[Closed] actors that only do heroic etc roles

[i]I thought Tom Cruise might be the master here[/i]

Nope. Rainman, Eyes Wide Shut.

[i]Will Smith[/i]

Nope. The Pursuit of Happiness

Err will's film include:

6 degree of seperation - killer trying to make good, hardly heroic
A winter tale (2014) - where he play the Devil
Hancock - yes he comes good in the end but is initally a drunk superman

etc etc.

Damn, I'm a star, should I play the bad guy? PR team comes in and says "hell nooooo"

Didn't Tom Cruise play a contract killer in Collateral?

Mel Gibson?

I thought Tom Cruise might be the master here

He's an actor who only plays heroic roles, he's a pretty damn good actor who only plays heroic roles too. Until he has a crisis of confidence and can't play heroic roles any more. Then he meets a good looking woman who talks him into being a better actor who only plays heroic roles again.

"Heroic" perhaps not the best choice of word. Roles of positive people. Rainman IIRC he ends up OK. Collateral is the exception. Born on 4th July possibly, not seen it.

The Will Smith roles above are all positive.

Compare Charlize Theron in Monster, De Niro in many.

Smith and Cruise (who can act well hut chooses to play shouty egotist mostly) are just looking for the dollar.

Will Smith isn't heroic in I Legend (with the proper ending) or 7 Pounds. He does positive things in both but that doesn't make them positive roles either.

I think Jackie Chan has a thing about only playing good guys. Something about wanting to be a positive role model.

Smith and Cruise (who can act well hut chooses to play shouty egotist mostly) are just looking for the dollar.

I think its more about what the dollar is looking for. With 'stars', as opposed to 'actors', film financiers make their funding of films contingent of choosing who has the lead role in them. They'll see a certain film as Will Smith film or Tom Cruise film and writing the cheque becomes dependent on them being in it. Thats why they can command such high fees as the whole film hangs in whether or not they'll come on board. What that system demands though is that Tom Cruise always looks and sounds and acts like Tom Cruise - not just from film to film but on and off screen too.

jackie chan defo

matt damon i think

Dave.

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Tom Cruise - Nope. Check his role in 'Magnolia' (his best, I think).
Matt Damon - Nope. 'Talented Mr. Ripley.'

Jason Statham has made a decent living doing the same action film over and over.
Although Crank made me laugh .

Kevin Costner tried for a bit.

I was going to suggest Liam Neeson but he was Raj al Ghoul in Batman..

Jackie Chan played a bad guy in Rumble in Hong Kong, awesome film.

What about the cheese lords, Norris and Seagal? Or even JCVD?

And Mel Gibson, seriously? Mad Max isn't really a heroic figure in the first film.

Robert powell

Jim caviezel

Or even JCVD?

Doesn't he play the hero and the villain in most of his films? 😕

The biggest culprit is Denzel, I'm sure every script must be pre-approved for badassness. Can't stand him personally.

Chris Evans aka Captain America(not the ginger radio version) and the Human Torch in Fantastic Four, don't recall seeing him in much
else.

Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger apart from Twins

Stallone....... even cop land he was heroic, Rambo still a version of a hero

Denzel I was going to suggest glory or philadelpha but really Training Day he was unheroic

Steven "ooooh look what a big ego I've got" Seagull.

The Rock.

/end thread

(Although actor is s loosely applied term)

The Rock's not heroic in Faster, he's an ex con on a murdering spree (*), and is he not the villain in the Mummy? (haven't seen it)

(*This ain't no place for no hero, this ain't no place for no better man...)

What about the cheese lords, Norris

Nope - Way of the Dragon has him as the bad guy fighting Bruce Lee.

Cruise is in Risky Business playing a dumbass kid, in Collateral as an amoral hitman, a sexist git in Magnolias...

Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger apart from Twins

And Terminator.

And Total Recall (arguably)

And Batman and Robin

Stallone played Machine Gun Joe in Death Race 2000, not a hero. Not gonna list him cos tbh the only heros in most of his films were the audiences that made it to the end.

Bruce Willis

Reckon Bruce has a 99% record except for playing the Jackal http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0119395/?ref_=nm_flmg_act_67

Don't remember Tom Hanks being a bad guy?
road to perdition was close but really he was just Robin Hood in that one

Ladykillers was about as bad as Hanks gets

As mentioned above it has to be the Stath, hasn't it?! 😉

matt damon i think

The Departed.

Tom Cruise - Tropic Thunder....

Bruce did Muddy Grimes in Beavis and Butthead Do America. Also Butch in Pulp Fiction.

Tom Hanks was also a hitman in Road to Perdition.

Jackie Chan played a villain (or two) in Enter the Dragon.

Seeeeeeean Beeeeeeeean

And if you say Mellors isn't a hero, you are wrong.

