Ralph Fiennes – NZ Film Freak

Top 10: Actors Who Stopped Getting Typecast

Ricky Gervais loves being typecast, he says that actors should do what they do best and not feel the pressure to play different parts.

However, this is clearly not the view of a lot of actors who seem to be trying to shake their ‘character’. Some have not been successful, such as Jack Black and Adam Sandler, who forever play the School of Rock and Happy Gilmore type characters.

Jennifer Aniston is still being typecast as her Friends character Rachel in various rom-coms, despite the attempts to ditch it such as in Cake or The Good Girl.

Will Ferrell ditched his ‘mean but dumb funnyman’ character in Stranger Than Fiction, Robin Williams played a very serious role in Good Will Hunting, and Owen Wilson almost detached from the funny guy persona in Midnight in Paris.

For other actors such as Daniel Radcliffe and Robert Pattinson, I don’t think their iconic roles as Harry Potter and Edward Cullen will ever be able to be shaken, sadly. That is despite their clear acting ability.

Meanwhile other actors have been successful in breaking free from their typecast, and are in all sorts of films now.

I think the top five female actors (are we allowed to say actresses anymore?) who narrowly escaped being typecast are:

Rosamund Pike
I wrote about Pike’s change in public perception in my post What are you like, Rosamund Pike. Just when we thought she was forever going to play the smart, elegant and beautiful lady-like characters in films like Pride & Prejudice, Made in Dagenham and The World’s End, she goes and does something like Gone Girl! Which, I’m sure surprised us all. She’s certainly shown Hollywood what she’s capable of. Having said that, have we seen her in anything big since..? Eek.

Emma Stone
She was the rough and ready comedy support actress, and I think that’s where we thought she’d always stay. The Superbad, The House Bunny, Zombieland, Friends with Benefits kind of girl. But then The Help came along, showing her dramatic and compassionate side, then Spiderman, then La La Land, which turned her into an all-singing, all-dancing serious actress! Love her.

Kate Winslet
Sense & Sensibility turned into Titanic, and Finding Neverland turned into The Holiday. Kate Winslet remains a brilliant dramatic actress who sometimes showed her comedic side (like in Extras). But if you look closer at her career, you’ll find some gems that shows a totally different side to Kate Winslet. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind being one, where she plays an eccentric woman. The Dressmaker being another, where she plays a flamboyant Australian. I guess she is still typecast in a way, but she has shown that she can do so much more.

Reese Witherspoon
I wrote her off, because she’s always played ‘the blonde’. The Legally Blonde airhead, then Sweet Home Alabama and Little Nicky. But then Walk the Line happened, and suddenly Reese Witherspoon was a genuine and talented dramatic actress who could sing beautifully. THEN, there was Wild. And I was sold. I’ve heard she’s amazing in Devil’s Knot too.

Jennifer Lawrence
At first, I thought she was going to forever remain as Katniss Everdeen from The Hunger Games, then I thought she’d be typecast as a sci-fi blue thing in X-Men (I haven’t watched the X-Men series). But each time she managed to escape the typecast hold! With movies like Silver Lining, American Hustle and Joy keeping her not only out of reach of typecasting, but also the highest paid female actor of 2015 and 2016.

The top five male actors who narrowly escaped being typecast are:

Jim Carrey
He may have been typecast during the ’90s as the goofy, outlandish comedy actor of Ace Ventura, The Mask, Dumb and Dumber and The Cable Guy, but there was a sudden turn closer to the naughties. There was Liar, Liar (a personal favourite), and then The Truman Show, which showed a far more serious side. Man on the Moon showed yet another angle, then the biggest leap of all in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. In this film, he was a nervous, serious introvert. (It’s joked that Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet swapped their typecast roles in this film.) He was made for the part. He returned to children’s films after that (Dr Seuss and A Christmas Carol), but is sadly slowly riding the curve back to being typecast in cheap and dirty comedy sequels.

Bryan Cranston
This actor was forever Malcolm in the Middle‘s dad. But actually, I think he was born to be a dramatic actor in serious roles. It seems he was accidentally made famous in comedy roles instead! He could have easily stayed on that road of comedy, but he escaped. First came a small role in Little Miss Sunshine, then Drive, then Argo… But suddenly, there was a TV show that no one could stop talking about. Breaking Bad. And now we look at Bryan Cranston a little differently and with a little more respect than we did when he was Malcolm’s dad.

Steve Carell
In his early career, Carell was credited as a ‘Mailroom Guy without Glasses’ in a 1998 film called Tomorrow Night. He soon found himself climbing the ropes in the comedy genre. Bruce Almighty, Anchorman and 40-Year-Old Virgin were quick to follow. Then out of nowhere was Little Miss Sunshine, where Carell played a reasonably serious role of a suicidal, gay scholar. In between his typecasting, serious roles keep cropping up, like The Way Way Back, where he plays a really mean dick of a stepdad. Then Foxcatcher, which I really need to watch. These brilliantly serious roles in his career have acted as a red flag to Hollywood, telling them that he has the ability and the power to resist his comedic typecast.

