"Wasted"- Promising Actors Give Bad Performances

0BradyM0Bondfanatic70BradyM0Bondfanatic7 Quantum Floral Arrangements: "We Have Petals Everywhere"
edited April 2013 in General Discussion Posts: 28,694
I didn't see this topic floating around anywhere on the site and thought I would bring it up to get some opinions of other members.

The question is...

What actors casted in a Bond film did you at first think would be great additions to the series but were ultimately disappointed by?

One that instantly comes to mind is Robert Carlyle as Renard. So much talent absolutely wasted by a villain that never lived up to the hype.

Comments

  • DarthDimiDarthDimi Behind you!Moderator
    edited April 2013 Posts: 23,536
    Michael Madsen
    I'm not saying he's the greatest actor alive but give him something cool to do and he delivers.A certain number of films, including two Tarantinos, effectively demonstrate that. Yet I find him downright abysmal as Falco in DAD. Sad, for I had genuine hopes.
  • edited April 2013 Posts: 5,745
    Halle Berry.

    I mean, I'm not saying I was expecting Honor Blackman, but I wan't expecting a wooden, cheesy, prejudiced, and stupid Ursula Andress mimic.
  • edited April 2013 Posts: 12,837
    Agreed with all of those.

    I've been told by people on here that Rory Kinnear is actually a pretty good actor and if that's true then he's being wasted. Tanner could be so much more than a boring exposition character who hides behind a desk.

    Dolph Lundgren could've been a really good henchman but he was wasted in AVTAK (although to be fair this was pre Rocky so he was pretty much unknown, the producers weren't to know).

    Although I like both, Donald Pleasance and Christopher Lee could've probably been better villians than they were.
  • AgentJamesBond007AgentJamesBond007 Vesper’s grave
    Posts: 2,630
    George Lazenby. Had a promising career ahead of him but gave it up.
  • MurdockMurdock The minus world
    Posts: 16,330
    Toby Stephens. He has the look of a Bond villain. Sadly they made Graves this hammy playboy who had to be "Colonel Moon with magic plastic surgery." He could have been an excellent standalone villain.

    Rick Yune. In the beginning of DAD he looked menacing and after getting Diamonds embedded in his face he looked cooler. Sadly they had to ruin his look and make him bald and pale. But then again most of the promising actors in DAD were giving absolute dreck to work with.

    Mathieu Amalric. Has the look of a creepy new age Bond villain but he was simply wasted. In Munich he was very menacing and didn't have to say much. in QoS however he just seems small and fragile and not very memorable.

    Jonathon Pryce. I liked Carver but I just wish he wasn't as hammy and had more to do instead of wearing a black Blofeld costume and tap on a little keyboard thing. That kick to mock Wai Lin is just unforgivable.
  • edited April 2013 Posts: 61
    Rick Yune yes... ZAO had the potentional to be the next ODDJOB. All the traits are there. Asian. But lets give him a backstory. Maybe he has a family he lost back in korea? Something that drives his vengeance? Everyone has a story. And everyone has to go through hell to reach their paradise. So lets hear what some Bond characters personal lives are like. Any ideas? Maybe it should be a thread in the fan section though.

    I thought Cristatos from Your Eyes Only played it too close to the vest. Lets have some big grand acting there. Go back to acting class
  • edited April 2013 Posts: 5,745
    George Lazenby. Had a promising career ahead of him but gave it up.

    He wasn't wasted by the production though, he wasted himself.

    And there are quite a lot of weak outputs from promising actors. I feel like the Prods took "Take this honky out and wast'em" to heart after Live And Let Die.
  • edited April 2013 Posts: 344
    "I thought Cristatos from Your Eyes Only played it too close to the vest. Lets have some big grand acting there. Go back to acting class"

    Gosh. I can't agree with this. Julian Glover didn't need acting classes, he was one of the finest actors of his generation, in my opinion.

  • DarthDimiDarthDimi Behind you!Moderator
    Posts: 23,536
    "I thought Cristatos from Your Eyes Only played it too close to the vest. Lets have some big grand acting there. Go back to acting class"

    Gosh. I can't agree with this. Julian Glover didn't need acting classes, he was one of the finest actors of his generation, in my opinion.

    Agreed. Why on Earth would Julian Glover need acting lessons? I think he performed well with the material he was given in FYEO - one of my favourite Bonds I might say.

  • Posts: 4,400
    Was Halle Berry ever that great an actress? I think she was well over shadowed by the superior Billy Bob Thorton in Monster's Ball? She was pretty bad in DAD.

