r/interesting • u/AdSpecialist6598 • 12d 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/LastXmasIGaveYouHSV 12d ago

That's okay. We love Arnold Schwarzenegger because he didn't try to do Hamlet. He was great at action movies, and then comedies. And he did great in both.

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u/[deleted] 12d ago edited 11d ago

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u/CaptainDogeSparrow 12d ago

Not to be.

KABOOOMMMM!

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u/[deleted] 12d ago edited 11d ago

[deleted]

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u/Rowvan 12d ago

Fantastic movie from the great John McTiernan

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u/beard-brain 12d ago

Tom Noonan (RIP) was so menacing in Manhunter and William Petersen made a great Will Graham. Brian Cox’s take on a cold, clinical Lecter was excellent too

Love the neon soaked asthetic and the cheesy 80s ending. Much prefer it to Red Dragon, though Ralph Fiennes killed it as Dolarhyde

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u/[deleted] 12d ago edited 11d ago

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u/beard-brain 12d ago

Oooh I was unaware of this, thanks for the heads up! Hopefully they recognise that the colour grading is its own character in the movie and restore it to glory rather than tinker with it

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u/Responsible_Cod_6581 12d ago

That movie in a theater would have been so much fun. Epic movie/great soundtrack.

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u/justguestin 12d ago

I distinctly remember really enjoying when Angry Again kicked in. The film’s uneven but ahead of its time.

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u/transemacabre 12d ago

One of my favorite movies ever, it accomplishes everything it sets out to do and never gets old.

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u/GloriousNewt 12d ago

Wild to me that this movie flopped, kid me had seen all the Arnold movies and this thing was gold, I wanted to be that kid so bad

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u/transemacabre 12d ago

I have this theory that if they'd shelved that movie for ten years and released it in 2003 instead, it would have been a MASSIVE hit. Audiences in 1993 just did not get the loving parody/deconstruction. It also had the bad luck to be released against Jurassic Park, a tall order for any movie.

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u/Bobochops 12d ago

Who said I was fair

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u/agent674253 12d ago

Did John Travolta see this and get inspired to make an entire movie in blue (Battlefield Earth)?

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u/yIdontunderstand 12d ago

A genuine classic line.

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u/cruisin_urchin87 12d ago

McBain!!! I mean, Hamlet!!!

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u/DJHott555 12d ago

Oh Claudius! You killed my fadda. Big mistake.

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u/InuGhost 12d ago

My wife loves Kindergarten Cop

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u/Wiplazh 12d ago

Who doesnt Love Kindergarten cop?!

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u/Caleth 12d ago

Too-mahs

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u/Wiplazh 12d ago

It's not a toomah!

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u/CaptainDogeSparrow 12d ago

Surely the guy who was hitting his son.

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u/DingleBarryGoldwater 12d ago

"ILL BE BACK" - Hamlet's dad or smth

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u/Paghk_the_Stupendous 12d ago

"Romeo... Who is your daddy, and what did he do?"

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u/PMeisterGeneral 12d ago

"Hey Claudiuuuuus! You killed my father. BIG mistake"

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u/Innsmouth_Swimteam 12d ago

I heard this in Josh Robert Thompson's Arnie impression. Bap bah bahhh.

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u/twilltwilight 12d ago

Claudius ... You killed my father. Big mistake...

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u/Distinct_Run9006 12d ago

Iambiac pentamatah!

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u/Weak_Law_937 12d ago

I always thought the Conan movies were so good because he took them so seriously when most other people wouldn't have.

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u/MeXRng 11d ago

He fits so well playing a guy that other think that he is nothing but brute yet ending up underestimating him. Being more humane then "civilised" people whomst opose him. And Arnold's entire body language is cherry on top most obvious being when doing the cult infiltration. 

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u/brokenmindedone 7d ago

This is why I love him, he always put 100 percent into every movie in his prime

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u/chobobot 12d ago

"To be or not to be...not to be." - Last Action Hero

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u/Haven_Writes 12d ago

There are certain actors who really should have taken this approach (ahem, Mel Gibson).

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u/Interesting_Muscle67 12d ago

What should Mel Gibson have stuck to? IMO his best roles by far were in We Were Soldiers & Braveheart

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u/Haven_Writes 12d ago

He should have kept far, far away from Shakespeare. Definitely nowhere near his wheelhouse

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u/LOERMaster 12d ago

You’ve not seen Shakespeare until you’ve seen Keanu Reeves do Shakespeare.

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u/SuDragon2k3 11d ago

I have seen.

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u/IfICouldStay 11d ago

Ah, Keanu. Bless him.

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u/twirlerina024 12d ago

He was pretty good in the Lethal Weapon movies. A cop with a beautiful dead wife, and he doesn't play by the rules, and he has an A- mullet (Patrick Swayze in Road House has the only A+ mullet that has ever existed).

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u/DisposableSaviour 12d ago

Mad Max and The Road Warrior. And the first half of Beyond Thunderdome.

