I suppose that, by those standards, Elizabeth Taylor was not the right choice to play Martha in "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf", simply because she was an attractive woman, although she won an Academy Award for her performance.
And Olivia de Havilland was not the right type to play Catherine Sloper, a plain spinster, in "The Heiress" (1949). Again, in spite of the fact that she also won an Oscar for her performance.
Every actor has "baggage". Dustin Hoffman has "baggage" from "The Graduate", but that didn't stop him from giving an excellent performance as a 121-year old survivor of the Battle of Little Big Horn in "Little Big Man", or from being just as good as Willy Loman in "Death of a Slaesman".
And BTW, Greer Garson, a very attractive redhead, played Eleanor Roosevelt in 1960's "Sunrise at Campobello".
Your standards of casting would severely limit most actors.
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bzb2001
19 years ago
I'm afraid I am at a loss to reply to much of your message. Most of the movies you mention I have not seen. Two I have, however, are "The Graduate" and "Little Big Man." (I know, I haven't seen "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf" despite years of my best friend trying to get me to see it.) I disagree that Dustin Hoffman had any baggage going into the role of the elderly battle survivor. Simply because an actor has been in other films does not mean they have "baggage."
Consider this: Imagine Dan Aykroyd playing the title role in Oliver Stone's "Nixon." Aykroyd made a living mimicking the ex-president in "Saturday Night Live" skits. I believe his acting range would be sufficient to play a darker part. (Maybe, screen tests and auditions would prove or disprove that.) His baggage as a comic actor would leave the thought of using him in that role as ridiculous, whether or not he could perform the task.
It is possible to overcome that type casting with a good performance, I don't believe Cynthia Nixon is up to that task. I do not object the casting choice on shallow grounds, the fact that Eleanor Roosevelt is attractive or unattractive doesn't matter much. It would have been a braver decision to cast a woman that looked similar to the ex-first lady, or one that did not have a "single gal from New York" character following her around.
I disagree that my standards of casting would limit actors. The way you interpreted what I said indeed would limit them.
P.S. Look, also, at the bit parts of the Roosevelts in "Annie." Those actors do not represent the first couple. It just doesn't work.
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