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Should Billy Dee Williams have been a bigger movie star than he ultimately became to be?

posted 4 years ago by TMC-4 (19392)
27 replies | jump to latest

It would be naive to not suggest that racism didn't likely play some part in him not getting more shots as a studio leading man. To give you some better context:

https://www.datalounge.com/thread/22830030-actors-who-got-big-breaks-but-blew-them

He followed up Brian's Song and Lady Sings the Blues with cop and action films, then into oblivion. Star Wars comeback. He could have been a leading man, and don't give me that Hollywood racism spin, it was the 1970s and I was there.

Let's not even discuss how Miss Ross squandered her movie career.

—Anonymous
reply 376 01/05/2019

Billy Dee Williams was also in Batman and I think him being cast as Harvey Dent pissed some people off. He also did Dynasty for a while.

—Anonymous
reply 380 01/05/2019

[R376], I will give you the Hollywood racism spin as unrequested.

What other black male actors were getting lead roles in major studio releases in the eighties?

Billy Dee Williams wasn’t getting roles because he was black. Studios were giving Burt Reynolds one shot after another, bomb after bomb. BDW ended the decade and his period of leading man potential playing a minor role in Batman, and even that threw people into a rage.

—Eldergay, also “there”
reply 387 01/05/2019

[–] Redsfan001 (6004) 4 years ago

Those 'Colt 45' commercials he was in for years helped his wallet but hurt his career.

Young movie stars fo the most part did not do beer commercials back then.

The thread also does not take into account simple business thought of the day. Blacks are only 10% of the population. Giving the leading role to a black man in a major film in the 1970's meant that your majority white audience might be not be as enthused to see it,hurting box office receipts.

Then came the 1980's...and Eddie Murphy killed that type of thinking.

[–] kuku (3510) 4 years ago

So it happened to him the same that it happened the rest of the main cast, except Harrison Ford. But this particular case it's because of racism.

Ah, these wonderful victim cards!

[–] [deleted] 4 years ago

Well, the rumors of a costumed David Prowse calling him 'Token' on-set didn't help much either.

[–] Otter (24464) 4 years ago

FYI a lot of movie theater in black neighborhoods closed during the seventies and eighties, which led to a sharp downturn in the number of films made for black audiences. That's one of the reasons the "Blaxploitation" genre died out towards the end of the seventies.

I just don't think anyone was making enough films that suited his talents, when he was young and hot and on the edge of the A-list. I mean nobody was better at being suave and sexy and incredibly attractive, and he'd have been perfect as a romantic lead... if anyone was making romantic films about black people at the time. I mean, he did "Mahogany", but even if that mess had helped his career there just weren't any similar roles in its wake, nothing he could use to build a career.

[–] AP (5256) 4 years ago

With the exception of Harrison Ford, no one connected to Star Wars went on to be major celebs.

[–] TMC-4 (19392) 4 years ago

Why did Harrison Ford become such a movie superstar post-Star Wars despite limited acting range, while co-stars Hamill and Fisher simply faded away?

https://www.quora.com/Why-did-Harrison-Ford-become-such-a-movie-superstar-post-Star-Wars-despite-limited-acting-range-while-co-stars-Hamill-and-Fisher-simply-faded-away

[–] AP (5256) 4 years ago

Fisher had a drug problem that affected her career.

Meanwhile, Hamil isn't as attractive or as charismatic as Ford. Also, to be honest, I've never been all that impressed by Hamil's acting (it doesn't help that he started appearing in b-movies and schlocky TV shows after Star Wars). He does great voice work and Luke Skywalker will always have a place in my childhood but I think Ford is a much better actor.

[–] Otter (24464) 4 years ago

Harrison Ford fit well into the Hollywood Leading Man mold, being tallish, handsome, likeable, sexy, white, straight, you could cast him as an action hero or a president and audiences would believe it. Being the right type can be more important than being a good actor, in Hollywood.

Hammill did not fit into the Hollywood Leading Man mold at all, he was one of those small, boyish men who play teenagers until age thirty, and then turn into gnomes. Plus, he had his years of being... unreliable.

As for Fisher, somehow the only role where she ever appeared to be beautiful and sexy was when she played Princess Leia. I mean, obviously, she had personal problems that interfered with her career, but I really don't know why no other director brought ought the same things that Lucas and Kirshner did. I expect that Hollywood thought she was too smart and too funny to be sexy, and sexiness is the main thing Hollywood wants from young actresses.

[–] TMC-4 (19392) 4 years ago

Somebody in that Quora thread said that the problem with Carrie Fisher is that she always came across as much older than she actually was. A lot of that had to do with the way that she spoke and the way that she in general carried herself. Carrie had a very authoritative sounding voice. During the '80s if you wanted an actress who could plausibly be authoritative and tough, your first and ideal choices were Sigourney Weaver or Jamie Lee Curtis. The point is that it was kind of hard to cast Carrie Fisher as a traditional leading lady because she could only fulfill a certain niche. You couldn't really for instance, have her be the lead in a romantic comedy because stuff like that really requires an actress with a decidedly gentler touch.

[–] Otter (24464) 4 years ago

Yes, that's one of the reasons she was so good as Princess Leia, with her deep voice and air of knowing it all, she came across as very intelligent and incredibly mature for her years.

