Cena's Little Helper
Mid-Card Championship Winner
The inspiration from this thread comes from recently watching The Best Man Holiday and wondering why a brilliant actor such as Terrence Howard now has to resort to starring in TV shows rather than getting more opportunities to showcase his formidable talent. I will list four actors and one director here whom I believe have been drastically underutilized in Hollywood (I qualify this statement with "Hollywood" because this list includes one major Australian actor who is nowhere near as big in America as he should be). Feel free to comment on my list and/or to make your own (it can include actors, actresses, and/or directors).
1. Terrence Howard: This man seemed poised to realize the stardom that an actor of his caliber both deserved and was capable of, but something went awry when he was replaced by Don Cheadle in the Iron Man franchise. While Robert Downey, Jr., fanboys would lead you to believe that Terrence Howard tried to play hardball for a bigger salary for Iron Man 2, I'm more inclined to believe that RDJ instead got pissed that he didn't earn the most for Iron Man and that Don Cheadle was brought in to replace Howard for lower pay.
Whatever the case, Terrence Howard should not be on television right now and his supporting role in Prisoners showed that he is still every bit as impressive as he was in Hustle and Flow.
2. Michael K. Williams: How the fuck has this man NOT been given the opportunity to showcase his talents in something even as small as the leading role in an indie film? If overrated shit like Fruitvale Station can catapult a slightly above average actor like Michael B. Jordan into the conscious of Hollywood, then surely MK Williams will make industry executives cream themselves when he's given a similar opportunity.
3. Ben Mendelsohn: Yes, in his native Australia he is recognized as one of the country's greatest living actors, but he's been relegated to bit parts in Hollywood. While this wouldn't be much of a problem if all Australians had a hard time of it in the American film industry, Guy Pearce has made a name for himself as an American indie god, not to mention a significant part of the supporting cast for such blockbusters as Prometheus and Iron Man 3. Although Pearce is a very good actor, he is in no way, shape, or form on Mendelsohn's level; this disparity becomes apparent to anyone who watches Animal Kingdom, a recent Australian crime drama starring both men. If you haven't delved that much into Australian cinema but are interested in learning more about how great it can be, look for anything with this man in it. Afterwards, come back here and we can bitch in unison about how big this man should really be.
4. Patrick Wilson: Yeah, he's technically already a leading man with three hits under his belt, but these are horror films, the most popular genre in the world but one that film executives always discount as a signal of one's appeal. Patrick Wilson is awesome and he should be starring in Hollywood vehicles that don't involve him fighting ghosts.
5. Jeremy Saulnier: Jeremy Saulnier is an American independent filmmaker whose latest feature, Blue Ruin, was very well received at Cannes 2013 (if you have yet to see it, get it NOW). He is included on this list because, one, he had to fund Blue Ruin through kickstarter, and two, his next project has yet to be announced on imdb. For those of you who have already had the chance to see Blue Ruin, how in the hell was no independent film producer and/or venture capitalist able to see how brilliant this film would turn out? Furthermore, why is no one running to fund this man's next project? This is just icing on the cake for my assertion that the American independent film is a dying man with his head up his own ass.
1. Terrence Howard: This man seemed poised to realize the stardom that an actor of his caliber both deserved and was capable of, but something went awry when he was replaced by Don Cheadle in the Iron Man franchise. While Robert Downey, Jr., fanboys would lead you to believe that Terrence Howard tried to play hardball for a bigger salary for Iron Man 2, I'm more inclined to believe that RDJ instead got pissed that he didn't earn the most for Iron Man and that Don Cheadle was brought in to replace Howard for lower pay.
Whatever the case, Terrence Howard should not be on television right now and his supporting role in Prisoners showed that he is still every bit as impressive as he was in Hustle and Flow.
2. Michael K. Williams: How the fuck has this man NOT been given the opportunity to showcase his talents in something even as small as the leading role in an indie film? If overrated shit like Fruitvale Station can catapult a slightly above average actor like Michael B. Jordan into the conscious of Hollywood, then surely MK Williams will make industry executives cream themselves when he's given a similar opportunity.
3. Ben Mendelsohn: Yes, in his native Australia he is recognized as one of the country's greatest living actors, but he's been relegated to bit parts in Hollywood. While this wouldn't be much of a problem if all Australians had a hard time of it in the American film industry, Guy Pearce has made a name for himself as an American indie god, not to mention a significant part of the supporting cast for such blockbusters as Prometheus and Iron Man 3. Although Pearce is a very good actor, he is in no way, shape, or form on Mendelsohn's level; this disparity becomes apparent to anyone who watches Animal Kingdom, a recent Australian crime drama starring both men. If you haven't delved that much into Australian cinema but are interested in learning more about how great it can be, look for anything with this man in it. Afterwards, come back here and we can bitch in unison about how big this man should really be.
4. Patrick Wilson: Yeah, he's technically already a leading man with three hits under his belt, but these are horror films, the most popular genre in the world but one that film executives always discount as a signal of one's appeal. Patrick Wilson is awesome and he should be starring in Hollywood vehicles that don't involve him fighting ghosts.
5. Jeremy Saulnier: Jeremy Saulnier is an American independent filmmaker whose latest feature, Blue Ruin, was very well received at Cannes 2013 (if you have yet to see it, get it NOW). He is included on this list because, one, he had to fund Blue Ruin through kickstarter, and two, his next project has yet to be announced on imdb. For those of you who have already had the chance to see Blue Ruin, how in the hell was no independent film producer and/or venture capitalist able to see how brilliant this film would turn out? Furthermore, why is no one running to fund this man's next project? This is just icing on the cake for my assertion that the American independent film is a dying man with his head up his own ass.