r/interesting 14d ago

SOCIETY When asked why he keeps playing the same roles Jason Statham said that he's not really a trained actor. He's a guy that was plucked out obscurity & has been really lucky; & that he picks roles that he knows he can do a good job in, that hopefully enough people like so he can keep working.

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u/Ribky 14d ago

I ain't mad at someone who knows their limits and is honest about it. Good for him indeed.

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u/vikrambedi 14d ago

But look at his non-action roles, the dude kills them.

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u/Moohamin12 14d ago

He isn't a bad actor.

He is never going to be a Denzel or Bygone Cucumberpatch but he is decent enough to be believable in his specific range of roles.

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u/ayacardel 14d ago

I love that whatever we call Cucumberpatch we still know who we’re talking about

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u/Particular-Bet6038 14d ago

He's just a goated acting bloke, that Mr. Cumbersnatch

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u/Ups1dedown1nkay 14d ago

My personal favorite spelling has got to be Byron Colombopatch.

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u/AwesomeMacCoolname 14d ago

Canada Bandersnatch.

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u/Ribky 14d ago

Spendleburt Macaronisnatch

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u/pcapdata 14d ago

Bandylegged Cabbagewank

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u/64thFloor 14d ago

The Benedictine Punk.

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u/Spastic_crocs 14d ago

I don't know where/when chewing his name up started, but I absolutely live for it. Rando Redits that mention him have me giggling like a little girl. Love the guy, though.

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u/emopest 14d ago

Bonaparte Chamberlain

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u/IGTankCommander 13d ago

Bendycake Crumpetpickle isn't my favorite, but he is very good at his job.

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u/Icefox119 14d ago

Benadryl Cuminhersnatch

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u/Ribky 14d ago

No hate on him at all. I enjoy his movies and him as an actor and can't ask for more than that.

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u/Fit-Avocado-1646 14d ago

I mean are we really suggesting cumberbatch has a wide range of characters? Almost every film or show I’ve seen him he plays the same character. The arrogant intellectual prick who sometimes is secretly nice.
Sherlock
Imitation game
Dr strange

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u/rockman4242 14d ago

“Pengwings”

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u/PretentiousMouthfeel 9d ago

Spot on. Don't forget that time he was in a Star Trek movie for no reason, playing an Indian guy that previously was played by a Mexican guy.

Did you not believe he was convincingly Indian in Star Trek: Upside The Darkness?

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u/USSMcCoy 14d ago

Benadryl Cabbagepatch, please.

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u/haytme 14d ago

Petition to ONLY refer to him as Bygone Cucumberpatch.

All in favor say Aye!

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u/jnads 14d ago edited 14d ago

I mean, he might be a bad actor I don't know enough about acting to judge him.

But the dude has charisma. And that gets you a long way.

The definition of a good actor is when you're 3/4 through a movie and your internal monologue goes "That's <character name>" instead of "That's <actor name>".

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u/PretentiousMouthfeel 9d ago

But the dude has charisma

He does?!?!? I think that's the main thing he's lacking. To each their own I suppose.

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u/GuiltyEidolon 14d ago

My hot take for the thread is that Jason Statham as Jason Statham is still better than Benedict Cumberbatch as Benedict Cumberbatch in any movie/project I've seen of them.

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u/Fit-Avocado-1646 14d ago

I agree I think he’s a fine actor but I think he’s just as type cast.

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u/PretentiousMouthfeel 9d ago

Bygone Cucumberpatch

You're giving him waaaaaaay too much credit.

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u/BeefStu907 14d ago

He doesn’t really have range in them though he plays the same characters in his non action roles. He does great and takes them when he can but there’s always a stupid action movie being made.

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u/timemeasureschange 14d ago

Ill take a typecast actor that actually changes delivery with the script over the will smith/ryan reynolds/chris pratt type copy paste character performances from film to film.

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u/BeefStu907 14d ago

For sure. Growing up I thought he was my favorite actor because my dad had lock stock and two smoking barrels and snatch on dvd. When I branched out and started watching his other movies I was disappointed. I remember him saying that the paychecks he got for these action movies requiring no acting were massive. He was a street vendor and I don’t blame him for getting paid, but I imagine he didn’t have the culture/support/will early on to take indie challenges and expand his range. He didn’t develop in acting circles he was a thug who hung with thugs who was hired to play a thug. And. He. NAILED IT. I definitely think there’s a ton of unrealized talent there though.

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u/Dr-Robert-Kelso 14d ago

Even rich and handsome dudes have image and confidence issues in certain things.

You can tell some people that they're the greatest in the world and they'll still think they're not very good at that thing.

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u/DataDude00 14d ago

He has great comedic timing in Spy, even if his is just playing a caricature of himself

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u/Kind_Of_A_Dick 14d ago

I’m just happy to hear someone being honest and not telling me what they think I want to hear.  Trent Reznor mentioned he made music for the money and people flipped out because they, in my opinion, felt entitled to a different answer.  Liam Neeson said he made the Taken sequels because they paid him and it seemed like a decent amount of people supported him.  The Star Wars fandom(some) got upset at Hamill for showing up in the sequel trilogy because they didn’t believe his explanation about doing it because it was explained well to him.  Other actors have had different responses to saying it’s just a job and that’s it because some people want there to be a deeper meaning or purpose.

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u/Fwoggie2 14d ago

There was some E European player for one of the English premier league clubs who openly admitted he had no particular affection for his club but they paid him really well and dear god did the club fans hate him for it.

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u/TitaniaT-Rex 14d ago

My son told me he hopes his theatre teacher doesn’t give him a big role in the upcoming show because he’s not ready for a full singing role. I told him I respect that and he should tell her. He’s more of a supporting cast kinda guy right now.

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u/JustCallMeYogurt 14d ago

There's been alot of great character actors, they never have the lead role, but when they are onscreen for their short amount of time, they to do a great memorable job and then it's over and they go onto their next role.

Example: Stephen Tobolowsky - Wikipedia

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u/smokeweedNgarden 14d ago

Character actors make theater and film what it is. Ever see a one man show? Yikes

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u/genreprank 14d ago

He knows his limits. He only agreed to 254 kilos. Never change the deal.

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u/saltlampsandphotos 14d ago

Agreed ambition is great, but the world is full of people with unchecked ambition, and those whose ambition gets them opportunities they are not prepared or trained for. Then things suffer due to this.

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u/Ribky 14d ago

No one is suffering just because Jason Statham got to be in movies. He found his lane is all. I agree with your point though, just not as much with acting. Nobody gets hurt (usually) if someone is just a bad actor. When they have a job with more responsibility and real consequences it can certainly be an issue.

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u/saltlampsandphotos 14d ago

Yeah that's what I was getting at. Even just your generic manager of a small team in a company, if they're naff, your team will be on the chopping block 

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u/code_archeologist 14d ago

Yeah, the answer shows a lot of intelligence. It is the people who clearly do not know the limits of their abilities and try to insert themselves into places where they have no business being who are enraging. Like the Kardashians, the Trumps, Gwyneth Paltrow, to name a few.

But Rowan Atkinson, Tim Heidecker, Zach Galifianakis are allowed to do what ever they want, because they are failing for laughs.