  • edited April 2013 Posts: 11,189
    DarthDimi wrote:
    Michael Madsen
    I'm not saying he's the greatest actor alive but give him something cool to do and he delivers.A certain number of films, including two Tarantinos, effectively demonstrate that. Yet I find him downright abysmal as Falco in DAD. Sad, for I had genuine hopes.

    He certainly wasn't helped by cheesy dialogue

    "I hope no one hear is superstitious that's one big mirror we're about to break".

    @Pierce2Daniel "pretty bad" is an understatement.
  • DarthDimiDarthDimi Behind you!Moderator
    Posts: 23,536
    BAIN123 wrote:
    DarthDimi wrote:
    Michael Madsen
    I'm not saying he's the greatest actor alive but give him something cool to do and he delivers.A certain number of films, including two Tarantinos, effectively demonstrate that. Yet I find him downright abysmal as Falco in DAD. Sad, for I had genuine hopes.

    He certainly wasn't helped by cheesy dialogue

    "I hope no one hear is superstitious that's one big mirror we're about to break".

    @Pierce2Daniel "pretty bad" is an understatement.

    Everything went sour, from his line delivery to his facial expressions. But indeed, the dialogue served as a catalyst to bring up the worst in him.
    Was Halle Berry ever that great an actress? I think she was well over shadowed by the superior Billy Bob Thorton in Monster's Ball? She was pretty bad in DAD.

    I for one was never that much of a fan. She's the weakest link the X-Men films I think, Catwoman was ... oh God Catwoman was FUBAR in every conceivable way, and I couldn't get past the topless scene in SwordFish. The only times I found her mildly amusing was when she had less conspicuous parts, like in Executive Decision.
    Rick Yune yes... ZAO had the potentional to be the next ODDJOB. All the traits are there. Asian. But lets give him a backstory. Maybe he has a family he lost back in korea? Something that drives his vengeance? Everyone has a story. And everyone has to go through hell to reach their paradise. So lets hear what some Bond characters personal lives are like. Any ideas? Maybe it should be a thread in the fan section though.

    Please do not turn the Bond franchise into a soap series. Truthfully, I couldn't care less about Zao's life as a youngster. In fact, I couldn't care for Zao at all. I have no complaints about Yune. He gets basic stuff done. I liked him, to some extent, in The Fast And The Furious.


  • DarthDimi wrote:
    "I thought Cristatos from Your Eyes Only played it too close to the vest. Lets have some big grand acting there. Go back to acting class"

    Gosh. I can't agree with this. Julian Glover didn't need acting classes, he was one of the finest actors of his generation, in my opinion.

    Agreed. Why on Earth would Julian Glover need acting lessons? I think he performed well with the material he was given in FYEO - one of my favourite Bonds I might say.

    @DarthDimi - I think that this young lady (WillardWhyteSpeaking identifies as a lady, much like Oligarch did) felt the need to bring up the name Christatos as an in-joke, and simply had to say SOMETHING to get the name Christatos in a post. Get it?

  • edited April 2013 Posts: 11,189
    Murdock wrote:
    Jonathon Pryce. I liked Carver but I just wish he wasn't as hammy and had more to do instead of wearing a black Blofeld costume and tap on a little keyboard thing. That kick to mock Wai Lin is just unforgivable.

    I liked Jonathan Pryce in TND too but agree with you. The way he raises his eyebrow after saying "there's no news...like bad news" is just stupid.
  • DarthDimiDarthDimi Behind you!Moderator
    Posts: 23,536
    BAIN123 wrote:
    Murdock wrote:
    Jonathon Pryce. I liked Carver but I just wish he wasn't as hammy and had more to do instead of wearing a black Blofeld costume and tap on a little keyboard thing. That kick to mock Wai Lin is just unforgivable.

    I liked Jonathan Pryce in TND too but agree with you. The way he raises his eyebrow after saying "there's no news...like bad news" is just stupid.

    I thought his kungfu thing he did there was downright embarrassing...
  • DCisaredDCisared Liverpool
    Posts: 1,329
    I felt let down by Naomie Harris in skyfall, She comes across as nervous and wooden to me.
  • edited April 2013 Posts: 11,189
    DarthDimi wrote:
    BAIN123 wrote:
    Murdock wrote:
    Jonathon Pryce. I liked Carver but I just wish he wasn't as hammy and had more to do instead of wearing a black Blofeld costume and tap on a little keyboard thing. That kick to mock Wai Lin is just unforgivable.

