Stone Cold's movie career

[CM Steel]

I just got through watching the film Recoil on HBO starring the one and only Stone Cold Steve Austin as a vengeful cop seeking revenge on the people who murdered his family. Stone Cold's movie's in which he stars in are mostly low budget films and go straight to DVD with low rating review. WWE studios produce the majority of films starring Stone Cold Steve Austin. But what if Stone Cold's movie career would have kicked off during his prime?

Of course WWE studio's wasn't around during the attitude era. But in the years of 1998-99 Stone Cold Steve Austin was as hot as hell in wrestling! But it was the Rock who had Hollywood's eye more with his appeal. Crossing over from wrestling to acting is a huge step. The legends like Hulk Hogan, Roddy Piper, and Andre the Giant helped pave the way for future stars in the WWE the hit the silver screen or even DVD.

So if Stone Cold Steve Austin had an early star acting in movie's, would his acting career be alot better with bigger & better roles?

 

[The Butcher]

Stone Cold Steve Austin didn't have an acting career during his prime for the same reason he has a shitty one now-- he is a terrible actor. Stone Cold should count himself lucky to be a leading man in low-budget schlock. He's not versatile enough. He played himself "turned up a notch" in WWF, on Nash Bridges, and in cameos on Celebrity Deathmatch and Dilbert. He may have been the hottest thing in wrestling, but just the small amount of acting he did during his run at the top shows that Hollywood wasn't interested.

That said, had he became an actor while he was the biggest thing in wrestling, he most certainly would have a bigger acting career. He'd have a portfolio, experience, and connections built up, and his tough guy act can be useful in small parts. He'd still be working in mostly bad films, but he'd be working more.

 

[CrunKSinatrA]

The big problem with Stone Cold's movie career is that they try to change his persona. He'll play quiet, tough guys who'll throw in a one liner at the kill shot. He needs to make a movie where Stone Cold is the same crazy, smack talking, beer drinking, rebel red neck that propelled him to stardom.

And it's not an insult to his acting ability to only have one character. Sure, people demean Michael Cera and Owen Wilson for being the exact same character in every movie role. But Morgan Freeman is a respected actor that has played the same character in iconic movies Driving Miss Daisy, The Shawshank Redemption, Se7en, Batman Begins, The Dark Knight, The Dark Knight Rises, and many others.

The Rock's success in Hollywood is b/c he started out with roles that kept the same character. The Rundown is awesome b/c it let him keep his developed character. Also, he had the same kind of comedic chemistry with Stifler and Johnny Knoxville in Walking Tall that he had Mick Foley.

 

[Dirk]

Being the best actor in a wrestling is like being the best bullfighter in Alaska. Yes, he's a good wrestling character, but he still can't act for shit.

Don't believe me? Okay, I'm humbled by the massive stack of Oscars on Rocky's mantlepiece.

 

[dman1373]

Stone Cold Steve Austin didn't have an acting career during his prime for the same reason he has a shitty one now-- he is a terrible actor. Stone Cold should count himself lucky to be a leading man in low-budget schlock. He's not versatile enough. He played himself "turned up a notch" in WWF, on Nash Bridges, and in cameos on Celebrity Deathmatch and Dilbert. He may have been the hottest thing in wrestling, but just the small amount of acting he did during his run at the top shows that Hollywood wasn't interested.

That said, had he became an actor while he was the biggest thing in wrestling, he most certainly would have a bigger acting career. He'd have a portfolio, experience, and connections built up, and his tough guy act can be useful in small parts. He'd still be working in mostly bad films, but he'd be working more.

i just have to say the rock is just as bad of an actor, and while hes in some popular movies, those movies suck as much dick as austins.

 

[Y 2 Jake]

i just have to say the rock is just as bad of an actor, and while hes in some popular movies, those movies suck as much dick as austins.

That just ain't true, is it? The Rock is a decent actor who sticks to what he knows and does it well. His movies aren't great but they're also not awful. He also elevates every film he's in. Fast 5, The Tooth Fairy, Welcome To The Jungle etc are all better films because The Rock is in them.

Austin's films are rubbish and with the exception of The Longest Yard remake and one of those initial generic films he's been awful in them. No doubt though that Universal Soldier: The Return would've been a marginally bigger hit if they'd cast the biggest wrestler in the business in it as planned as opposed to, I don't know, the 3rd biggest wrestler in Goldberg.

 

[shooter_mcgavin]

Austin just has a very limited range to be successful in the Hollywood movie industry. Sure he might be able to land a supporting role but even that is limited to an evil henchman type role like The Longest Yard and Expendables. The Rock, on the other hand, may not be the greatest actor out there but has enough versatility to do well in the movie industry. He can do action movies, comedies, and family movies and perform well in all.

