Though I believe Vincent D'Onofrio is a better overall actor than Heath Ledger was. Heath Ledger's Joker was about his only standout role. D'Onofrio seems to do a spectacular job in almost every role he lands. - Plissken_1996
I'm a big D'Onofrio fan, and I will agree that he is "better" than Ledger only because D'Onofrio has a longer track record and, unfortunately for Ledger, that will only continue to grow.
I didn't really think too much about Ledger at first, but I have to say that after watching him play Ennis Del Mar in
Brokeback Mountain, I thought he did a tremendous job. He really impressed me, and I went into the film not expecting much of him.
D'Onofrio is a superb actor, but he has to be given material to work with. I saw him in last year's
The Judge, but his part was underwritten and he was underused, so I cannot say that he was "spectacular" in it although he did his usual fine job. "Spectacular" would have meant that he made that one-dimensional supporting part memorable.
But I will note how damned good he can be: I first saw
Men in Black in the theater, and during the closing credits, I turned to my then-wife and exclaimed, "Hey! Vincent D'Onofrio was in that!" She just laughed and said, "He was 'Egger'!" D'Onofrio can inhabit a role so deeply that you--or at least I--forget who it is who is playing the role. With Tom Cruise, by contrast, you know you're getting Tom Cruise no matter the role. But D'Onofrio is not superhuman, only a terrific actor.
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"When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro." - Hunter S. Thompson
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Marina_Niles
9 years ago
With Tom Cruise, by contrast, you know you're getting Tom Cruise no matter the role. But D'Onofrio is not superhuman, only a terrific actor.
It is really sad when actors and actresses put out unique performances and don't get any recognition for them because they're not considered mainstream (or socially acceptable even). Then other actors straddle along playing
average Joes and have awards (or recognition) thrown at them. At least Ledger's performance netted an Oscar. Vincent D'Onofrio didn't seem to get a lot of attention for this movie at all unfortunately. It also sounded like a ginormous pain the rear to
suit up for. And while the chemistry between Tommy Lee Jones and Will Smith is classic, this movie would have quite possibly just been another MiB II (Serleena) without D'Onofrio. He really helped to balance it out.
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