12-29-2007, 01:33 PM
The problem you describe is not confined to Washington; it permeates a good deal of Hollywood. Nearly everyone plays the same character in every movie they're in. I'm tempted to attribute this to a simple lack of acting ability. Sure, they're good at those characters, but are they really even acting, or just letting some part of their own psyche up to the surface (or even just being their everyday selves)?
There are veeeery few modern actors with actual range. Hoffman. Geoffrey Rush. If you put these guys in some makeup, I can't even tell it's them until the movie is halfway over.
This phenomenon doesn't necessarily make for bad movies, however (other factors are at work there). Indeed, I think it lets directors pick exactly the character they're looking for a lot of the time, but it doesn't impress.
--me
There are veeeery few modern actors with actual range. Hoffman. Geoffrey Rush. If you put these guys in some makeup, I can't even tell it's them until the movie is halfway over.
This phenomenon doesn't necessarily make for bad movies, however (other factors are at work there). Indeed, I think it lets directors pick exactly the character they're looking for a lot of the time, but it doesn't impress.
--me