I thought Tom Cruise might be the master here but I think Will Smith is on top of him.

Or have I missed someone?

I thought Tom Cruise might be the master here

Nope. Rainman, Eyes Wide Shut.

Will Smith

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.

[video]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OFal553wR3k[/video]

“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.

[video]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dROwEc4VyJA[/video]

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.

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.