@Mr.Q said:
they need to stop putting wrestlers in places they don't belong. find actors to act.
I think there is a fatal flaw in your statement. Under normal circumstances I would tend to agree with you; too often wrestlers are thrown willy nilly into film for no good reason other than simple recognition sake and to attract a certain type of audience. Typically they are given the 'lunk-ish' and lackluster roles, bringing nothing of significant value to the movie as a whole (I'm looking at YOU Triple H!). However, IMO, there is more of a reason now to start looking at these muscle men as potential actors, and that is the rise of the superhero genre. As comic book movies grow in popularity and larger casts of characters are explored for silver-screen debuts, there are going to be some characters, like Drax, which demand a more imposing individual to bring them to life. What I mean by that is, an actor, no matter how talented or skilled they may be, need to not only be capable of fulfilling the role but physically make themselves believable as the character. A lot of these characters we, as comic book fans, have very strong pre-conceptions as to how they should look, and if the resulting expectations are not met, the film suffers to an extent.
Let me give some examples to maybe better illustrate my point. In the original X-men movie they cast Tyler Mane as Sabretooth. Sadly, the writing of his role was lack-luster and all he really accomplished was to get kicked around by Wolverine, but they didn't cast Mane for his acting skills. They cast him for his large, tall, and imposing figure. He looked good as Sabretooth and, if they had given him more than one or two lines, I think he could have made the character very believable based on his physique. Nothing Oscar winning I assure you, but it would have worked. And guess what? He was a wrestler at one point too. Now take Liev Schreiber in Origins: Wolverine. He's a decent enough actor. And although this version of Sabretooth had more to say, he did not in any way shape or form physically fit my expectations of how Creed should look and, as a result, I couldn't take him seriously (but then again, I couldn't take that movie seriously to begin with).
On the other side of the fence, let face it, there are not that many talented actors who are good at what they do AND can fit the physical requirements of what we expect from comic book heroes. How many really good actors can you think of off the top of your head that are not just fit, but ripped? I was honestly initially worried about Chris Hemsworth begin cast as Thor. At first all I could think was 'You mean that skinny guy from Star Trek?' Granted, I like Hemsworth and he did bulk up quite a bit to play Thor. He acted well and managed to deliver a believable performance. But truthfully he's still on the scrawny side when it comes to Gods of Thunder. He's got good height, but I have always pictured Thor with the Schwarzenegger-ish build, because that's how he is always portrayed in the comics. Tom Hardy as Bane, while fitting quite nicely in Nolan's more 'grounded' Batman epic, in my mind is way to short to be a proper Bane. One terrorizing part of Bane in the comics is the fact that, even when not on venom, he physically towered over Bruce Wayne and could give him a run for his money in a fight. Chris and Tom ended up being good picks for their respective roles, but who else could have been cast to fit the build? If we're going strictly by looks, some wrestlers do come to mind.
All and all I think people should give wrestlers turned actors a bit more slack. They fit into a certain type-cast that most regular actors can't touch physically. A lot should never see the big screen due to poor acting skills, but some are not bad either. Even Dwayne Johnson is entertaining when he's making fun of himself (Rundown, Be Cool, etc.) And really, how important is Drax's role going to be in the upcoming movie? He's there to kick @ss and take names, not deliver inspiring speeches or move you to tears. Agreed, Bautista would not have been my first pick (did they even ASK Diesel?!?), but for the purposes of the character I think he'll do alright and make Drax look like the intimidating S.O.B. that he is.
Log in to comment