I'll call you on Seeeen Beeeean for Alec Trevalyn in Goldeneye
http://www.imdb.com/character/ch0000276/?ref_=tt_cl_t2

I'm not sure if you could put Bruce/Butch in Pulp Fiction as a bad guy, though it may be that there are no good guys in Pulp Fiction

wallop - Member

Seeeeeeean Beeeeeeeean

Patriot Games, Ronin.

Robert Redford.

Actually no, this is harder than you think 😕

I'll pitch in young, I reckon Emma Watson hasn't played a bad one yet and Daniel Radcliff.

See, this is the problem now - I've not seen these:

Patriot Games, Ronin.

I suck at this game.

Clint Eastwood.

Nearly said Kurt Russel until I remembered Death Proof.

Antonio Banda...nope (ooh new Machete film!)
Steve Busce...nope
Nicholas Ca...nope
Milla JovohFFS

Hulk Hogan and Mr T both have a Rocky film to thank for their downfall.

The Hoff? I did find one entry which may suggest he played a 'hard man' though.

1976 Caught with their Pants Down
[i]Boner[/i]

Eastwood? Ignoring Dirty Harry, The Man With No Name and Escape from Alcatraz characters then then? He's more the anti-hero type.

squirrelking
Eastwood? Ignoring Dirty Harry, The Man With No Name and Escape from Alcatraz characters then then? He's more the anti-hero type.

Yes but he's never the antagonist. Not that I can remember anyway.

Nicholas Ca...nope

Not always the 'hero' but I thought this was interesting:

Originally, Nicolas Cage turned down the role of Castor Troy, citing a lack of interest in playing a villain. However, once he was told that he would actually be playing the hero for a majority of the film, he quickly signed on.

matt damon i think

Could be a good shout. Not seen all of his films, but struggling to think of any where he's a bad guy.

I think as mentioned already Matt Damon drops it for The Departed & The Talented Mr Ripley

Julia Roberts? (Never seems to play a baddie, not sure if she would be classed as a heroic one though!)

Robert Downey junior?

George clooney. And Clint Eastwood?

Cage also kidnaps a baby in Raising Arizona. Matt Damon also protagonist in The Zero Theorem.

Not sure about Downey Jr, a lot of his older stuff is so unwatchable who knows what he's done.

Aha, Cage did Lord of War, knew he had a definite 'bad' part.

Harrison Ford

What Lies Beneath. Cowboys and Aliens.

Robert Downey Jr played a bad agent in US Marshals.

I'm struggling to think of an actor who's been around for a while who hasn't played a baddie.

Kuco

I'm struggling to think of an actor who's been around for a while who hasn't played a baddie.

I think Clooney and Eastwood are the only ones mentioned so far.

Some of Eastwood's early westerns the characters he played were of a questionable character for example in High Plain Drifter he rapes a woman and takes advantage of the town.

Kuco

Some of Eastwood's early westerns the characters he played were of a questionable character for example in High Plain Drifter he rapes a woman and takes advantage of the town.

Questionable character yes, but not the villain. not the antagonist. In High Plains Drifter his character is brutal, but he is there to punish the people of the town as they are greedy, corrupt, racist and let their sheriff die.

You can have characters with questionable morals/no morals who dad bad things who are still the heroes.

Has anyone debunked Seagal yet? Do I win a prize?

Machete.

Bugger. Ok then. Shatner.

White Comanche.

We used to pose a similar question in the staff room, name a director who hasn't made a bad film?

The strange thing was that all the male teachers really got into it and arguing their case, whilst the female teachers looked on in pity!

Ben Dover, I know it's leftfield but I am pretty sure plumbing is a heroic profession 8-0

White Comanche.

How about movie stars who were hero's in real life instead....

Jimmy Stewart...

mikewsmith - Member
Reckon Bruce has a 99% record except for playing the Jackal http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0119395/?ref_=nm_flmg_act_67

He was an anti-hero at best in Last Man Standing, there were no heroes in that film.

john wayne.

The Hoff? I did find one entry which may suggest he played a 'hard man' though.

He played Garth Knight, Michael's hirsute evil twin.

[img] [/img]

Rich_s - Member

White Comanche.

That's cheating!

Fine, Loaded Weapon 1.

Keanu Reeves.

Christopher Reeve.

mrhoppy - Member

Keanu Reeves.

Man of Tai Chi.

To further de-bunk Tom Cruise, see also Vanilla Sky, Minority Report.

I think Clooney

Hardly a 'good guy' in From Dusk Til Dawn.

Hardly a 'good guy' in From Dusk Til Dawn.

Kind of an antihero rather than a villain though. He tries to keep Seth in check throughout.

Keanu Reeves played Evil Ted in Bill and Teds Bogus Journey.

Pauly Shore? (now we really are scraping the barrel)

JCVD
Cameron diaz
and Butch Lee as my father called him 🙂

Cameron diaz

See "The Last Supper".

JCVD as said fights himself in just about every movie.

Not sure about Bruce Lee.