Which Beatle was the best actor?
Which Beatle was the best actor?
shareJohn was a natural so I'd say John.
John was also in "How I Won The War" - A silly war movie but nonetheless another fine performance from Lennon.
"Make love not war"
MovieChat Forums > A Hard Day's Night (1964) Discussion > Which Beatle was the best actor?
paul john and ringo. george never really said much in help or hard days night.
shareI have to disagree ... George had some great lines and he did a nice job in the scene with the television producer who mistakes him as a male model interviewing for the teen show.
John just stood out no matter what he did. It took me many years before I caught on to what he was doing on the train with the bottle of Coke. He kept putting it up to each nostril - When I first saw that scene I thought it was John been a goof. Years later it finally dawned on me what he was referring to.
that scene was very important..
This is your life and it's ending one minute at a time.
Same here. When I saw the picture at 13 years old when it debuted in '64, I had no idea what JL was doing. In the Seventies I finally got it. So far ahead of their time they led a nerdy generation, (Baby Boomers) to become the ultimate in coolness.
shareActually, some of the funniest things George did in either movie were done without speaking. George is probably the closest thing the group has to a Harpo.
I want...I want...I WANT EVERYTHING I'VE EVER SEEN IN THE MOVIES!
When he flips the piece of artwork outside the ad man's office and says something like "you don't see too many of these around" it always cracks me up. The punch line is delivered in a well timed manner by George.
shareI thought George was the best actor, easily. John and Paul were just being themselves, and Ringo didn't say much.
George had the scene where he skewered a proto-influencer. Way ahead of their time in many ways.
Richard Lester felt that Ringo was the best or as he put it, most natural actor of the bunch and that Paul was the worst. This is probably why Paul's "individual" scene was cut from the film.
Spyders
Paul was awful wasn't he? But back then he was just too adorable and nobody cared or even noticed his lack of acting skills - especially his fans. Can't remember if he improved any by the time they did HELP! ...
shareHey Babe,
Apparently Paul had some theatre people in his family or Jane Asher did or something like that and as a result Lester said that Paul tended to overact. He was just trying too hard instead of letting it come naturally.
Spyders
[deleted]
Well, all he had to do was act naturally. :-)
shareHere is a crazy bit of triva (sorry to change the subject) ... did anyone read about the actor in the "disco" scene dancing next to Ringo - the tall dancer (Jeremy Lloyd) was in Los Angeles in the late 60's and was invited to Sharon Tate's house the night of the Manson murders. He fell asleep and completely forgot about the invitation. YIKES. Mr. Lloyd was also one of the cast members on "Laugh In" ... I mean that is completely insane.
shareRichard Lester said that George Harrison was the best actor among the Beatles. I can't remember what he said about Ringo. A lot of people think Ringo was the best actor, even the other Beatles thought he was. But Richard Lester didn't. He said that John didn't really try, and Paul tried too hard.
shareHi clive!
Regarding the best actor, I've not heard Richard Lester describe George as the best actor. For that matter, I haven't heard him describe any of the Beatles as the best actor. He has described George as the "most accurate performer" and I've heard him describe Ringo as "the most natural actor of the bunch" but then when he asked one of them to star in a film, it was John.
He reportedly went up to John during the filming of "How I Won the War" and said "John if you wanted to do this you really could be very good at it" and John replied "Yeah, but it's ****ing stupid, isn't it?
So I guess it's really kind of up in the air as to who Lester thought was the best actor.
Spyders
IMHO, John and Ringo have a lot of screen presence, but if I were to cast one in a "serious role", it'd be George. He reacts to what is going on around him. He let's others in the scene. John was very funny in this movie, but he's quite hammy and is just waiting to get his next line out.
Brian
Awwww, people are so hard on Paulie. I mean, he was pretty rotten in A Hard Day's Night, but he tried his best! Hey! Anyone ever notice that the other three all got their little solo moments: George in the modeling agency, John on the stairs with that random girl and Ringo during the entire second half of the movie...and Paul had NO moment to himself? Ouch! Poor thing.
That being said, I think Paul did much better in Help! He has a lot of little moments in the background that you don't really notice but that are actually really funny. I love the part when he gets into the car next to George and George goes, "I didn't encourage that wink" and Paul just gets this LOOK on his face that cracks me up each time.
Bah! Anyway...the best would have to be John, I think. He just sexes it up every time and makes it seem like he wrote all his lines himself, which is a good thing.
I get the feeling you're violating somebody's basic human rights here...
Paul originally had a solo scene which was filmed and everything, but it was cut because it dragged a bit. I would agree that he was better in Help, though.
Hmm, I like the other three, they're all quite good. In the Beatle films I like George and John the best... but I love Ringo in Caveman. Haha.
Explain again how sheep's bladders may be employed to prevent earthquakes.
John was very funny in this movie, but he's quite hammy and is just waiting to get his next line out.
by - hansibrian
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Don't understand why people dislike Paul. John is trying way too hard.
It seemed to me that Paul was trying too hard and John seemed more natural, almost as if he improvised some of his scenes because he took it less seriously.
shareI'm pretty sure he was also in Help!, as the guy in the "Oriental" restaurant with the hat who had the one line, "Oh, it's rather a jolly place!"
I want...I want...I WANT EVERYTHING I'VE EVER SEEN IN THE MOVIES!
Rings made the best acting career, overally. But hopefully there are better films too than the Caveman.
The Apple Scruffs Corps, 05
Nobody knows patience better than me
I'll go with the consensus and agree that Paul was clearly the worst. That's sufficiently obvious, though, that it's not the most interesting observation ever made. Way too self conscious.
The other three are pretty close. I'd probably go with this, from best to worst:
John - He could go a number of different ways, including completely absurd, and still seem natural. He usually brought something interesting to his line readings, without coming off as either forced or self-conscious. He stood out from the others in Help!, and did a good job in an actual part, playing against full-on actors, in How I Won the War (despite, as someone already observed, it being a pretty poor film ... verging on unwatchable, actually).
George - I thought was the most natural and believable. He had a great deadpan comedic style, which is best in evidence in his "bit" in AHD'sN. What he didn't display, as John did, was the ability to take his part somewhere beyond the deadpan.
Ringo - Was fine, but -- like Paul -- sometimes seemed to be pushing it a bit.
For a head-to-head-to-head-to-head showdown -- in a rather silly scene -- look at the card game at Buckingham Palace from Help! (should that be abbreviated as "H!"?)
They all showed promise, and Ringo's solo scene was a highlight of the film...but John and Paul stood out for me, for different reasons.
Go take a step outside - see what’s shaking in the real world.
Maybe I'm the only one who thought Paul did a good job. Maybe I was sucked in by his pretty-boy-ness. John was great too. My least fave was George. Ringo was funny too.