Steve Martin is pretty good playing an oily conman in The Spanish Prisoner.
Why do Comedians become straight actors? Page 2
Quote: chipolata @ March 16 2011, 6:47 PM GMTSteve Martin is pretty good playing an oily conman in The Spanish Prisoner.
Brilliant in Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, I won't mention Sgt.Bilko other than he never stood a chance.
Martin was brilliantly funny when younger. But that seems a long time ago now.
Quote: chipolata @ March 16 2011, 7:20 PM GMTMartin was brilliantly funny when younger. But that seems a long time ago now.
You get the feeling he doesn't care anymore, really; just doing it for the cash. Must be something like that, surely? There's no way anyone who was really trying could say yes to that many terrible films! His novels are still good, though.
Like Loopy says - for the money - and like zooo says - why not have a second string?
I'm looking for just one career.
I think good comedians can make good actors and good actors can be good in comedic roles.
It's all performance isn't it.
Quote: Steve Sunshine @ March 16 2011, 10:12 PM GMTI think good comedians can make good actors and good actors can be good in comedic roles.
Thank you, Kofi Annan. 
I think if they have the second string it usually means they are no longer confident or at the top of their game, Ive not forgiven Lee Evans accent in 'Something about Mary' I accept he was young and the door to Hollywood opened, I think he went up his own backside for a bit but his always been a comedian first and foremost and has a new DVD out soon, so far ive not been convinced by any of them trying to make the cross over into mainstream acting, I know Bradley Walsh is convincing some people and I would probably give him a fair go if he dropped the 'Odd One Out' show .
On a separate note, Matt Dillon stole the film 'Something about Mary'
I reckon, most comedians just want to be famous. They realise they aren't good looking enough to be movie stars, nor talented enough to be musicians, but they can make some people laugh.
One of the weirdest transitions to straight acting was Vincent Price, who actually began in comedy. Conversely the brilliant Walter Mathau started straight and went comic.
"For money"? Sometimes, maybe. But I think it's more complicated than that and in some cases money almost certainly has nothing to do with it.
For some I suspect it is an issue of age, experience, stretching themselves, doing something different - any or all of these. And the best examples are actually really good actors; the worst examples really don't last that long, so it isn't a problem. The mediocre are mediocre anyway so who cares that they used to be a known as a comedian?
Also as Nat says, they are used to performing and reacting to audiences so they are likely to be better at acting than the average Joe walking off the street.
Finally, they can be a decent bit of publicity for a show - a bit of celebrity casting rarely does a show much harm (see for example Paul Gadd's run as the genie in Aladdin).
Quote: chipolata @ March 16 2011, 11:23 PM GMTOne of the weirdest transitions to straight acting was Vincent Price, who actually began in comedy.
'The Masque of the Red Death' ?
Quote: AngieBaby @ March 16 2011, 10:36 PM GMTI reckon, most comedians just want to be famous. They realise they aren't good looking enough to be movie stars, nor talented enough to be musicians, but they can make some people laugh.
Ugly b******s can still become film stars, though, Angie.
Karl Malden, Jeff Goldblum, Richard Gere, Ernest Borgine, Mickey Rourke, and Ray Winstone among many others all done OK for themselves, despite being no oil paintings.
The Hollywood 'Glamour Machine' simply hypes a lot of average-looking [or worse] folks using professional stylists, top photographers, CGI airbrushing on film posters, etc.
Jeff Goldblum's not ugly! Nor is Richard Gere - he's very classically handsome.
But yes, fair point in general.
Quote: Rico El Vista @ March 17 2011, 4:48 PM GMTUgly b******s can still become film stars, though, Angie.
Mickey Rourke,
His face may be f**ked now, due to boxing and surgery, but when Rourke became a film star, in the eighties, he was very handsome indeed.