Did anybody else find it amusing that in "Marathon Man" Laurence Olivier plays Dr. Szell, a character obviously based on Dr. Mengele, while playing a Nazi hunter searching for Dr. Mengele in "Boys from Brazil" a few years later?
shareSimply put, the man could play anything. Hence he has his rightful place as one of the greatest actors of the 20th Century.
shareCompletely agree. Great actor.
shareI agree completely. I thought that Olivier was the highlight of MARATHON MAN. He managed to give several great performances in the last decade of his life in spite of a laundry list of serious health problems.
shareAs Sheriff Andy Taylor said to his son, Opie Taylor while describing the wide and varied talents and skills of their favorite actor, "That's the actor of the man" :)
Olivier had fantastic range, he could play just about any role and was simply one of the best, if not THE best who ever worked in the business.
I'm in complete agreement! Sir Olivier was even slated to play Don Vito Corleone in 'The Godfather'. Now THAT is something I wish came true!
He who conquers himself is mightier than he who conquers a city.
Yes, I had heard that Olivier was considered for the part. I think Coppola rallied behind Brando and he finally won the part. I think some of the studio brass thought Olivier might have been a bit old for the part, but I think he could have played the part very well.
Brando was good, but I am guessing that Olivier might have played the role a bit differently.
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Olivier was a stage trained actor and I'd certainly agree that he was a great actor on the stage where you have to play to the audience and project your voice as far as possible into the stalls.
But on film where you have to appear as natural as possible he is far from perfect.
Have you seen The Boys From Brazil? He's very natural in that. Best performance ever in a thriller.
shareHave you seen The Boys From Brazil? He's very natural in that. Best performance ever in a thriller.
In 'The Boys from Brazil' he should have been prosecuted for overacting!!!!
shareIn 'The Boys from Brazil' he should have been prosecuted for overacting!!!!
Oh, I am just guessing that Olivier might have played the role a bit differently than Brando; I don't know for sure. When you look at each actor's body of work, you can see that each actor has his own methods.
Each man was a creative genius and most probably would have interpreted the character a bit differently and used his own, unique methods in his performance.
jwalsh67 wrote: "Sir Olivier was even slated to play Don Vito Corleone in 'The Godfather'. Now THAT is something I wish came true!"
The Godfather is perfect as is, and I cannot wish that Brando hadn't played Vito Corleone. Still I am intrigued by what it would have been like with Olivier. I'm sure his performance would have been top notch as well.
Because Olivier was a great actor and could play anyone or anything. Literally.
shareLaurence Olivier was awesome in this movie as Dr. Szell!
Prostitute: What the *beep* are you doing?
Johnny: I'm gonna kill a bunch of people.