Which is not what Hollywood was looking for in a young actress, then or now. They want the typical female lead to be beautiful and easily impressed by the male lead. They don't want usually want the leading lady to come across as smarter than the leading man, or to look like she's even thinking about mocking him. Everything that made Fisher work in the role of Leia, is something that would rule her out for most of the roles available to young actresses.

[–] mitzibishi (1615) 4 years ago

Because Ford was mates with Stevie Spielberg (probably through Lucas and Coppola) who gifted him Indiana Jones and he had masses of charisma and sex appeal.

[–] TMC-4 (19392) 4 years ago

In Harrison Ford's case, he was very fortunate to have Raiders of the Lost Ark and the subsequent Indiana Jones films. That really solidified him as an A-lister and household name (and not just the guy who plays Han Solo) and proved that he could carry a film. And his two Jack Ryan films gave him a third franchise (if you count Blade Runner, a fourth) that he could hang his hat on to.

[–] AnubisRaydeen (7897) 4 years ago

They gave Carl Weathers a shot at lead in the 80's in Action Jackson. Racism didn't stop that. While that was a flop (and thus a signpost for movie profit) he did go on to work in the industry continuously from then to now. Prolific in spite of the racism that kept Billy down. Goddam, I love Carl.

So nope. I think Billy Dee was secretly a mediocre actor. Suave and good looking, yes. Good actor? Maybe not. I loved him as Lando but it is a very short and limited role. Perhaps people didn't like working with him or maybe his range was zero.

[–] TMC-4 (19392) 4 years ago

Action Jackson technically wasn't a flop. It grossed $20 million on a $8 million budget, and made another $45 million in VHS sales. There was actually talk of a sequel but it got killed due to the company that produced it, Lorimar being absorbed into Warner Bros.

https://lebeauleblog.com/2018/02/15/movies-that-were-supposed-to-launch-franchises-but-didnt-action-jackson/

[–] manwithoutaplan (227) 4 years ago

Action Jackson was a solid movie for it's time, not great, but solid.

[–] AnubisRaydeen (7897) 4 years ago

Too bad! I'd have loved an AJ sequel/reboot. I always expected it to have legs even though it was not very good. We should be on Action Jackson 12 by now.

[–] TMC-4 (19392) 4 years ago

Why didn't Carl Weathers become a top tier black actor like Denzel Washington? He had the platform from Rocky, he was handsome and charismatic.

https://www.quora.com/Why-didnt-Carl-Weathers-become-a-top-tier-black-actor-like-Denzel-Washington-He-had-the-platform-from-Rocky-he-was-handsome-and-charismatic/answer/Jon-Mixon-1

https://www.quora.com/Why-didnt-Carl-Weathers-become-a-top-tier-black-actor-like-Denzel-Washington-He-had-the-platform-from-Rocky-he-was-handsome-and-charismatic/answer/James-Rawlins-15

Denzel Washington is one of the greatest actors of his generation - Carl Weathers is good but not great.

Let’s be honest - other than appearing as Apollo Creed, name one iconic movie role or movie that Carl Weathers ever did. Action Jackson, which was supposed to be a big franchise, was moderately successful at the box office but the critics hated it. Hurricane Smith was both a critical and box office bomb. The reality is Weathers never really had a role that showed off his acting ability (other than the first two Rocky movies. Even Billy Dee Williams was a bigger star then he was - course he was a much better actor.

It might be also argued that Weathers arrived too early. African-American actors didn’t have that many chances in the 1970s and 1980s to headline a star vehicle - Denzel really came at the end of the 1980s. Other than Billy Dee Williams, there really wasn’t a big African American movie star at that time (not even James Earl Jones, who was respected but not a big star). The exception might have been Sidney Poitier, who won an Academy Award almost 20 years earlier - and by the 1970s was stuck in low-budget comedies for the most part. Richard Pryor had the same problem (course while he was very funny, was never the actor that he was the stand-up comedian) and Eddie Murphy broke the curse.

But let’s be honest - while he wasn’t the biggest movie star, Weathers was a very successful actor who worked in many films and television - something that was envied by almost every other African American in the business.

[–] Otter (24464) 4 years ago

I don't think Billy Dee Williams would have fit the mold of the 80s action hero, he was just too sophisticated.

[–] stevewyzard (1241) 4 years ago

Don't forget: he was in Fear City (1984)!

[–] TimMC (9143) 4 years ago

I remember watching The Jeffersons(sitcom) and the maid Florence loved BDW, LOVED. She talked about him a lot. She just gushed over him.

[–] Gd5150 (10991) 4 years ago

Lol that’s great tv! He was on Dynasty. Got to be Diane Carroll’s man. Now that was one hot couple.

They must have had Colt 45 delivered by the keg.

[–] TimMC (9143) 4 years ago

For years I had no idea who BDW was, just that Flo loved him. LOL.

[–] Gd5150 (10991) 4 years ago

Flo? Lmfao! That hilarious! I seem to remember him popping into the diner once. Overcoat. Scarf. Gloves. Maybe his bus broke down.

He and Harrison Ford are the 2 coolest actors in Star Wars. Cocky, suave, sarcastic, manly. They’d never be cast today. Alec Guinness as well.

[–] Kowalski (57314) 4 years ago

IN MY OPINION,BILLY DEE'S CAREER MATCHED HIS TALENT LEVEL.