Seven actors we want to see return to the Hollywood A-List.
Fame, it’s often said, is a fickle bitch. Increasingly so in the movie industry, where for many stars their time at the top amounts to a couple years or even just several months. The bitter truth is that plenty of so-called “stars” these days deserve the brevity of their acclaim. But plenty of others don’t.
Hollywood is hardly a meritocracy – it never was, it will never become one – but every now and then an actor makes it based on hard work, attention to their craft, and of course a great big dose of talent. The right part is important, too, but most actors have a body of work that shows a rise through the rank and file. Sometimes, unfortunately, they spend more time climbing than they do reaping the benefits of their work; conversely, very few overnight successes have long runs of quality stuff.
Presented below are seven actors that at one time (predominantly the previous decade) or another sat atop Hollywood’s A-List but have slipped a bit in recent years. They’re all still working, and in fact at least one is furiously productive. But we think they deserve bigger roles in better projects than what they’re doing now. We’ve included video clips to show them playing against type , or at least public image, and included some “unsung” performances where their work deserved more recognition than it actually received.
1. Ray Liotta: The tough guy with the icy blue eyes got his break leading DeNiro and Pesci in Goodfellas (1990) but he’d actually been making films for more a decade already, including 1998′s underrated gem Dominick & Eugene (a kind of moody, less precious Rain Man). Best unsung performance: as a world-weary father to Johnny Depp’s drug kingpin in Ted Demme’s Blow (2001). Possible career tipping point: The knee-jerk answer here is 1995′s Operation Dumbo Drop, though it’s more likely he just played the psycho asshole bit (Turbulence, Something Wild, Unlawful Entry) once too many times. Career advice: Stop making so many films with Guy Ritchie and broaden your screen persona. Alternately, find the right premium cable project.
2. Andy Garcia: Elegant and reserved but with a smoldering charisma, Garcia outshone both Kevin Costner and Sean “I’m using my Scottish burr to play an Irishman” Connery in Brian DePalma’s The Untouchables (1987). Best unsung performance: as a cop-turned-prosecutor getting his idealism crushed by political reality in Sidney Lumet’s Night Falls On Manhattan (1996). Possible career tipping point: Garcia made solid work through the 90s, including perfect turns in the period classics When A Man Loves A Woman (1994) and Things To Do In Denver When You’re Dead (1995). The same year he headlined the epic turkey Steal Big, Steal Little, however, and despite subsequent quality performances in Hoodlum (1997) and Desperate Measures (1998) the career damage was done. Career advice: Find a project that appeals to his romantic charm. Also, he and Liotta somehow keep winding up in the same B-movie action flicks. As with Liotta, take a break from the gun-crazy stuff.
3. Michael Keaton: The deceptively intelligent Keaton was the king of working class comedies in the 1980s, with winning turns in Mr. Mom (1983) and Gung-Ho (1986). He also headlined the cult favorites Johnny Dangerously (1984) and Beetle Juice (1988) before finishing the decade in Tim Burton’s two Batman films, both of which are aging now like medical waste. Best unsung performance: as a sleazeball coke addict stumbling towards clarity in 1988′s little-seen Clean And Sober. Possible career tipping point: Somewhere in the 90s Keaton’s screen persona shifted from blue-collar everyguy to white-collar media smartass in lukewarm fare such as The Paper and Speechless. Playing a rock singer-turned-living-snowman in 1998′s Jack Frost amounted to career hemlock. Career advice: Channel the darker side of his acting repertoire already used to great effect in Desperate Measures and Pacific Heights (1990). By all means find a way to reprise the role of Ray Nicolette, the scene-stealing cop he played in both Jackie Brown (1997) and Out of Sight (1998).
