reply by
John Calvin
7/7/2002 (18:28) |
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Good-guy actors long to be bad
Marcia Froelke Coburn, Special to The Chronicle Sunday, July 7, 2002
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Even in the movies, it seems, nice guys finish last. At least, in terms of role desirability. In Hollywood, playing a bad guy can carry a certain prestige, particularly for established actors whose careers have been built on being likable.
Historically, many actors known for their body of 'good guy' roles have delighted in taking on the roles of unsavory characters. This playing against type always almost attracts critical attention for the actor; often Academy Award nominations follow.
Certainly, that's not a concern for Tom Hanks; he won back-to-back best- actor Oscars for his portrayal of the AIDS-stricken lawyer in 'Philadelphia' (1993) and the metaphor-spouting nicer-than-nice guy in 'Forrest Gump' (1994). Hanks has also been nominated for his acting in 'Big' (1988), 'Saving Private Ryan' (1998) and 'Cast Away' (2000) -- all for playing engaging, likable characters.
But can moviegoers accept someone they have come to admire and enjoy -- the kind of person they think they'd like to have over for Sunday dinner -- as a villain? In the past, audiences often preferred the actors they've come to love to stay that way -- lovable.
Robert Montgomery began his career playing dashing, earnest love interests in movies like 'Untamed' (1929). But longing to play a character with more dark shadings, Montgomery lobbied MGM for the role of the psychotic killer in 'Night Must Fall' (1937). Although the studio reportedly couldn't understand why Montgomery wanted a role that, to them, was so undesirable, they gave in to his request. His portrayal of Danny, the charming, baby-faced murderer, won him critical praise, but the movie was a box-office failure. Montgomery won an Academy Award nomination for best actor; he lost to Spencer Tracy, for his role in 'Captains Courageous.' After that, Montgomery went back to playing good guys, most notably in the romantic comedy 'Here Comes Mr. Jordan' (1941).
Fred MacMurray built on his swing-band career to become the hardworking guy next door through vehicles such as 'The Trail of the Lonesome Pine' (1936) and 'And the Angels Sing' (1944). But one of his most memorable roles was the slick insurance agent who planned a homicide with Barbara Stanwyck in 'Double Indemnity' (1944). That movie, directed by Billy Wilder, is hailed as one of the stars of the film noir genre. Wilder obviously saw a more venal side in MacMurray; he also cast the actor as the slimy married boss who fools around in 'The Apartment' (1960). After that, MacMurray left the bad-guy roles behind for Disney movies, where he played the absent-minded professor who invented Flubber. But both Wilder films made the American Film Institute's Best 100 Movies list.
Cary Grant tried to break his dashing leading-man mold in the Alfred Hitchcock movie 'Suspicion' (1941). In the Francis Iles novel 'Before the Fact, ' on which the screenplay was based, Grant's character truly was plotting the murder of his own wife for her money. But in the final cut, Hitchcock changed the ending because of pressure from the Production Code, making Grant just an immature, and therefore more sympathetic, husband.
Mary Tyler Moore was the girl who could turn the world on with her smile in her TV series during the 1970s. Before that, she had been the perky wife on 'The Dick Van Dyke Show' during the 1960s. But she left both of those well- established personas behind when she played the cold, unforgiving mother in 'Ordinary People' (1980). In the 22 years since, characters like Moore's emotionally detached mother have become cliches. But she did it first and most strikingly. 'Ordinary People' won the Academy Award for best movie.
Comedic wild man Robin Williams has played a hilarious Army disc jockey, a Russian immigrant and a cross-dressing father. He won an Oscar for his role as Matt Damon's therapist in 'Good Will Hunting' (1997). Most recently, though, he tried being an edgy, articulate killer hunted by Al Pacino in 'Insomnia' (2002). Coming up, another creepy role for Williams: a deranged photo- developing clerk who obsesses over the families he sees in pictures in 'One Hour Photo.'
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