Through my movie watching I have learned that very few
actors have a spotless track record.
John Cazale is known for being in five films, each of which was
nominated for Best Picture at the Academy Awards. James Dean is known for the three movies that
he made before his untimely death. Each
of his three movies are considered classics in their own right. These actors are the exception to the thought
that it is next to impossible for an actor to have a résumé of only good work.
In modern society, it is even more difficult for an actor to
create a history of great film. There
are so many movies being made and so many people auditioning for the roles in
the movies. It makes it even more
difficult to keep your career on a steady, artistically satisfying course. Most, if not all actors in the modern day
make lesser films. These films could be
a result of something behind the scenes not coming together the way that people
had envisioned. These films could be the
result of an actor being too inexperienced.
These films could be the result of an actor being past his or her
prime. Or these films could be the result
of an actor needing money. Any way that
you look at it, there are a lot of chances that an actor will be involved in
something subpar. It’s only a matter of
time.
A career in film usually has the same arc as a story. There are three parts to it. There is a beginning, a middle, and an
end. In many cases, one or more of these
parts contains bad movies. In the
beginning, an actor is just starting their career. They are trying to build up a résumé. It’s extremely challenging to get good work
immediately, without dipping your toe in the acting water to see how it
feels. The actors who have their bad
movies mostly located in the middle of their careers are the ones who started
off strong, and then stardom led to a bunch of big budget, thoughtless films. I might be exaggerating a little bit, but
you’ll understand what I mean later on.
The actors with the end of their career being the lesser works are the
ones who are past their prime but still want to be in the acting world. They aren’t getting as many parts because
studios and directors don’t feel as confident in having them as a part of their
film. Perhaps the actor has lost their
way in terms of how they see themselves and end up not trying in the same way
that they used to. There are many reasons
that the end of a career can taper off.
At the beginning of a career, actors are just starting
off. That makes sense, since it’s the
beginning. Many times, these actors
cannot score big roles in big movies.
They settle for the smaller roles in smaller movies. The movies might not be of a great quality,
but they give the actor some experience.
They allow the actor to work and get something to show for it. The beginning of the career is a testing
ground where films of varying quality lay.
Take, for example, a movie from earlier in the Sunday “Bad” Movies. Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers was
that early career testing ground for Paul Rudd.
It was the first movie he filmed in his now blossomed film career. It might be one of the worst movies in his
career. But he had to start somewhere,
and he had to get experience. The movie
helped to raise awareness of him and his career only improved because of it. This is the same with many other actors
starting out their careers. They are
working toward being noticed.
Once an actor is known, they sometimes have a dip in the
quality of their films during the mid-section of their career. In most cases, this downturn is not entirely
their fault. Sure, they chose to be a
part of the movies that they were in, but many times, it’s another part of the
movies that brings the quality down. It
isn’t necessarily them causing the poor quality. Although not yet featured in the Sunday “Bad”
Movies, I think that Ben Affleck would be someone to look at for an example of
this mid-career slump. Affleck had come
into popularity by being in movies such as Chasing Amy, Dazed and Confused, and
Good Will Hunting. He became a rather
large star in the early 2000s. This
stardom lead to a bunch of movies where the quality is questionable. After becoming a popular actor, Affleck
starred in movies such as Paycheck, Jersey Girl, and Gigli. These are considered some of the worst movies
of his career and caused many people to grow a strong distaste for Affleck led
movies. He has since recovered with some
fun supporting roles, and his directing work.
People like Ben Affleck once again now that he has moved beyond that
stage of his career.
The later end of a career is the one that I’m more
interested in when it comes to this post, though what I write about it will
probably be about the same length as what I wrote about either of the other two
parts of an actor’s career. The later
years in an acting career are the most intriguing. Hollywood is a land of the young and
beautiful. It can become more difficult
for an older actor to maintain a high profile career as they pass the prime age
and physicality for leading roles. This
isn’t as big of a deal now with movies such as The Expendables, RED, and Last
Vegas highlighting some of the older actors, but many actors fall by the
wayside once they pass a certain age or physical requirement. Take a look at Michael Clarke Duncan. He was nominated for an Academy Award for his
work in The Green Mile. He was a part of
well-known movies such as Sin City, Planet of the Apes, and Brother Bear. However, his career, though still full of
work, wasn’t as high profile nearing his death.
He was in Delgo, and animated film that not too many people know. He was in The Finder, an unsuccessful spin-off
of a hit FOX show. He was also in A
Crush on You, a Hallmark film (It inspired this post). His late career didn’t have the punch that
the earlier portion had. This happens to
a lot of actors. They get a taste of
success, then they taper off and disappear.
Only, many of them don’t disappear.
They are doing work for films and television of lesser quality than they
had before. They need money. They can no longer land that starring or
supporting role that made them famous, even if only for a small time. Their career takes a downturn.
These three stages of a career are interesting to look at in
terms of quality. The beginning is
usually about proving yourself to audiences and studios. The middle is about trying to maintain what
keeps an actor as a viable investment.
The end is about the actor doing whatever they can to keep acting. Or, at least, that’s how it works in terms of
bad movies. Of course there are other
ways that each of the three parts can go.
Of course there are. I’d be lying
if I said that these were the only ways that career trajectories could go. But in terms of bad movies, it is important
to look at career trajectories the way I just did. Everyone makes bad movies eventually. Well, not everyone, but most. It’s tough to find long careers that don’t
include dark spots. And if those dark
spots didn’t exist, neither would the Sunday “Bad” Movies. Thank you for the dark spots, filmmakers. Thank you.
There are a few notes to make before I finish this post:
- Here’s the post for Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers. I mentioned the movie earlier in this one.
- Gary Carlos Cervantes was in A Crush on You. He was also in 30 Nights of Paranormal Activity with the Devil Inside the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.
- If you have any ideas for what I should watch in later installments of the Sunday “Bad” Movies, feel free to comment, or tell me on Twitter. I’ll consider any movie. Low budget, foreign, big budget, Hollywood, television movie, direct-to-video… I don’t care. If it’s bad, I’ll watch it.
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