Jonah Hill
It all began in the massive Hollywood comedies – 40-Year-Old Virgin, Click, Knocked Up, Get Him to the Greek… Then he stepped up a notch and did 21 Jump Street and everyone was like ‘whaaaaaat, is that the same guy?’ because he lost a ton of weight. Not only had his look changed, but so did the kind of work he got. He began to get into more serious roles like The Wolf of Wall Street and Django Unchained in between sequels to successful comedies and animation films. Go Jonah!

Bradley Cooper
Does this guy have the same agent as Jennifer Lawrence? Because he’s in a ton of the same films as her now. He began in comedy, the Wedding Crashers being a memorable feature, Yes Man and The Hangover of course. I thought rom/coms was where he’d stay, but somewhere along the way he got into a bit more action, like Limitless. Then that progressed to The Place Beyond the Pines, American Hustle and Joy. This has extended into superhero films! I personally don’t like the guy because he seems a bit pompous, but he sure can act in a variety of roles!

There are lots of all-rounders or ‘chameleon’ actors who could never be typecast! They show how talented they are in every genre and in every role. These include:
Ryan Gosling, George Clooney, Gary Oldman, Ralph Fiennes, Brad Pitt, Meryl Streep, Stanley Tucci, Leonardo DiCaprio… The list goes on!

The Reader

the reader film

Director: Stephen Daldry
Writer: Screenplay by David Hare, based on Der Vorleser by Bernhard Schlink
Released: 2008
Starring: Kate Winslet, Ralph Fiennes, David Kross, Lena Olin and Bruno Ganz
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I’ve been thinking about this movie for days.

A gripping tale in post-war Germany, about a woman name Hanna Schmitz (Kate Winslet) who has a summer affair with a teenage boy named Michael Berg (David Kross). Their romance centres around the novels Berg is reading at school, which Schmitz asks him to read aloud to her everyday. Their passionate relationship soon ends when Schmitz mysteriously disappears, heartbroken Berg is hugely impacted by the relationship and its abrupt end.

A few years later, Berg is a law student and is sitting in on a Nazi war crime trial in court where he is stunned to see Schmitz. She is accused of being wholly responsible for mass murder during the war, but Berg knows a certain bit of information that could reduce her sentence significantly. Should he reveal it to the courts to save a former lover? Or does she not deserve his help?

The Reader film with Kate Winslet

The Reader is about the guilt innocent people feel for the bad things loved ones have done. The guilt of loving someone who is guilty of major crimes. The betrayal and shame felt of a loved one’s poor decisions.

Professor Rohl (Michael Berg’s law professor): Societies think they operate by something called morality, but they don’t. They operate by something called law. 8000 people worked at Auschwitz. Precisely 19 have been convicted, and only 6 of murder. The question is never “Was it wrong”, but “Was it legal”. And not by our laws, no. By the laws at the time.

This was inspired by the writer’s experience of post-war Germany where his beloved and respected professors revealed the text books they had written during Hitler’s reign, and how he felt betrayed by the people he thought were perfect.

The first half of the film made me feel uncomfortable because the love affair is between a woman who is twice the age of the boy. The nudity and intimate scenes is typical of European movies – who find no shame in the human body, or with sex. Whereas, English and American films are far less comfortable with nudity and increasingly at ease with violence, blood and gore. A strange cultural divide that’s influenced their films.

The second half of the film, however, is absolutely gripping. The war-crime trial in the courtroom, and the tangible tension between the main characters; the emotional extremes of innocence and guilt, love and regret. There is such a build-up to this point that I really felt I was looking through the eyes of Michael Berg.

The writers did an amazing job of never telling the audience how to feel. Because it’s based in post-Nazi Germany, they intended the story to steer clear of blame, justice and forgiveness in respect for the survivors and victims.

Michael Berg doesn’t have a monologue, but you can feel the responsibility and guilt easily; the guilt is so easily transferred to the audience. This makes you feel uncomfortable, because of the guilt you feel for feeling sorry for Hanna.

The Reader Film - michael Berg

The whole time I was in Berg’s head, trying to figure out what the right thing to do was: ‘I surely shouldn’t feel sorry for a murderer… But I’ve only known her as a lover this entire time. I also know she’s being unfairly charged… But why should I care? She’s a murderer. But I’m a law student and fair justice comes first…’ As I said, it is a heavy film that stayed with me for days.

The film follows Michael Berg right the way through to when he’s middle-aged (Ralph Fiennes), showing how guilt and secrets have affected him later on in life.

The Reader will leave you with more questions than answers, which was the intention. You’re toying with your emotions just as much as Michael Berg is – what’s right and wrong, what punishment guilty people deserve and what they don’t, and when the truth should and shouldn’t be told.

Michael Berg: I have a piece of information, concerning one of the defendants. Something they do not admitting.

Professor Rohl: What information? You don’t need to tell me. It’s perfectly clear you have a moral obligation to disclose it to the court.

