When did it become illegal to cast rough-looking men as heroes?

Yaddo 42 · July 05, 2005, 01:07:27 PM

Just remember when Clint Eastwood and Burt Reynolds were bit players under contract before they hit it big. According to Reynolds (so take the story with a grain of salt), they were both fired around the same time, Reynolds be cause he "couldn't act" and Eastwood because his adam's apple was "too big". As they were walking out ot the office and off the lot, Reynolds claims he looked at Eastwood and said, "Well I'm going to take acting lessons, I don't know what you're gonna do."

Rough looking dudes are ALL character actors now, before they could be stars, but it's much harder now. Plus remember, many of the big stars mentioned who hit it big did so in the 70s, when odd-looking, less than glamorous looking dudes were popular. Hell, Elliot Gould was a big star for a while at the time.

I like the comment about rappers being cast as tough guys. It does seem to be all them and Danny Trejo nowadays. Considering his life story and his popularity I'm waiting to see how hard they try to turn 50 Cent into an actor. He has the tough guy look, but if he acts about like he raps, it will get old quick.

Shadowphile · July 05, 2005, 01:30:48 PM

Rugged men just get pushed aside because they aren't 'pretty' enough. Consider the lastest version of 'Phantom of the Opera.'. All the men who could have done a brilliant job (Colm Wilkinson, Antonio Banderas) were judged 'too old' for the role. The phantom is supposed to be in his fifties(!) yet they cast a 20 something pretty boy who didn't have the chops to cary the role....

Gone are the days of Telly Savalas, Ernest Borgnine and Lance Hedriksen. We're stuck with Collin Farrel, Orlando Bloom and Leonardo De Caprio.

Even pro wrestling is going for the pretty boys. What ever happened to the likes of King Kong Bundy, Big Van Vader and George 'The Animal' Steele? Now we've got Edge, Christian and the Hardy Boys. When was the last time you saw somebody eating a turnbuckle?

Master Blaster · July 05, 2005, 02:37:14 PM

I think stuidios are also trying to cater to the female audience. Women used to love guys like Clint Eastwood and Burt Reynolds. Now they want more effeminate looking men like Colin Ferrel and such. Leading men also reflect societies current obsession with youth and the blurring of gender roles.

Three Oranges · July 05, 2005, 04:40:29 PM

Well, Mick Foley wasn't that long ago...and Kane isn't exactly a looker.

There is still room for the manbeasts of wrestling, but now they have to share the stage with the fashionable lads.

Master Blaster · July 05, 2005, 05:19:05 PM

Antonio Banderas is too old to play Phantom of the Opera!!! WTF!!! Next they'll start casting teenagers, then toddlers, then sperm. When did the world get taken over by the 18 to 25 demographic?

Susan · July 05, 2005, 05:37:41 PM

For me a pretty boy isn't believable, i like it when an ugly rough around the edges man kicks some ass , btw bruce willis used to be the pretty boy, he only got rough looking after he married demi moore. food for thought on what ashton kutcher might look like 15 years from now, god i wish i had photoshop....

BeyondTheGrave · July 05, 2005, 05:52:02 PM

Susan wrote:

> For me a pretty boy isn't believable, i like it when an ugly
> rough around the edges man kicks some ass , btw bruce willis
> used to be the pretty boy, he only got rough looking after he
> married demi moore. food for thought on what ashton kutcher
> might look like 15 years from now, god i wish i had
> photoshop....
>

Actually I am starting to notice ashton getting worse. I was watching the 70s show and he got paler and his hair is getting thinner from what it looks like.

_____________________________
"We Greeks created democracy! You also created homos!"-Ghost World

Susan · July 05, 2005, 06:07:29 PM

I guess she has this uncanny way of baldenizing her men. But yeah, if he was cast in a zombie film he really would need very little makeup

AndyC · July 06, 2005, 08:20:12 AM

Yes, baldness seems to follow Demi around. Hell, she was even bald at one point.

LH-C · July 06, 2005, 12:38:46 PM

You guys bring up a good subject....The other day I was watching my new copy of Cronenberg's 'Fast Company'. One thing I noticed right off the bat was that everyone in the cast was over 25 (including Nicholas Campbell who was 27 at the time). I thought that was awesome!

Flangepart · July 07, 2005, 05:01:32 PM

Susan wrote:

> For me a pretty boy isn't believable, i like it when an ugly
> rough around the edges man kicks some ass , btw bruce willis
> used to be the pretty boy, he only got rough looking after he
> married demi moore. food for thought on what ashton kutcher
> might look like 15 years from now, god i wish i had
> photoshop....
>

Fred Ward in TREMORS and TREMORS 2 : Earl kicks Bass!
Fred was the hero in Tremors 2...and he got a babe! Make me feel good about that....i think Fred's my age....

Susan · July 08, 2005, 08:54:58 PM

oh yeah and i like it when the ass kicker is ugly, rough and old! (this even applies for women..heh) We should make a list. The obvious one is Quint from Jaws..in fact he should be the poster boy. I just loved it when he made his intro by scraping his nails on the chalkboard

I value my neck a lot more than three thousand bucks, chief. I'll find him for three, but I'll catch him, and kill him, for ten. But you've gotta make up your minds. If you want to stay alive, then ante up. If you want to play it cheap, be on welfare the whole winter. I don't want no volunteers, I don't want no mates, there's too many captains on this island. Ten thousand dollars for me by myself. For that you get the head, the tail, the whole damn thing.

Richard Farnsworth really needed to have roles like this.

Flangepart · July 11, 2005, 06:37:48 PM

Ah, Quint....we need ya more then ever.