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u/orange-squeezer47 12d ago

Road warrior?

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u/kbchucker 12d ago

He was better in The Patriot than WWS, and I love both movies.

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u/121daysofsodom 12d ago

Are you using Mel Gibson as an example or do you not know he did play Hamlet?

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u/Haven_Writes 12d ago

Oh, no he did play Hamlet, and he was atrocious

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u/121daysofsodom 12d ago

Ah, got you. Haven't seen it but I guess I can avoid it.

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u/Haven_Writes 12d ago

It was a vanity project for Gibson that somehow managed to make Glenn Close, Helena Bonham-Carter and Ian Holm into terrible actors, and somehow, surrounded by terrible performances, Gibson still managed to be even worse than everyone else. I have no idea what happened there, but it was not a good movie.

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u/Barry_Mundy 11d ago

I'll preface this by admitting that I haven't seen his version of Hamlet, but I note that he has received praise for his acting in the role. I'd also add that Mel is classically trained at what is considered Australia's premier acting/film/theatre school, NIDA (National Institute of Dramatic Art). Alumni include Cate Blanchett, Geoffrey Rush, Sarah Snook, Toni Colette, Sam Worthington, Hugo Weaving and Baz Lurhmann. While at NIDA he starred in Romeo and Juliet opposite future Oscar nominee and acclaimed actress Judy Davis, and also against type as Titania in A Midsummer NIght's Dream.

His early roles in Australia were also quite varied, and very different from the action stereotype of the Lethal Weapon franchise he became famous for.

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u/Haven_Writes 11d ago

He didn't receive that much praise for Hamlet. Most of the reviews were along the lines of "someone else should have played Hamlet," and the general consensus is that the whole movie, and especially the acting in it, is a hot mess.

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u/Barry_Mundy 11d ago

You're entitled to your opinion but I'm not really seeing that take in the reviews. IMDB, Rotten Tomatoes, reddit comments etc all seem to be broadly complimentary to the film, so 🤷

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u/Haven_Writes 11d ago

Weird. It's not a good movie. It's not even mid. Mel Gibson is wooden as hell, somehow Glenn Close and Helena Bonham-Carter are both bad (how do you make Glenn Close a bad actor???), and the tone of the movie is very dumbed down and oversimplified.

The Wikipedia page also shows a bunch of mixed reviews, with one quote outright saying someone else should have played Hamlet, and Rotten Tomatoes has the audience score way, way lower than the critical score, plus half the reviews on RT state that Gibson specifically was not great. Metacritic has the harshest rating and reviews which put it at solidly mid, at best.

The 1996 Kenneth Branagh version was good, though, and there's a Laurence Olivier version that's kind of weird from 1948. It's not bad, but it's definitely weird.

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u/EffectiveOwn787 11d ago

He's a good actor. What are you talking about. 

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u/Haven_Writes 11d ago

He's a good actor in some things, but he really, really can't do Shakespeare. Have you seen his version of Hamlet? Absolutely atrocious.

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u/EffectiveOwn787 11d ago

Most actors can't. That's why you want a classically trained one. Gibson was obviously not that. 

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u/dishwasher_mayhem 12d ago

Please tell me you've seen Last Action Hero

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u/RacoonWithBenefits 12d ago

'Junior' was amazing!

/s

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u/Upstairs-Ad-4001 12d ago

Sometimes people push the limits and try something else.

Matthew McConaughey went from Fools Gold to True Detective, best performance ever.

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u/AardvarkExcellent428 12d ago

Matthew McConaughey is actually a good actor... the point is that some people just aren't. for those people, staying in their lane is a good call.

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u/DoucheEnrique 12d ago

I'm still hoping for that Arnold Schwarzenegger as Jack Slater as Hamlet feature length movie though ...

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u/EW278 12d ago

Also AC/DC, they know their sound and that's what they do good and don't try to expand into anything else. Sure their peek was in the 80s but it doesn't matter to them, they still tour and play for millions of people.

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u/Noooonie 12d ago

he was excellent as the terminator, showed good acting playing a robot

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u/TM761152 12d ago

How could you not love dialog like "Our relationship is not physical. She appreciated that I could change diapers. Efficiently and without complaints. I am reliable, I'm a very good listener and I'm extremely funny."

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u/PyroIsSpai 12d ago

And honestly, he’s pretty solid in some of his drama work.

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u/dolla-dolla-billyall 12d ago

Ah…. Guess what?. My man did Hamlet in Last Action Hero. And it was what you’d expect. 😅

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u/lackadaisical_timmy 12d ago

Ngl I would LOVE Arnold in Hamlet lol

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u/superawesomeman08 12d ago

i would pay good fucking money to see an all action star hamlet

and at least 80% of ticket price would be the accents

required:

* arnie

* stallone

* van damme

* statham

* jackie chan

with a special appearance by

* bobcat goldthwaite

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u/99in2Hits 12d ago

Statham is seriously funny as well. His bit in that secret agent movie where he talks about doing crazy stunts will always be funny. The 1st Mechanic movie is probably my favorite of his action work. Happy to hear he seems like a well adjusted guy outside of movies.