Michael: It happens this information is favourable to the defendant. It can help her case. It may even affect the outcome, certainly the sentencing.

Professor Rohl: So? …what we feel isn’t important. It’s utterly unimportant. The only question is what we do. If people like you don’t learn from what happened to people like me, then what the hell is the point of anything?

A fascinating watch. My wish is only that it wasn’t a romance/drama, and that is was a courtroom drama like A Few Good Men. It would have a totally different movie of course, but it was the courtroom scenes that were the most compelling.

Jodie’s rating: 7/10

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 [SPOILER]

[SPOILER]

Director: David Yates
Writer: J.K Rowling
Released: 2011
Starring: Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, Helena Bonham Carter, Robbie Coltrane, Warwick Davis, Ralph Fiennes, Michael Gambon, John Hurt, Jason Isaacs, Gary Oldman, Alan Rickman, Maggie Smith, David Thewlis, Julie Walters
—

Not a moment to rest! This really is a second part, as in, it can’t really stand alone. If you consider it as a film separate to the first, you may feel exhausted by the constant running and relentless fighting. However, it really is more that that.

It is the final of a ten year long series and the conclusion to the first Deathly Hallows. It’s less mystery and more confrontation. We discover who really is on the bad side and who was betrayed by who.

harrypotter4

Wow! So it really is the end. No more questions and a whole lot of wand-throwing and Star Wars-like action!

The final scene is cringe-worthy… I really don’t think it was necessary to show the next generation of the three characters. The best ending would have been where Harry, Hermione and Ron walk away from the ruins of Hogworts… not the barely-old-enough-to-have-children threesome back at the station… It’s too unbelievable – a little facial hair and older clothing doesn’t add ten years, I’m afraid.

dh2-epilogue1 Also, the part where Harry dies and goes to a heaven-like state did not quite sit quite right with me either. Or perhaps I’m just not into the sappy, sentimental shenanigans…. However, I am not disappointed. Because it is the second of two parts; not an isolated film.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part I Helena Bonham-Carter’s performance made it exponentially awesome – as per usual – playing Bellatrix who is a manically dangerous but feminine killer. So cool. This film is just as dark as the previous, but more of an action than a mystery with the equally fantastic cast and crew who have created another whopper. Technically incredible, of course.

It’s an end of an era, and for the people who were young enough and old enough to grow up with these characters I’m sure you’ll feel a weird sadness now that the series has ended, too.

A great finale, nevertheless.

Jodie’s rating: 7/10

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1

Director: David Yates
Writer: J.K Rowling
Released: 2010
Starring: Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, Helena Bonham Carter, Maggie Smith, Robbie Coltrane, Warwick Davis, Ralph Fiennes, Michael Gambon, Brendan Gleeson, Richard Griffiths, John Hurt, Jason Isaacs, Alan Rickman, Fiona Shaw, Timothy Spall, Imelda Staunton, David Thewlis, Julie Walters
—

What a fantastic film! But of course I would say that; it’s based around time travel. So if you enjoyed the Prisoner of Azkaban, you’ll enjoy this.

Every Potter film before this has been increasingly dark – this is no exception – it is evil and horrific as we continue our ten year journey with Harry potter in order to defeat Lord Voldemort and we are almost at the final fight.

Harry-Potter-and-the-Deathly-Hallows-a

This film is getting closer and closer to the muggle world as the famous three have more dealings with people outside of Hogworts. Despite it’s scary themes and shocking circumstances, it certainly doesn’t lack its tension-diffusing humour.

Particularly within the first chapter where everybody who’s helping to protect Harry takes Polyjuice potion enabling everyone in the room to look identical to Harry – a very clever and interesting behind-the-scenes piece regarding how they did this scene on the double disc version.

There are sudden deaths which may be disappointing for some fans, but the challenges and interdependence you discover between the main characters makes the story deeper and less about Harry. It’s a journey of discovery in more ways than geographically. As we flit from place to place we meet more and more people, unable of who to trust.

Ron-and-Hermione-Deathly-Hallows-Part1-romione-15280646-1350-939 I’m still not convinced about the unorthodox chemistry between Harry and Ron’s sister, Ginny. No matter how many movies, it just doesn’t work for me… However, Ron and Hermione have a more realistic relationship including somewhat hilarious disagreements.

Not long ago I reminisced and watched the first Potter film. It was then that I realised how far we had come technology-wise and this series has documented it.

HarryPotter_DH_Animated_Scene Deathly Hallows has spectacular audio and music as well as flawlessly creepy flashbacks. My favourite scene is when Hermione tells the story of the Deathly Hallows and the relevance of the Elder Wand, Resurrection Stone and Invisibility Cloak. It is so cool – like you’re in the room listening to harry-potter-and-the-deathly-hallows-part-1-373-8756 it, it’s the atmosphere of the film that makes it so real.

This is my favourite film of the series. By far. It is the mystery and the huge journey we go on emotionally and geographically, yet somehow it doesn’t seem so far fetched. A very exciting, yet occasionally humourous watch!

Jodie’s rating: 9/10