MickeyCasting Types
A friend was telling me that she had tried watching Heroes this week, but had finally had her suspension of disbelief kryptonited when (not to spoil anything) a guest star was brought on who is very recognizable to sci fi fans. Seeing such a familiar face in an environment where she's very not used to seeing him caught her attention more than the story itself.
Typecasting aside, does an actor who becomes recognized as a particular character tend to bring shades of the old character to every new role he plays? After enjoying Farscape for years I was able to separate Ben Browder from his "Crichton" character on Stargate- at least, until Claudia Black vamped her way into the SGC. Don't get me wrong: Black is a talented performer, and very easy on the eyes... but the two of them together had me expecting the rest of Moya's crew to come to their rescue. And in fact, these last few seasons the Moya crew could teach the SGC a thing or two about rescues...
Leonard Nimoy was (as always) great in the Invasion of the Body Snatchers remake, and after just a few Star Trek riffs I was able to settle down and see him as this new character with only a few fleeting flashes of Spock. Sometimes casting skates a bit too close, like when William Shatner was on The Six Million Dollar Man playing- what else?- an astronaut. Casting against type can be very effective (especially with a very talented actor). Compare Hugh Laurie's performances in Blackadder and House.
It is in part a Hollywood thing: Popular actors are thought to bring in an audience, so once we associate an actor with a given role then we're more likely to see him as someone else. Another Hollywood thing is to bank everything in front of the camera: big stars, big special effects, big explosions... a good story goes a long way towards forgetting a performer's past and concentrating on the present.
Then again, good stories would fix so many of Hollywood's problems...
Typecasting aside, does an actor who becomes recognized as a particular character tend to bring shades of the old character to every new role he plays? After enjoying Farscape for years I was able to separate Ben Browder from his "Crichton" character on Stargate- at least, until Claudia Black vamped her way into the SGC. Don't get me wrong: Black is a talented performer, and very easy on the eyes... but the two of them together had me expecting the rest of Moya's crew to come to their rescue. And in fact, these last few seasons the Moya crew could teach the SGC a thing or two about rescues...
Leonard Nimoy was (as always) great in the Invasion of the Body Snatchers remake, and after just a few Star Trek riffs I was able to settle down and see him as this new character with only a few fleeting flashes of Spock. Sometimes casting skates a bit too close, like when William Shatner was on The Six Million Dollar Man playing- what else?- an astronaut. Casting against type can be very effective (especially with a very talented actor). Compare Hugh Laurie's performances in Blackadder and House.
It is in part a Hollywood thing: Popular actors are thought to bring in an audience, so once we associate an actor with a given role then we're more likely to see him as someone else. Another Hollywood thing is to bank everything in front of the camera: big stars, big special effects, big explosions... a good story goes a long way towards forgetting a performer's past and concentrating on the present.
Then again, good stories would fix so many of Hollywood's problems...