4. Gabriel Byrne: The brooding and mysterious Byrne lit up screens in the Coen Brothers’ Miller’s Crossing (1990) as well as making similarly well-crafted performances in Smilla’s Sense of Snow (1997) and The Usual Suspects (1995). For a while in the 90s, Byrne had the career that these days the industry insists on giving to Clive Owen – the European tough guy desired by women but admired by men. Nothing against his starring role in HBO’s In Treatment, but we miss his film work. Best unsung performance: playing a lonely electronics expert working to blanket Los Angeles in surveillance coverage in Wim Wender’s The End of Violence (1997). Possible career tipping point: Back-to-back appearances playing a priest in Stigmata and the Devil in End of Days (1999), both terrible biblical-themed horror films cashing in on Millennial anxiety, seemed like an attempt at self-typecasting. Career advice: We’re curious to see what Byrne could do with some intelligent science fiction. Failing that, remind audiences how good he is at neo-noir.
5. Bill Pullman: Affable, easygoing Pullman broke through by upstaging both Danny DeVito and Bette Midler in the hilarious Ruthless People (1986). 90s-era turns leading giant ensemble casts in Singles (1992) and Independence Day (1996) established him as a solid if not exactly riveting leading man. But his under-the-radar turns in The Last Seduction (1994) and Lost Highway (1997) showed a depth that his higher-profile studio work didn’t. Best unsung performance: Daryl Zero, the world’s smartest man and most neurotic private detective, in Jake Kasdan’s weirdly endearing Zero Effect (1998). Possible career tipping point: Hard to say. Never a stranger to flops (Mr. Wrong, Brokedown Palace), Pullman’s career didn’t burn out so much as fade away. Lately he’s taken to strong character work in uneven indie fare like Bottle Shock (2008) and Nobel Son (2007). Like Dennis Quaid before Far From Heaven, he seems one good film away from a total career rebirth. Career advice: Getting slightly more selective in his indie work won’t hurt; find a project to direct as well as lead, as with 2000′s telepic remake of The Virginian.
6. Kevin Kline: Articulate, elegant, witty – Kline is an old-school movie star equally comfortable in dramatic and comedy roles alike. Never a bad performer even when appearing in bad movies, his good films are virtually legion, including semi-classics like The Big Chill (1983), Chaplin (1992), and of course A Fish Called Wanda (1988). Best unsung performance: Joey Boca, the philandering pizza parlor owner targeted for death by his wife (Tracey Ullman) and two drugged out hitmen (William Hurt and Keanu Reeves) in Lawrence Kasdan’s black-as-pitch I Love You To Death (1990). Possible career tipping point: A decline really began with his paycheck-grabbing turn in 1999′s Wild Wild West. Lately too many of his films look like ripoffs of more successful movies, including the American Beauty knockoff Life As A House (2001) and the poor man’s Dead Poet’s Society melodrama The Emperor’s Club (2002). Career advice: We’d watch Kline read the phone book if Kasdan directed it. Failing such a reunion, get back together on a project with John Cleese or William Hurt.
7. Billy Bob Thornton: Thornton has made a career out of defying or straight-up subverting public and industry expectations. He also often seems smarter than he lets on, hinting at a ferocious intellect even when playing the mentally challenged or emotionally crippled. His well-modulated, nuanced turns in underrated fare like Bandits (2001) and The Man Who Wasn’t There (2001) go against the public’s expectations of his hard-partying redneck demeanor; audiences seem more comfortable seeing him play boozy curmudgeons in Bad Santa (2003) and The Bad News Bears (2005). Best unsung performance: Jacob Mitchell, the mentally challenged sidekick who makes a sacrifice to Bill Paxton’s life-changing scheme in Sam Raimi’s A Simple Plan (1998). Possible career tipping point: There’s a case to be made for simple public and industry backlash. A string of odd film choices, including 2002′s Waking Up In Reno and 2006′s The Astronaut Farmer, make him hard to get a lock on. Career advice: Return to writing his own scripts, as he did in his Oscar-winning Sling Blade (1997). Also, take another stab at directing, both his own projects (Sling Blade) and for others (the 2000 Matt Damon vehicle All The Pretty Horses).
Next Wednesday we’ll unveil our list of seven former A-List leading women who should get the comeback treatment.
- Michael Kabel
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Thx, nice article:)