 

[Waylon Mercy]

I think a perfect movie vehicle would be for Stone Cold to do a buddy comedy of sorts. Simple formula, with him as the bitter and grizzled veteran LAPD undercover cop assigned to protect some spoiled, whiny rap star or something like that. A great template for such a movie would be the 1980's De Niro flick "Midnight Run", or the original "48 Hours". Given the right script treatment and direction, Stone Cold could really shine. He is vastly underrated as a comedic talent. Just look back at the old clips of him and Kurt Angle during his heel run. That was pure gold.

 

[Pedigree1]

I love SCSA i really do. Best wrestler in the late 1990's bar none. But SCSA is a shitty actor god awful a lot like Cena. Im glad SCSA didnt become an actor during the prime of his career it could have seriously hurt his career back then.

For the record the Rock is a much much better actor than SCSA is and ever will be.

 

[Judah's Lion]

wow! interesting thread!

i'm really glad Austin didn't go into acting during his prime. he may have made a bigger impact in hollywood and be in bigger/better movies now if he did, but we -- the wrestling fans -- would have missed out on so much.

that said, there are some big problems i see with wrestlers going into acting:

1. wrestling fans feel betrayed whenever wrestlers try movies. not like when a wrestler does a quick movie between injuries, storylines, and barely misses any time. i'm talking about like Hogan, Rock, Batista, etc. Austin didn't really quit wrestling for movies. he just got too beat up, so that's substantially different in nature.

2. hollywood doesn't really accept wrestlers as actors. they're just seen as big meatheads that are good for only tough guy action roles. again, quick cameo appearances aside and some of Rock's family-friendly roles, check out the movies that star wrestlers. all action movies.

3. to add to point number two, movies that feature wrestlers-turned-actors typically feature small budgets, bad scripts and consequently receive terrible reviews.

as such, i'm very happy for the success of the wrestlers that have stepped into acting and wish them all the best as they keep doing what they love doing. many have said in interviews that it was always a dream to get in the wrestling ring and to get into movies. so kudos to them for making their dreams come true.

but on a selfish note, i'm extremely happy when wrestlers stay wrestlers and entertain inside the ring. this goes especially for Austin circa 98-99, when he was on fire in the business.

 

[SinCityBlitz]

That just ain't true, is it? The Rock is a decent actor who sticks to what he knows and does it well. His movies aren't great but they're also not awful. He also elevates every film he's in. Fast 5, The Tooth Fairy, Welcome To The Jungle etc are all better films because The Rock is in them.

Austin's films are rubbish and with the exception of The Longest Yard remake and one of those initial generic films he's been awful in them. No doubt though that Universal Soldier: The Return would've been a marginally bigger hit if they'd cast the biggest wrestler in the business in it as planned as opposed to, I don't know, the 3rd biggest wrestler in Goldberg.

Uh no. The Rock gets better parts but he is still a shitty actor. Fast 5, Tooth Fairy and The Rundown all suck and he does nothing to make them better. Dwayne is a better actor than Austin but that's not saying much. Dwayne is more in tune with what the sheep want.

If Austin started acting at the height of the AE I think he would have done a ton of movies. Not sure any of them would have been big or any good but whatever. His charisma is just way different than Dwayne's. Even though seeing Austin as the Tooth Fairy would be hilarious.

 

[The Decrypter]

Uh no. The Rock gets better parts but he is still a shitty actor. Fast 5, Tooth Fairy and The Rundown all suck and he does nothing to make them better. Dwayne is a better actor than Austin but that's not saying much. Dwayne is more in tune with what the sheep want.

If Austin started acting at the height of the AE I think he would have done a ton of movies. Not sure any of them would have been big or any good but whatever. His charisma is just way different than Dwayne's. Even though seeing Austin as the Tooth Fairy would be hilarious.

The Rock is not the best actor, but he is a good actor, and every film does as good as it does because of him. The Rock is also way more versatile than Stone Cold when it comes to acting.

 

[Mitch Henessey]

Austin is a shit actor. He's dull, not convincing, bland, and most importantly, he can't carry a film as the lead man. I've seen enough of his shitty straight-to-video action flicks to know, and if you need more proof, just watch The Condemned. The Condemned would've been a lot worse (if possible) without Vinnie Jones.

In side roles or bit parts (i.e. The Expendables), Austin isn't bad, but he's not cut out for lead roles. There's a reason why he's stuck in VERY limited theatrical releases/straight-to-video hell.

 

[multiverseman.com]

WWE Studios actually does not produce the majority of Austin's movies. Or any of them for that matter, besides the first one (The Condemned). This is all Stone Cold's initiative and although he's not a good actor, he's carved out a nice niche for himself. He's got almost as many movies as Rock now and it seems they do well enough to warrant more.

 

[boywithbluehanger]

The big problem with Stone Cold's movie career is that they try to change his persona. He'll play quiet, tough guys who'll throw in a one liner at the kill shot. He needs to make a movie where Stone Cold is the same crazy, smack talking, beer drinking, rebel red neck that propelled him to stardom.

