Most A-List actors suck.
Let’s not kid ourselves. Those professional pleasantries -- such as giving each other those cliché-driven, the equivalent of sports high-fives ( ... oh, you’re such a great actor, etc.) -- has begun to not only tire me, but damage the profession.
Why so mean Freddy? Well; take a few DVD’s of your favorite actors, and then privately wonder, why do you like ‘em. They’re famous, but not quite as a good as they proclaim themselves to be. The business of acting, sadly, has been overtaken by the business of acting. Today actors rarely grip us, or emotional touch us -- but they desire the prestige and glamour of their profession.
Few actors actually give distinctive, or original performances. Just follow a few flat-screens side by side of any given actor’s past work. You’ll discover they’re merely playing on their famously known alter-egos. And since everyone around those actors tells them they’re great, then sadly, they’ve come to believe it.
Wealthy (and famous) actors; have gotten used to being coddled and emotionally pampered. That’s OK though -- and partially understandable. Many are insecure and tired from those 14-hour film shoots.
Furthermore, actors that reach greatness often do so inadvertently by sheer luck (or accident). Marlon Brando, famously struggled with the memorization of his lines. Yet he managed to turn his on-screen struggles (to recall his next line) into a distinctive acting style that not only fooled us all but managed to penetrate cinematic history.
That’s the magician’s greatest trick -- the illusion. And for Mr. Brando; it fabulously worked, and all of us bought his on-screen struggle as a carefully crafted and executed art form.
In fairness to any professional actor reading this now; I say to you, I critique you so you can emotionally recall the struggle that’s often missed and forgotten. For that is the path to creation.