put the original first by a large margin, next criminal intent, and lastly special victims unit. I think the reason all the law and orders persavere is becuase they are episode based rather that the more character driven soap opera style that many weekly dramas fall into.

 

[JonZ]

Michael,I cant help but watch LWord

 

[Erik.Ha]

I agree... I always thought Eric was more talented than his sister, and Rourke had an "aura" about him that you couldn't take your eyes off... It's too bad both de-railed their careers (and nearly destroyed themselves) through drug and alcohol abuse...

 

[Angelo.M]

Not wanting to derail this thread, but this sounds like a good description of the 'original' L&O to me. The lines written for "Lenny" (Jerry Orbach) have to be among the cheesiest on television. Not to mention that Sam Waterston has yet to find some scenery he couldn't chew, and has mastered only about two different in-character emotions ("righteous indignation" and "eyes-wide-open-jaw-dropped surprise").

If stuff like this--and, as you say, being non-character-based--are what make the original so great and durable, then, well, I don't think that's a good thing. To each his own.

L&O: CI ain't perfect, for sure. But D'Onofrio is doing something different, and I think it will only get better.

 

[chris winters]

I find the lenny lines great, Im assuming you mean his cynical comic asides. I think they work for a jaded cop on the beat for 20 odd years. As to Sam Watterson I cant get enough. I think your right with your take on his 2 moves, rightious indegnation and open mouth shock, but i think he plays a not always symmpathetic role very effectively. He has a natural class and pride about him that is not easy to duplicate. I guess thats an example of a performer having a vibe, not nessisarily extraordinary acting talent, but just a certain on screen presence that works in certain roles. I would agree that denifrio probably has more range and is probably a better movie star, i.e. film performer, but dont begrudge sam watterson his due. He is perfect in that role, at least to me. Like you say, to each his own, of course I have tens of millions of viewers on my side every week and yes i know when it comes to judgeing artistic merit, the majority is definately not always right.

 

[chris winters]

when i talk about non character based plots, Im refering to story arcs that are plot based, and generally resolved within one episode. One of the reason that dramas tend to eventually wear out is the delving into their chracters story lines every week. This forces the creation of drama, and inevitably melodrama. They fall in love, sleep with each other,have affairs, break up, turn gay, adopt a cute orphan child, and eventually move to a different city and off the show allowing for a new group of ensemble actors to take their place. A show like law and order, and even criminal intent, tends to keep its storylines about the case of the week, and not the lives of the dectectives and lawyers handling the case. This is an older paradigm when it comes to television storytelling, but in this case i think it works well. There are times to use the more soap opera approach to a show, as in ER, or NYPD blue, or to try and mix and match as in the X-files or smallville, but Keeping the personal lives of its characters mostly a mystery helps keep L&O timeless and fresh. It also saves us from any sweeps weddings, any european vacations, and any "very special episodes".

 

[Rob Bartlett]

Heather Grahm? I'm sorry, but her "potential" wasn't that amazing to begin with.

By the way, just because an actor is working, doesn't mean they're living up to their potential. Otherwise, that would mean Morgan Freeman is living up to his potential in movies like Bruce Almighty

 

[chris winters]

I can think of a couple very good reasons that heather graham is a star.

 

[Michael Reuben]

Morgan Freeman's work in Bruce Almighty was the best thing in the movie. Dreamcatcher would be a better example.

M.

 

[dpippel]

That's not saying a whole lot. Freeman's been coasting a lot lately.

 

[Chris]

Morgan Freeman has been good at mixing incredible roles in with films that pay the bills..

Ie,

Driving Miss Daisy
Amistad
Glory
Unforgiven
Shawshank Redemption

Deep Impact
Sum of All Fears
Bruce Almighty

I happed to actually like Bruce Almighty.. it's hard to say someone isn't living up to their potential when they've been nominated for awards and keep continuously working with good films on the horizon (Long Walk to Freedom, An Unfinished Life are both on paper good films)

 

[Jason_Els]

I second Mickey Rourke. What a waste! He had so many good films like The Pope of Greenwich Village, Barfly, Diner, Nine 1/2 Weeks, even Wild Orchid.

Now he's got one of the worst facelifts in Hollywood and a string of B movies.

 

[Brian W.]

But Mark Hamill's accident was before he did the original "Star Wars" -- that's why he had to drop out of the TV series "Eight is Enough," in which he'd been cast as the oldest son. I think he simply had a nose job after "Star Wars"... I don't know that it had anything to do with his accident.

 

[Michael Reuben]

Exactly.

M.

 

[Erik.Ha]

She's also notoriously difficult to work with... What with the whole spitting poison thing...

 

[DonMac]

Brian W. wrote:

No, Mark Hamill's car accident was on January 11, 1977, which was after he had shot his scenes for the original Star Wars, but 4 months before its release. This accident is the reason the Wampa scene was written and why so much attention is drawn to his healing from the attack, with shots of his scarred face.

And Hamill did appear in the Eight Is Enough pilot that was filmed even before he starred in Star Wars. However, he wanted out of his obligation to appear in the resulting ABC TV series when the pilot was picked up because, after filming Star Wars, he just wanted to be in movies. And the car accident's effects on his looks are what caused ABC to release him from his contract.

 

[Bob Turnbull]

Yep, I thought she was great in "Drugstore Cowboy" and "Boogie Nights" as well...

 

[MarcusUdeh]

CCH Pounder
Giovanni Ribisi - they both should be stars but they're not

 

[TheLongshot]

Another person who hasn't lived up to potential is Chris Klein. After really doing a great job in Election and American Pie, but since then hasn't been able to step up to the next level.

Jason