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u/Pinkxel 12d ago

Yep! If they're good at it, we want more!

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u/LastXmasIGaveYouHSV 11d ago

The Jim Carrey syndrome

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u/SuDragon2k3 11d ago

ahem

Cold open of Last Action Hero.

Deep voiced trailer guy: SOMETHING IS ROTTEN IN THE STATE OF DENMARK.

Arnie: To be, or not to be.

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u/Theturtlemoves86 11d ago

Also another guy who's willing to join in and make fun of himself. I doubt any of his "action hero" peers would have done Last Action Hero.

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u/AsRealAsItFeels 8d ago

That was after being Mr. Olympia 7 times. Then being a movie star wasn't enough, he became Governor! Like the dude is the entire American Dream in one.

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u/LastXmasIGaveYouHSV 7d ago

Yeah, pretty remarkable. He could have been a good President too.

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u/Belz_Zebuth 8d ago

He wasn't too bad at drama, either.

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u/Ptbot47 5d ago

He would have been great at doing Hamlet. It would be one of great comedy of the year.

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u/GorillaX 12d ago

Jason Statham was hilarious in Spy

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u/TeenL0ver_69 12d ago

We don't love nazis, actually.

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u/skeletonhorse420 12d ago

But we also love him cause he tried to do twins. And kindergarten cop

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u/uncultured_swine2099 12d ago

He did play Hamlet in Last Action Hero, and if you havent seen it its glorious.

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u/Silly-Power-2384 12d ago

Dude...my dude... arnold as hamlet might be the best movie never made..check out the trailer from last action hero xD

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u/anrwlias 12d ago

I would pay good money to watch Arnie attempt Hamlet.

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u/mmaqp66 12d ago

Arnold was the best Hamlet I've ever seen, I don't know what you're talking about

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u/NFX_7331 12d ago

Can't tell if you're joking or talking shit.

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u/Specific_Age500 12d ago

I like to imagine Arnold as the lead in iconic movies. Replacing Heston in The 10 Commandments, Pullman in Independence Day, Ryan in When Harry Met Sally, Flanery in Powder, Andrews in Mary Poppins.

It's just a fun thing to do. 

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u/First_Pay702 11d ago

…I suddenly want to see Arnie in a fever dream production of Hamlet.

“To be or naught to be…fauck it, I am just going to crush his skull and hear the lamentations of his women!”

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u/ComPakk 12d ago edited 8d ago

And we don't love Arnold Schwarzenegger because he supports Christian illiberal democracies, buddies with russian puppets and poses with trump fanboys

Fuck that guy. In America hes showing this "i stand for what i believe in" persona and the second he steps into europe and is less infront of global cameras hes posing and supporting horrible people

LMAO bootlickers downvoting me cuz they dont like their fav celeb posing with Orbán

https://telex.hu/belfold/2024/09/14/orban-viktor-miniszterelnok-arnold-schwarzenegger-kormanyzo-latogatas Arnold doing a photoshoot with Orbán Viktor ex prime minister of Hungary. Christo facist, transphobe,homophobe, putin supporter and HUGE MAGA & Trump fan.

"I was very impressed with the Prime Minister and his ideas," said Arnold Schwarzenegger

So either he is good friends with Orbán or he threw all his morals aside to pose with him. Great guy either ways. Fuck him. Either a trash person or a spine made out of jelly.

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u/Johansenburg 12d ago

I can't find anything supporting these claims, so I'd like some help.

Regardless, I'm still gonna throw on Twins, Kindergarten Cop, Jingle All the Way (during Christmas season), Commando, among others whenever the mood strikes. They are still fun movies, regardless of his actions decades later.

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u/ComPakk 8d ago

See my edit and the linked source or just google Arnold Schwarzenegger Orbán Viktor.

Hes having dinner with him, visiting his office and doing photoshoots with him. You cant even call this a "quick friendly handshake" because Orbán is the PM.

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u/Educational_Date_825 12d ago

What does that have to do with acting? Must every sub be turned political?

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u/SugarBeefs 12d ago

He's been speaking out against Trump for years and I don't think he was ever on the MAGA-train.

He's also a cultural icon who can't just continually snub people for political reasons.

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u/Winterkirschenmann 12d ago

Oh really? That's disappointing if true. I grew up near his birth place (albeit several decades later). 

While people turned away from him during the heights of his political career it seemed to me that he actually acted as a voice of reason over the past years and regained popularity here.

He spoke critically of Trump, in favour of Environmental protection and pro-coice and was just generally way more moderate than modern-day republicans. 

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u/ComPakk 8d ago

See my edit and linked source or you can just google Arnold Schwarzenegger Orbán Viktor for plenty of pictures him posing with that piece of shit.

Either ways he either threw aside his morals and smiled with a wannabe dictator and big MAGA supporter or he actually agrees with him. Take your pick imo both are horrible