And it's not an insult to his acting ability to only have one character. Sure, people demean Michael Cera and Owen Wilson for being the exact same character in every movie role. But Morgan Freeman is a respected actor that has played the same character in iconic movies Driving Miss Daisy, The Shawshank Redemption, Se7en, Batman Begins, The Dark Knight, The Dark Knight Rises, and many others.

The Rock's success in Hollywood is b/c he started out with roles that kept the same character. The Rundown is awesome b/c it let him keep his developed character. Also, he had the same kind of comedic chemistry with Stifler and Johnny Knoxville in Walking Tall that he had Mick Foley.

Yes, yes and yes!

Before you can be convincing while acting in a believable manner, I'm sure it helps to be comfortable acting as yourself. The bits of comedic timing The Rock learned from making wise cracks during promos in the WWF, helped with the transition to have a rapport when acting alongside funny-men like Sean William Scott. I'm sure the ultra-confident badass nature of The Rock gave him decent preperation for films like Walking Tall and Fast Five. His oratory classes that taught him the ability to speak fluently and the importance of speech delivery, helped give him the tools he needed to say a lot without having to say much. His transition to acting was because of the traits he learned while he was a wrestler and the roles he was given, took advantage of character traits that he previously portrayed as The Rock.

This is the reason why Stone Cold hasn't made it as big as The Rock. It could be that he hasn't been given the roles of the tough, beer drinking, rugged man. Maybe it's that there aren't many of those roles for him available. Or maybe, it's both. But these roles in which he plays a man that doesn't get to tap into his Stone Cold persona, are the reason why he hasn't been able to grow much as an actor. Take someone like Will Smith for example. He started off as a quick-witted rapper from Philadelphia. His debut into acting was with The Fresh Prince of Be-lair. A show where viewers saw him literally grow from an awkward teen actor to a very comfortable actor. And the secret to his success on that show and later into his career, was that he was allowed a handful of roles where he could tap into his actual wittiness. 20 years, and 2 Best Actor Oscar nominations later, he's one of the highest (if not THE highest) paid actor in the industry.

So the only thing that can really be taken from this is that If you're not given good opportunities to showcase what your useful talents are, you may have a very difficult time excelling. But I suppose, you can only play the parts that you're given.

 

[shalliin]

Austin isn't the best actor, but he's never tried to be anything other then what he is. His movies might not be Oscar gold and straight to DVD, but turn off your brain and just watch and they can be very entertaining. he reminds me of guys like Michael Dudikoff and Michael Biehn from the 80's. Schlock action movies that you don't need to analyze but just sit back and enjoy. There are a ton of these guys and it's good to see some of them getting in on the cash in of the Expendables series.

As for Rock as an actor, he is am ore talented actor, but some of his roles have been far more terrible then anything Austin did. His Hogan career inspired roles in Tooth Fairy, Game Plan and Journey 2: Mysterious Island are just god aweful. They make Suburban Commando and Mr. Nanny look good. His small role in mediocre movie Be Cool as the gay hairdresser was him at his funiest, and his role in Rundown was probably his best. He's become a parody of himself in his movies. I have little interest in watching any movie he is in and if it came to a choise of picking a dvd release Austin movie to pop in or a big budget release Rock movie, I usually go with Austin. The one and ONLY movie with Rock I have any interest in right now is the GI JOE movie, and it has NOTHING to do with him. it's all about the Snake Eye's and NINJASSSS.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

I doubt it. If you've ever watched any of Stone Cold's movies, you'll see that, for all intents & purposes, he plays the exact same character in the exact same manner. He basically plays a tough guy or a former military guy or a cop or something like that. Frankly, Austin's characters have all had B Movie written all over them. In the late 90s, I do think it's at least possible that Austin could have had a couple of hit movies under his belt by the time people fizzled out on his one dimensional characters & overall acting ability. I don't think he'd have been able to sustain the kind of high profile career Rock has.

The Rock is someone whose definitely shown a greater range than Stone Cold. The Rock has done the action thing, the comedy bit, the family comedy thing, he's had a role in a movie where I think he played something along the lines of a gay hair stylist, or something along those lines.

The Rock has a level of natural charisma that Austin doesn't have. Austin's a guy whose great at being a tough guy but no so much when it comes to comedy. Rock can be the tough guy, the badass, the charming guy, the family friendly guy and pretty much everything else.

 

[HBsam31]

It wouldn't have mattered. If he went to the movies during his peak he may have gotten lucky and had a huge hit, but like others have said he is pretty one dimensional as a character. He has that B movie character feel for sure. That being said I have actually liked all of his movies a lot. He is an adequate action hero. Let's face it the movies and characters he plays don't really require much depth. Van Damn, Chuck Norris, Steven Segal, were all pretty much the same and they had great movie careers. I would say Stone Cold is as good as they were, but he holds up for sure.