Cranston will now always be linked to Walter White. Could say he was born for that role, and is hard to imagine anyone
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lief_peterson — 9 years ago(October 02, 2016 07:42 AM)
James Gandolfini - Tony Soprano
Sigourney Weaver - Ripley
Christopher Reeve - Superman
Keanu Reeves - Neo (matrix)
Sameul L Jackson - Jules (pulp fiction)
Bruce Willis - John MacLean
Mike Meyers - Austin Powers
Gerard Butler - Leonidas (300)
Russell Crowe - Maximus (Gladiator)
Antonio Banderas - Desperado
Robert Downey Jr - Iron Man
Just a few that came to mind. Fun thread idea -
lief_peterson — 9 years ago(October 02, 2016 08:12 AM)
Ray Liotta - Henry Hill (Goodfellas)
Leonardo Dicaprio - Jack (Titanic)
Mark Hamill - Luke Skywalker
Jason Statham - Transporter guycant think of his character's name..Frank?
Michael Keaton - Batman
Neve Campbell - Sidney (Scream)
Kurt Russell - Snake Plisskin
Robin Williams - Mrs. Doubtfire
Tom Hanks - Forest Gump
Clint Eastwood - Dirty Harry
Adam Sandler - Happy Gilmore
Just a few more I thought I'd shareill stop here though because I could go on and on.
Oh, Christian Bale - Patrick Bateman (American Psychoi know some would argue Bruce Wayne/Batman but his role in AP is what I think he's always going to be linked to, especially now that we have Batfleck lol)
Tobey Maguire - Spiderman
Okay I'll stop for real this time lol -
swolbach — 9 years ago(October 05, 2016 07:39 PM)
Especially like the ones where you don't have to choose between other movies for them.
Liotta clearly fits this definition, to me.
Hanks, Williams & Eastwood, for example, have so many - makes it harder. But if that's the character role that stands out to you, that's what counts.
Hanks has so manyGump would stick out, along with Saving Private Ryan, if I had to pick one. Also, Castaway, especislly for the time he spent on the island. Hard to believe Wilson was not nominated for best Supporting Actor that year.
For Williams, I also think of Good Will Hunting and Saul's favorite, Dead Poets Society (Carpe Diem Brock).
With all the classic westerns that Eastwood did, hard for me to pick just one one characterbut I actually like Gran Torino and go with Walt (not because his name is Walt).
Another one that sticks out for me is Tim Robbins as Andy Dufresne. -
heisenberg12 — 9 years ago(October 05, 2016 09:57 PM)
Robbins as Andy Dufresne is a good one.
I liked Torino, but a guy like Eastwood would be more like Dirty Harry, his old work, or one of his first western hits. Because that's the role he was most known for in that generation.
The other posters here aren't connecting the dots and are just listing off any actor and role that comes to mind. I know what you're getting at and totally agree. They can list stuff to see if it qualifies but it's a much more specific and nuanced description than just being a popular role.
For example, Henry Hill is borderline and probably wouldn't qualify unless you stretched the definition. Being a great memorable role and performance is not enough. You can pawn them off forever- there's hundreds and that's what he's/theyre doing.
There should only be at most about 10-20 that fit this category. It's an estimate, but the point is quality over quantity in accordance with the definition. I admit with my comedy ones I was just throwing out ideas. Griswold was the best qualifier in that.
Also, I'd like to note that it doesn't have to be award worthy either or just popular. For example Michael Douglas could arguably be Gordon Gecko, but I honestly remember him and would put him up in this category as D-Fens in Falling Down. He'll always be D-fens to anyone who saw Falling Down. And nobody will ever imagine him ever again without his weird glasses, box cut, and briefcase walking around LA wreaking havoc just like they won't ever imagine Cranston again without a bald head, goatee, and possibly a 38 snub. -
lief_peterson — 9 years ago(October 05, 2016 10:34 PM)
Just a few questions
How are the choices you made more appropriate in your opinion than other posters?
I think ray liotta and Henry hill are definitely just as synonymous with each other as Bryan Cranston and Walter white. How is that borderline?
And can you explain what you mean by 'you can pawn them off forever-there's hundreds?'
Thanks -
swolbach — 9 years ago(October 06, 2016 01:21 PM)
There's no hard core definition for this post. If an actor easily only clicks for you with one main role, that's fine.
Dgl, I believe, is on track with my original intent, which may not have been clearly noted in my opening post (though we refined it in a couple follow up posts above).
The idea was, what actors, when you mention their name, will they forever be linked to one character, that comes to mind. Now whether that's for everyone, or just personally, that's where we're getting a lot of names.
For me - I know some of the actors that I even listed, had other roles. But think when you look at them, there's only one main character that comes to mind. I know Robert Shaw did other work, but can't easily see him as anyone but Captain Quint.
I'm sure when Sylvester Stallone walks down the street, 99 out of 100 times, someone will say something like - Yo Rock, where's Adrian? Only the 1 person might say, "Hey Sly, loved you in Copland".
So technically, actors that had many popular roles, would have a hard time making this list. Cranston had several roles, but the others will be easily overshadowed by Walter White, IMO. -