It Takes All Shapes and Sizes

[Menard]

Okay, I swear I am not on a kick of picking on people; not more than usual anyway.


Having watched an episode of My Name is Earl recently (okay, during the parts when my eyes weren't glued to the screen every moment Jamie Pressly was onscreen), I recognized (how can you not) Carel Struycken in the episode. Being a 7 foot tall actor, he gets called on to play some odd roles. In this particular episode, he was part of a troupe of circus freaks.

Being recognizable from The Addams Family movies, Struycken seems to get quite a bit of work, considering that he is primarily hired for his size.

There are quite a few actors/actresses who appear occasionally in movies and television shows who are often only hired due to their unique physical characteristics. Many of them are often stereotyped for a particular role and don't get much work outside of that role. There have been, however, some who have become successful despite their physical characteristics; though not necessarily very successful.

Probably the most successful tall actor, of which I can think of, is Richard Kiel (7' 2"), probably best known as Jaws in the Roger Moore James Bond movies. If, however, you consider 6' 8" to qualify as oversized, then John Lithgow would certainly be the most successful.

Without a doubt, Billy Barty was the most successful small actor (3' 9"). Though often pegged for small roles, he often got roles as well not specifically for someone of his small stature. But, is 5' 4" or 5' 5" considered too small to be a leading man? It wasn't for Michael J. Fox and Alan Ladd respectively. Both of them were what many would have considered to be too short for their status as actors, but both of them also showed that they had more than enough talent to command the roles they got.

Would Danny DeVito (5' 0") count as someone who overcame potential stereotyping to become one of the most successful actors in hollywood?

Though from Danny DeVito to John Lithgow, we generally have ranges of actors who are successful due to their talent primarily and not hired for their size (the Batman movie being an exception), but what I was wanting to concentrate on is those, like Kiel and Barty, who are at the extreme ends, and yet are successful in getting work as actors/actresses.

Who would you consider to be an actor/actress noted for their height, weight, looks (Rondo Hatton for example), etc., who was successful despite being stereotyped and pegged into roles?

[ulthar]

But, is 5' 4" or 5' 5" considered too small to be a leading man? It wasn't for Michael J. Fox and Alan Ladd respectively. Both of them were what many would have considered to be too short for their status as actors, but both of them also showed that they had more than enough talent to command the roles they got.

As did Humphrey Bogart.

Who would you consider to be an actor/actress noted for their height, weight, looks (Rondo Hatton for example), etc., who was successful despite being stereotyped and pegged into roles?

It may sound lame, but the one example that popped into my mind immediately is Jennifer Grey.  She was 'noticable' due to her nose, then she had to go and ruin it with cosmetic surgery so that her looks are unremarkable now.  I cannot say that she was HIRED for roles because of her looks, but, she had a unique visual impact that made her memorable.

I think John Goodman would be one often hired to fulfill a specific "look" (as well, imo, more than adequate acting).

Of course, you COULD include actors hired based on race in this discussion.  One of my favorite actors is Don Cheadle; some of his earlier roles were specifically for characters written as black, whereas he has moved into roles that are race-neutral.  There are other examples here as well.

[Andrew]

Phil Fondacaro pops up often in everything from "Willow" to "Troll."  He seems to be pretty competent, though I am certain he is picked for his height (vice thespian talents).  It would be a threeway tie between Billy Barty, Warwick Davis, and Phil for who I think might appear the most often.

I was amused when I realized who was Mr. Incredible's mean little boss at the insurance company.  None other than Mr. Evil Plot himself, Wallace Shawn.  Not only is he a bit height challenged, but they turn him in a raving three-foot monster (well, personality) in "The Incredibles."

[Newt]

There are quite a few actors/actresses who appear occasionally in movies and television shows who are often only hired due to their unique physical characteristics. Many of them are often stereotyped for a particular role and don't get much work outside of that role. There have been, however, some who have become successful despite their physical characteristics; though not necessarily very successful.

Who would you consider to be an actor/actress noted for their height, weight, looks (Rondo Hatton for example), etc., who was successful despite being stereotyped and pegged into roles?

Umm...Pamela Anderson?

[Shadow]

Brian Thompson is someone who seems to get called upon a lot for "big" tough guy roles - especially bad guys.

[Yaddo 42]

Remember there are specialty talent agents and agenices that represent the odd, extreme, and unusual looking for when producers and casting agents want a certain non-standard type.

The actor Peter Dinklage seems to get cast due to his dwarfism, but after seeing him in stuff like Find Me Guilty, he's a major talent who deserves to get roles where the character's height has nothing to do with the part.

There used to be joke that everyone in Hollywood was shorter than they seemed and many people noted that everyone out there was short and more obsessed with height than the general public.

About Alan Ladd, Michael Caine used to tell a story about before he (Caine) was a big name. He was in line to audition for a film, when it was his turn, he walked through the door and instantly heard, "Next!" He got indignant, and asked why when he hadn't a chance to do anything yet. The reply was he was told to turn and look behind him, beside the door was a white line at a certain height on the frame. The casting director told him the film he was auditioning for starred Alan Ladd, and anyone who taller than that line was out, so "Next!" Who knows if it's true, but it's funny.