    I liked Jonathan Pryce in TND too but agree with you. The way he raises his eyebrow after saying "there's no news...like bad news" is just stupid.

    I thought his kungfu thing he did there was downright embarrassing...

    Yeah but he did have some fun lines of dialogue though.

    "Mr Wallace...call the president, tell him if he doesn't sign the bill lowering the cable rates we'll release the video of him with a cheerleader in a Chicago Motel Room"

    Michael G Wilson...Inspired Sir!

    Carver: And then after he signs the bill...release the tape anyway"

  • Posts: 101
    I'm an old enough fagey to have seen Tomorrow Never Dies in theatres back in 1997.
    I'd seen Gotz Otto in some gay porns and was disappointed not to have seen... ahem... more of him onscreen. :))
    Seriously though, I'll add Robert Carlyle and Halle Berry to this list.
  • Posts: 11,189
    I'm an old enough fagey to have seen Tomorrow Never Dies in theatres back in 1997.I'd seen Gotz Otto in some gay porns and was disappointed not to have seen... ahem... more of him onscreen. :))
    Seriously though, I'll add Robert Carlyle and Halle Berry to this list.

    Not really...I saw it in the cinema too.
  • DarthDimiDarthDimi Behind you!Moderator
    Posts: 23,536
    BAIN123 wrote:
    DarthDimi wrote:
    BAIN123 wrote:
    Murdock wrote:
    Jonathon Pryce. I liked Carver but I just wish he wasn't as hammy and had more to do instead of wearing a black Blofeld costume and tap on a little keyboard thing. That kick to mock Wai Lin is just unforgivable.

    I liked Jonathan Pryce in TND too but agree with you. The way he raises his eyebrow after saying "there's no news...like bad news" is just stupid.

    I thought his kungfu thing he did there was downright embarrassing...

    Yeah but he did have some fun lines of dialogue though.

    "Mr Wallace...call the president, tell him if he doesn't sign the bill lowering the cable rates we'll release the video of him with a cheerleader in a Chicago Motel Room"

    Michael G Wilson...Inspired Sir!

    Carver: And then after he signs the bill...release the tape anyway"

    I love Wilson's comeback: "Consider him slimed." :P
  • Posts: 101
    Haha yes but were you 31? :-S
  • RC7RC7
    Posts: 10,512
    DCisared wrote:
    I felt let down by Naomie Harris in skyfall, She comes across as nervous and wooden to me.

    My thoughts, exactly.
  • Posts: 11,189
    Haha yes but were you 31? :-S

    At the time I was 12 :p
  • DCisaredDCisared Liverpool
    Posts: 1,329
    RC7 wrote:
    DCisared wrote:
    I felt let down by Naomie Harris in skyfall, She comes across as nervous and wooden to me.

    My thoughts, exactly.

    Listening to Mendes on his SF commentary where he talks about there being a lot of new opportunity in future for expansion of characters such as Tanner, Q , M and moneypenny makes me kind of happy in a way that Mendes isn't coming back for 24. I'm all for the return of moneypenny but could do without the SF interpretation and her awkwardness. I hope we get a more polished performance in 24 no matter what is asked of her.
  • MurdockMurdock The minus world
    Posts: 16,330
    DCisared wrote:
    RC7 wrote:
    DCisared wrote:
    I felt let down by Naomie Harris in skyfall, She comes across as nervous and wooden to me.

    My thoughts, exactly.

    Listening to Mendes on his SF commentary where he talks about there being a lot of new opportunity in future for expansion of characters such as Tanner, Q , M and moneypenny makes me kind of happy in a way that Mendes isn't coming back for 24. I'm all for the return of moneypenny but could do without the SF interpretation and her awkwardness. I hope we get a more polished performance in 24 no matter what is asked of her.

    I think in B24 she'll be better because I think she was supposed to be a bit wooden and nervous. It was her first mission in the field, she was shot at, in a heated chase dodging falling cars, Shot her partner (007) and was really responsible for Silva's antics. That kinda stressful pressure would certainly make me a nervous wreck.
  • 0BradyM0Bondfanatic70BradyM0Bondfanatic7 Quantum Floral Arrangements: "We Have Petals Everywhere"
    Posts: 28,694
    DarthDimi wrote:
    Michael Madsen
    I'm not saying he's the greatest actor alive but give him something cool to do and he delivers.A certain number of films, including two Tarantinos, effectively demonstrate that. Yet I find him downright abysmal as Falco in DAD. Sad, for I had genuine hopes.

    Yeah, I agree about being underwhelmed by his performance. The more I think about it, it just felt like there was something missing...

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