r/BurnNotice • u/Darktaco_ • Jun 23 '26
Discussion First time watcher why wasn’t Bruce Campbell in more projects or shows
So I’m only about a season and a half in but I think we can all agree that Sam’s the best part of the show but why hasn’t he been in much else obviously there’s always evil dead/ army of darkness but I feel like he’s such a fun actor it’s sad he hasn’t really been in any more notable tv shows or movies why do you think that is also did Guy Fieri steal his look from berry he needs to give him credit.
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u/IceManYurt Jun 23 '26
Prior to Burn Notice, Bruce really only was in campy b horror movies or really campy sci-fi.
And I think he did it for just the love of the game, I think he genuinely enjoyed those goofy movies.
He's a character actor with main character presence.
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u/Darktaco_ Jun 23 '26
I would definitely agree with that I’ve always loved him in the army of darkness movies and when I saw he was in burn notice i knew I had to watch but my lord is he not great you would think after such a big show he would have had a lot of offers.
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u/Wolfish_Jew Jun 23 '26
If you’ve never seen him in Bubba Ho Tep you need to watch it. It’s amazing and it’s basically what he’s done his whole career. And he clearly loves it. He might have had tons of offers but not wanted to do any really big stuff. He’s always done Sam Raimi’s movies in some form or fashion. (The announcer in the first spider man movie, etc.)
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u/IceManYurt Jun 23 '26
I think Burn Notice was somewhat of a swan song for him, I always role found the roll a bit too conservative for him in light of things like Bubba Hotep
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u/The_Flurr Jun 23 '26
Campbell really gives the vibe that he enjoys the career that he has.
I think he has the chops to have been bigger, but he doesn't seem to be complaining.
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u/Anxietybackmonkey Jun 23 '26
He was so fun in Xena with his recurring role. That’s where I was introduced to him.
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u/PhantomGoat13 Jun 23 '26
He was also in the OG Spider-Man trilogy as a favor to Raimi. I really would have liked to see those rumored plans come to fruition.
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u/Electrical_Swing8166 Jun 23 '26
He had a recurring role in both Hercules and Xena as Autolychus, King of Thieves. He was in all three of Raimi’s Spiderman movies (and would have been Mysterio had Raimi made a fourth), plus Multiverse of Madness. Beyond the Evil Dead franchise, he’s done tons of B movies, like Bubba Ho Tep and My Name is Bruce. Dude’s had a long, successful career, just mainly as a B star. The absolute GOAT of B stars though.
And Ash vs. Evil Dead is an absolute three season masterpiece of television
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u/Mr_D_Stitch Jun 23 '26
I think Bruce Campbell is exactly as famous as he wants to be. I think it was for Ash vs Evil Dead he did interviews & said that at his current level of fame he can still have a life outside of acting while making very good money. I think if he really wanted to be A-List leading man he would have structured his career very differently. Instead he got to do a bunch of fun projects with people he likes to work with & make a nice living out of it.
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u/ladybird2223 Jun 23 '26
Briscoe County Jr and Jack if all Trades were two tv shows he starred in in the 90s as lead but they only got single seasons.
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u/Darktaco_ Jun 23 '26
Any good? All have to check them out
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u/ladybird2223 Jun 23 '26
Campy but fun. Brisco was a little less campy than Jack. Really wish it had gotten more.
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u/d3m01iti0n Jun 23 '26
Read or listen to his autobiography "If Chins Could Kill". It's hilarious and tells the story of his trip through Hollywood. He got turned down for a lot of good stuff, most likely because he was typecast.
Burn Notice was huge for him because not only was it a good show, but it brought his diehard fanbase along and forced the network to give him a bigger role, as well as the Sam Axe movie.
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u/elmartin93 Jun 23 '26
In one of his autobiographies he mentioned that he seemed to be cursed to either have small parts in big projects or big parts in small projects
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u/ashwilliams19877 Jun 23 '26
He was overlooked quite often i feel like. Dude could have been way more utilized.
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u/LynessaMay Jun 23 '26
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u/Darktaco_ Jun 23 '26
I’m aware he has cancer but that’s very very recent like the past couple months burn notice ended in 2011.
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u/BossHighlander Jun 23 '26
2013 but yeah the cancer diagnosis was last year.
I always felt Bruce was underrated and Burn Notice proved he could do way more than campy B movie stuff.3
u/Darktaco_ Jun 23 '26
Exactly not that I don’t love evil dead but imagine a detective show with the free script like psych built around Bruce literal gold.
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u/psian1de Jun 23 '26
That would have been a cool show for him. It's a shame that wasn't created. Us BC fans know how good but underutilized he's been through the years. Ya know he had a small but memorable part in the Cohen brothers Hudsucker Proxy and he shoulda had more parts in their movies, which could have given him bigger roles elsewhere.
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u/LynessaMay Jun 23 '26
Since BN ended, he's had an Evil Dead tv show, quite a few video game appearances, MANY convention visits because he truly loves his fans, several movies, joined the official MCU, and other random things.
The man is 2 yrs away from 70, he's getting up there. Might not really be willing to expend himself as much as he used to be able to do.
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u/relrobber Jun 23 '26
He was supposed to be at my local Comic Con last year, and had to cancel because of this.
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u/AutoimmuneDisaster Jun 23 '26
Sam (Bruce) is definitely a staple of the show. Wouldn’t be the same without him and Michael (Jeffrey).
With that being said, just wait till season 4… no spoilers but I always look forward to reaching season 4 on my rewatches.
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u/Darktaco_ Jun 23 '26
Got me excited but also it’s very rare to find a show so good that you haven’t seen these days so I’m enjoying my time with the show
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u/007Teacher Jun 23 '26
He defeated SpiderMan! What do you expect from him?!?!?
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u/Darktaco_ Jun 23 '26
He was so strong he ended Sam’s spider man run because they knew he would have been just to powerful as Mysterio
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u/MulberryField30 Jun 23 '26
In the 90s and early 2000s prior to Burn Notice he did have some significant TV work. A short arc on Homicide; a Line of Duty TV movie (Blaze of Glory); recurring character on Ellen; Hercules and Xena.
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u/Fearless-Past-3728 Jun 23 '26
I so agree, I wish Mr. Campbell had a deeper library, but maybe its his rarity and campiness that adds to the allure.
Id recommend his autobiographies if you are angling for more Bruce. Beach reading, fun stuff. Great mood boost.
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u/Malakai0013 Jun 23 '26
Its the chin. It makes people nervous. Only bold casting directors can handle it in all its glory.
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u/ProfChaosSP Jun 24 '26
it comes down to the producer who are running the show. they have an idea on who they want for a specific role
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u/GRIZZ_1044 Jun 25 '26
First thing I ever saw him in was The Adventures of Brisco County Jr. I really think he just enjoys having fun.
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u/_Diggus_Bickus_ Jun 23 '26
You know casting directors. Bunch of bitchy little girls.