Phil Fondacaro is in everything, he's practically the face of Full Moon Pictures in recent years. After seeing him in so many more prominent films and movies, I was surprised to still see him turn up in them.

[RCMerchant]

How about Arnold Schwartznagger? He got acting jobs due to being a big musclehead at first (ie HERCULES in NEW YORK, PUMPING IRON,CONAN the BARBARIAN,TERMENATOR) and went on to play straight roles(KINDERGARTEN COP etc...) -plus he has a funny name and accent. On the other end of the spectrum, Verne Troyer started out playing monkeys and apes (that was him as baby Joe in the remake of MIGHTY JOE YOUNG) and became famous as Mini Me in the AUSTIN POWERS films. As for ugly-Vincent Schiavellia(ONE FLEW OVER the COOKOOS NEST).Barbra Striesand is not what you would consider a classic beauty. Even voice can be a deterant-look how many actors and actresses fell to the wayside during the transition from silent to sound due to their vocal qualities(or lack of.) Lugosi became quite limited due to his unusal voice (according to LUGOSI by Gary Don Rhodes, evenfellow Hungarians considered it odd!),yet also it was part of his mystique as well. Micheal Berryman earns his keep due to his appearance, though it limits his chances of getting roles beyond being a villian. I think Bruce Lee,had he lived,would have made it beyond martial arts films had he lived,because of his commanding presence(unlike Chuck Norris who is pretty bland).

[Yaddo 42]

I always considered Vincent Schiavelli a regular character actor. His distinctive face and voice got him work, since he was a charter member of the "that guy who's in all the movies, I forget his name" club of character actors. But since he was within what would be considered "normal" physical appearance (ugly, yes, by most standards but not disfigured or deformed), would he really count? Would Jack Palance count as well since his distinctive look was as a result of reconstructive surgery due to injuries from WWII?

Arnold would count, but he broke out of it and crossed over to the mainstream. Look at all the bodybuilders, wrestlers, athletes, martial artists etc. who have tried to follow in his footsteps. The Barbarian Brothers and Chyna pop to mind right off of people in a similar vein who got roles for their muscled look rather than any real skill or talent for acting. I still say the Paul Bros. probably wouldn't have had any real film career except that they were a combo. Chyna's appearance and WWF(E) popularity helped her; but her voice, weak acting, and I guess her personal life worked against her.

What about people who are say extremely thin or obese, any names pop to mind? Or amputees or people born without limbs. Harold Russell from The Best Years of Our Lives comes to mind but he acted very little. Most of James Stacy's roles after his accident were probably because of his missing limbs.

[ulthar]

Or amputees or people born without limbs.

Or actors with other physical disabilities?

Marlee Matlin is often cast in roles as a deaf person.  I suppose that brings some realism to the character.  Alternatively, one could say that her characters are generally made deaf. 

Is it a chicken and the egg question?  Do the casting people say, "We want Marlee Matlin for her talent and general look, so writers, go make her character deaf" or is it "we need a deaf person to play this deaf character...go see who is busy of that short list."  I'm guessing a mixture of the two.

I think she could play a non-deaf character believably, especially if the part had relatively little speaking.  Her speech has noticeably improved over the years.

[trekgeezer]

Another tall actor with a lot of work behind him was Ted Cassidy. He was best known for his role as Lurch on the 60's Addams Family series. He made a lot of TV guest appearances on series like The Man from U.N.C.L.E., Batman, and Lost in Space.

Ted also had a very deep and distinctive voice which got him a  lot of work on Saturday morning cartoons like Space Ghost, Fantastic Four, and the Superfriends. Ted also had a voicd part in one of my favorite B-movies, The Angry Red Planet. He was uncredited, but did the voice for the martian that warned us to stay away.

Of course I have to mention his two gigs on the original Star Trek. He appeared as Ruk the giant android in "What Are Little Girls Made Of?" and he did the voice of the Gorn in "Arena".

One of my favorite movie scenes of Ted's was in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. He and Paul Newman are supposed to be getting ready for a knife fight when Newman kicks Ted in the nuts, thus ending the fight.

[Yaddo 42]

Watching old HB cartoons on Cartoon Network it's wild how many voices Cassidy did. It was cool to see him in The Last Remake of Beau Geste when I found a copy for rent, didn't know who he was when I saw it was when I was little, too bad the rest of the movie didn't hold up to my memories.

"Rules? In a knife fight? No rules!"

Still one of the best dialogue sequences in any film.

[Kroogur]

Richard Moll comes to mind usually a villian or giant thug i think his best roles were "Bull" on Night Court and the voice of "Two Face" on the animated Batman cartoon show.

[Spastic_Immortal]

Actors that get roles because of unusual looks? Robert Z'Dar comes to mind. That freakish jaw of his haunts my dreams as well as my days.