Bob PeryeaMichael Beihn rocks and Ben Afleck sucks
March 19th 2008 03:59
I was watching Terminator last night, and began wondering: how the hell did Michael Biehn not become a massive star? He was the main male lead in both the original Terminator and in Aliens: two huge smashes of the mid 80s. He was also in The Abyss,Tombstone and The Rock but other than that virtually nothing. How many people even know his name? He played two seminal character in two seminal 80s science fiction movies, and yet he’s a nobody. That’s more than Robert Downey Jr has ever been in and somehow everybody knows him and he gets cast in Iron Man.
Now that I think about it maybe the Terminator series has a curse on it, Edward Furlong has only been in Detroit Rock City since T2. Two quality movies, one as a kid one in his early 20s, and no recognition for him either. His imbd profile has him staring in a 2005 film Cruel World with the plot synopsis :
How many of these guys are there out there: actors that have done one or two awesome roles and failed to gain recognition for it? So many actors get recognised despite doing nothing. Take for example Eric Bana, he hasn’t had one really successful Hollywood movie yet, but he’s a recognised star (Before people start telling me he is an excellent actor I 100% agree Chopper rocks, he was incredible in that, and I also enjoyed Troy bad timing for that to come out though, just failed against the Lord of the Rings spectacular). How about Ben Affleck? He has done nothing good since Dogma and before that only really Dazed and Confused and Good Will Hunting yet he is a bonafide A lister.
How does this happen? Michael Biehn is excellent in two quality movies and yet is a nobody, whereas Ben Afleck is decent in three and becomes one of the biggest stars in the world?
p.s. The Film Blog has transformed itself into Cinema XYZ! It's going to be exactly the same as the last 7 post or however many there were.... Me complaining about things in movies.
Reeling from his dismissal from a reality show, a deranged runner-up holds a group of co-eds hostage on the set of his own fictitious show, where losers suffer a deadly fate.
Sounds like a quality piece. Wait, does sarcasm translate over the internet?How many of these guys are there out there: actors that have done one or two awesome roles and failed to gain recognition for it? So many actors get recognised despite doing nothing. Take for example Eric Bana, he hasn’t had one really successful Hollywood movie yet, but he’s a recognised star (Before people start telling me he is an excellent actor I 100% agree Chopper rocks, he was incredible in that, and I also enjoyed Troy bad timing for that to come out though, just failed against the Lord of the Rings spectacular). How about Ben Affleck? He has done nothing good since Dogma and before that only really Dazed and Confused and Good Will Hunting yet he is a bonafide A lister.
How does this happen? Michael Biehn is excellent in two quality movies and yet is a nobody, whereas Ben Afleck is decent in three and becomes one of the biggest stars in the world?
p.s. The Film Blog has transformed itself into Cinema XYZ! It's going to be exactly the same as the last 7 post or however many there were.... Me complaining about things in movies.
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Comment by JohnDoe
Film & TV on DVD
Totally agree, how the hell did Ben Affleck get anywhere in film? With you on his Linklater/Smith work.
I'm a bit of a Michael Biehn fan too and liked his work with Director James Cameron (Aliens, Terminator, Abyss). It was fun seeing him turn up in Grindhouses Planet Terror recently, though his face looks like a botched plastic surgery job now....I try to forget his work in The Rock, stupid even for a MIchael Bay film,....then again K2 was a guilty pleasure....bit of trivia I think i read somewhere Biehn was the original choice for McManus in Usual Suspects
I think the reason Downey Jnr is so respected is his undoubted skill at inhabiting characters eg: Chaplin, Less Than Zero, Wonderboys etc, unlike Biehn who relies mainly on charisma.
Edward Furlong impressed me immensely with his turns in American History X, Little Odessa and Pecker, he is ecking out quite a unique filmography of quality, amongst several disappointments.
Comment by Geoff Egan
Noise Fanatic
I completely forgot that Furlong was in American History X. And I can totally see Biehn as McMasus too. That would have been sweet.
I've been avoiding the whole Grindhouse thing, while I like Rodriguez I'm not a gib Tarintino fan (gasp!) and these looked mostly dumb. But I've heard mised reviews, so maybe I should check them out one day
Comment by JohnDoe
Film & TV on DVD
Grindhouse is what it sets out to be trash exploitation bliss....you can read my Deathproof review HERE if your interested. In the critique I expressed my view on Tarantinos work which is...
"The abysmal response to the Robert Rodriguez/Quentin Tarantino presents Grindhouse twin feature serves to emphasise that the brash pair have succeeded in their goal. After all this was never meant for the mainstream, it also highlights the publics misconception of the Director’s work which has always existed to recreate the schlock entertainment he loves not revolutionize cinema."
Comment by Morgan Bell
Science News
Deep Pencil
Business News
Movie Train
Artist Quirk
possible his own personal choice to accept his success for what it was and step out of the limelight and focus on family or other interests?
i think theres a big difference between being an artist and a star. someone like ben affleck is really more famous for dating beautiful actresses like Gwenyth Paltrow, Jennifer Lopez, Jennifer Garner etc (oh and Matt Damon haha) and they attend the opening of car doors and envelopes and the like and actually choose to embrace the media in their personal lives, seeking publicity and interviews and exposure.
i also think popularity can often spike with actors when they cross genres or take on character roles rather than leads, like arnie in kindergarten cop, adam sandler in spanglish or micky rourke in sin city . . . to some extent ben affleck has done this too appearing in dramas, satires, romantic romedy, and action thrillers . . . dont get me wrong, i dont think hes very good as an actor but i think he knows how to maximise his audience and drive the publicity machine.
fantastic post, it really made me think!
Comment by S.L. Bradish
Comment by Geoff Egan
Noise Fanatic
That's a really interesting point Morgan brings up about Afleck being famous for dating famous women, his fame is then just by leeching of others.
But I think you may be right on the point that his 'brooding quiet' charisma isn't as popular as say Bruce WIllis' in your face style.