What about ya'll? Is there any actor who, due to seeing them at a particular place of their career, or in a particular role, that gave you a lasting impression of their screen personna that is at odds with the way most people think of them?
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Dr Acula |
Loving the Villains: Actors You Took Against Screen Type |
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I was just thinking about how weird it is that I think of Telly Savalas as a hero, instead of a villain as most people do. That's because as a kid I saw
him in Kojac for years as the lolly-sucking cop.. so I always think of him as a good guy, even in Lisa and the Devil, Horror Express, and even The Dirty Dozen.
I'm sure that for many, the role of Kojac was the anomily of his career, and they think of him as a screen heavy... but to me he's that friendly
do-gooder who ocasionally played bad guys.
What about ya'll? Is there any actor who, due to seeing them at a particular place of their career, or in a particular role, that gave you a lasting impression of their screen personna that is at odds with the way most people think of them? |
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Wich2 |
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Doc, cool idea for a thread...
I can't think of an exact example from my own viewing... But there is the case of Basil Rathbone, who, when he first got the part of Holmes, led many people to say, "but Rathbone is a Heavy!?' Best, -Craig W. |
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Tumak |
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I first saw Tom Baker as Rasputin...made it difficult for me to accept him as Dr. Who.
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Arch Stanton |
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Definitely Henry Fonda in ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE WEST.
He's simply one of the greatest villains in cinematic history, and now it's difficult to see him as anything else. |
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yendor1152 |
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I first saw Bette Davis as Baby Jane, so it was quite a revelation to see her in Now, Voyager and All About Eve.
My first exposure to Donald Pleasance was in Flesh and the Fiends. Even when he played Dr. Loomis, I couldn't quite get over the villainous impression I've always had of him. And seeing Dee Wallace Stone go completely nutso in The Frighteners was something of a shock! Rod
Last Edited By: yendor1152
11/06/08 5:27 PM.
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MikeTheMook |
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Having seen both Jessica Walter and Andy Robinson for the first time in their respective psycho roles from PLAY MISTY FOR ME and DIRTY HARRY, ever after I
always expected them to kill somebody.
My whole life I've been playing jacks with a square ball.
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professor liebstrum |
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Yendor wrote
My first exposure to Donald Pleasance was in Flesh and the Fiends. Even when he played Sam Loomis, I couldn't quite get over the villainous impression I've always had of him. Sam Loomis? I had to think about that one My first sighting of Donald Pleasence was in THE GREAT ESCAPE. Nice performance, but not the first thing you think of when you think about him. Prof |
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riotengine |
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I love threads like this...
Guys like Lee Marvin, Ernest Borgnine, and Bruce Dern got their start playing vicious (and usually psychotic) bad guys, but later transcended typecasting to convincingly play more sympathetic characters. Hal Holbrook and Ronny Cox come to mind as actors who specialized in playing sweet guys, but later convincingly played nasty villains (Magnum Force and RoboCop/Total Recall).
GREG ESPINOZA
I made it possible for you to come here! I welcomed you to this Earth, you made it a charnel house!
Last Edited By: riotengine
11/06/08 3:36 PM.
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blackbiped |
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For a long time, I couldn't stand the sight of Mickey Rooney in something light and funny after watching him coldly execute hostages in THE LAST MILE when
I was in the 5th grade.
Legend, oh legend, the third wheel legend...always in the way.
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Wolfman Joe |
Re: Loving the Villains: Actors You Took Against Screen Type | ||
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Kurtwood Smith enjoyed a rennaisance in recent years in TV comedy, and is very funny, too, but every time I look at him I see Clarence from ROBOCOP (and he
still looks funny out of glasses to me!
On the flip side, having grown up with Leslie Nielsen in the NAKED GUN movies and "Police Squad!", I can't watch any of his old dramatic roles anymore! Can anyone see the cast of "Star Trek" as anything but that series' characters? |
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Carl Eyesnheart |
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I had a hard time accepting Paul Riser as anything but complete scum thanks to his role in Aliens.
My fanzine all about Rock N Roll: www.sonicruin.com
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Tumak |
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Wolfman Joe wrote:"Denny Crane!" |
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rogueevolent |
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Mark Harmon (currently heroic in NCIS) was the good guy Doc in "ER" and then played psycho mass murderer Ted Bundy.
"We didn't come here to fight monsters, we're not equipped for it" -- Richard Carlson (Creature from the Black Lagoon)
"There ought to be a law against fat people owning little dickie-birds"-- Nigel Bruce (The Woman in Green) |
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heinlein99 |
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I always like Alan Rickman and see him not as a villain, but as a sort of skewed, tragic... well, not 'hero,' but sympathetic character, anyway. He was
great as a 'goodguy' in both GalaxyQuest and Blow Dry.
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lencandraw |
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I'm with Arch. Fonda in ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE WEST. I think he was a villian in at least one film before that, though!
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riotengine |
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lencandraw wrote: Does Fort Apache count?
GREG ESPINOZA
I made it possible for you to come here! I welcomed you to this Earth, you made it a charnel house!
Last Edited By: riotengine
11/07/08 6:12 PM.
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lencandraw |
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Possibly. WARLOCK might be one as well. I remember a big deal was made over casting Fonda as a villain, yet it really wasn't new to him.
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rogueevolent |
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Didn't Andy Griffith (beloved Andy Taylor and somewhat beloved Ben Matlock) play an evil, sadistic,
murdering motor cycle heavy circa 1971?
"We didn't come here to fight monsters, we're not equipped for it" -- Richard Carlson (Creature from the Black Lagoon)
"There ought to be a law against fat people owning little dickie-birds"-- Nigel Bruce (The Woman in Green) |
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davlghry |
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Earlier than that, Andy was a revelation as Lonesome (Loathsome) Rhodes in A FACE IN THE CROWD. Once you see him in that film, it's hard to trust him as
folksy, good-hearted Andy Taylor.
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catmandu7 |
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And Leslie Neilsen was a very good heavy for a long time before he suddenly changed horses and became a great comic actor. Raymond Burr was a brutal haevy
before Perry Mason , especially in Rear Window. And Dick Poewll was so good as Philip Marlowe that you forget what a good singer and dance he was in the 30s.
John Waynes thought of as a hero , but was a great mean rancher in Red River . |
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SteveZodiak |
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Savages and Pray for the Wildcats for Andy Griffith.
Paladin was my first impression of Richard Boone, yet he plays some pretty bad dudes in movies. I always saw William Smith as Joe Riley then he went on to play big bad guys.
Today is only Yesterday's Tomorrow.
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