Do people want a great actor or look-alike more?

[SBPrime]

I ask this for the upcoming Avengers movie and just in general for all upcoming superhero movies. Is it better to have someone look as close to the comic character as possible and have good acting, or is it better to have a great, superb actor and not look like the comic character?

 

[Chris Wallace]

I put performance over looks. Besides, the character's look is a matter of artist's interpretation.

 

[WeaponXProject]

Definitely good acting. Marvel should want to make a good movie, which should have good acting and story line, over a mediocre movie with a exact look of the character. The character's look is subjective to the artist anyways.

 

[Rampage]

It is possible and best to have a combination of both.

 

[Chris Wallace]

Definitely good acting. Marvel should want to make a good movie, which should have good acting and story line, over a mediocre movie with a exact look of the character. The character's look is subjective to the artist anyways.

Another interpretation of what I said. A great example is Blade; Wesley Snipes looks nothing like ANY incarnation of the character. But the artists across the board have altered his look to gravitate more toward Snipes.

 

[cerealkiller182]

acting always trumps looks!

....but there should be at least some kind of resemblance.

 

[cerealkiller182]

Another interpretation of what I said. A great example is Blade; Wesley Snipes looks nothing like ANY incarnation of the character. But the artists across the board have altered his look to gravitate more toward Snipes.

Agree in general

1) but thats definitely much harder with Captain America and Thor, who I assume are the reason for this thread since I have never seen so many suggestions that forgave lack of acting abilities just to get the look (and vice versa).

2) I wouldnt say Blade was far off.

heres blade circa '93

and the movie came out in '98

 

[Chris Wallace]

You have never seen so many suggestions that way? You must not read the Wizard "Casting Calls", then.
And realistically, you can look like the character (or what the general consensus says he or she looks like) and be a good actor & still not do it justice. (Brandon Routh)
So I would rather have a REALLY good actor & maybe they can work with the rest. Truth be told, I think Peter Parker (for example) looks more like Charlie Sheen than Tobey Maguire. But I wouldn't want Charlie in the role. Hugh Jackman is pretty; Wolverine is ugly. There are countless examples of actors not looking quite like you'd want the character to look but doing an excellent job.
Did anyone think Downey or Ledger looked the part a year ago? I sure didn't.

 

[WeaponXProject]

You have never seen so many suggestions that way? You must not read the Wizard "Casting Calls", then.
And realistically, you can look like the character (or what the general consensus says he or she looks like) and be a good actor & still not do it justice. (Brandon Routh)
So I would rather have a REALLY good actor & maybe they can work with the rest. Truth be told, I think Peter Parker (for example) looks more like Charlie Sheen than Tobey Maguire. But I wouldn't want Charlie in the role. Hugh Jackman is pretty; Wolverine is ugly. There are countless examples of actors not looking quite like you'd want the character to look but doing an excellent job.
Did anyone think Downey or Ledger looked the part a year ago? I sure didn't.

I totally agree with you. I think these fanboys, not saying I'm not, take the picture perfect aspect too far and pass up on talent just for looks.

Dude you should mention what you said about Routh to some of the guys in the Cap thread. They were having at me bc I didn't think Routh did well in Sup Returns.

So we want Acting over all else with some looks. Good to know there is more than one of us.

 

[Sawyer]

Acting talent is the most important thing. If we were going simply by looks, then this guy would make a great Cap...


To be clear, this guy is the absolute opposite of what I want in a Captain America. He blows.

But, looks are not terribly important. That said, the actor shouldnt look 100% different from the character either.

 

[cerealkiller182]

You have never seen so many suggestions that way? You must not read the Wizard "Casting Calls", then.
And realistically, you can look like the character (or what the general consensus says he or she looks like) and be a good actor & still not do it justice. (Brandon Routh)

I admit to not reading many Wizard "Casting Calls" but the ones I have seen and around here earlier on in my membership used career actors most of the time. Not wrestlers and youtube "stars" saying they have the size "necessary" for the role like Thor and Cap.

So I would rather have a REALLY good actor & maybe they can work with the rest. Truth be told, I think Peter Parker (for example) looks more like Charlie Sheen than Tobey Maguire. But I wouldn't want Charlie in the role. Hugh Jackman is pretty; Wolverine is ugly. There are countless examples of actors not looking quite like you'd want the character to look but doing an excellent job.
Did anyone think Downey or Ledger looked the part a year ago? I sure didn't.

I agree with that. Theres always going to need to be work done but natural passing resemblance (as in slight not identical) is always a perk (as in not necessary but always welcome as long as it can be backed by talent)

 

[marcvader]

Loud Silent Man, I was having a good day until you posted the picture of Captain *****e. Pluto doesn't need any encouragement

 

[Sawyer]

Loud Silent Man, I was having a good day until you posted the picture of Captain *****e. Pluto doesn't need any encouragement

I was posting it in opposition of casting that guy. You think I should make that more clear?

 

[marcvader]

not saying your for him, that's clear, saying we can all go without seeing that guy's face for once

 

[Sawyer]

Thats true. I just didnt remember his name.

 

[Triad]

Is it too much to ask for both? I think that acting chops are indeed the most important, but as a (somewhat purist) fan, I feel that they should at least get someone that fits visually as much as possible.

 

[Chris Wallace]

I totally agree with you. I think these fanboys, not saying I'm not, take the picture perfect aspect too far and pass up on talent just for looks.

Dude you should mention what you said about Routh to some of the guys in the Cap thread. They were having at me bc I didn't think Routh did well in Sup Returns.

So we want Acting over all else with some looks. Good to know there is more than one of us.

I didn't think ANYONE did well in "Superman Returns", including Spacey. I was sorely disappointed.
NOw I will say this; comic books are a visual medium, therefore the casting will always be heavily scrutinized from that aspect. We know what these people are supposed to look like. We've known for years. And the truth is, noone in real life looks like most of these people. So compromise is inevitable. But I do believe that while looks should be secondary, they do play a part in adapting what is again a visual medium. A genuine effort to capture the look of the comics should always be made, & more often than not is. We didn't see Elizabeth Banks' blond locks, Alfred Molina's black beard or J.K. Simmons' bald dome in the Spider-Man movies. We did, however, see a fat guy playing Robbie Robertson. We saw a tall, thin Lucius Fox, a weathered, rugged-looking Al Simmons, a pretty-boy James Rhodes (though we won't again) &, I don't know what to make of Halle as Storm. Now with one exception, the performances made up for this, but I'm a little bewildered as to why the same consideration isn't given on both sides.

 

[Chris Wallace]

Is it too much to ask for both? I think that acting chops are indeed the most important, but as a (somewhat purist) fan, I feel that they should at least get someone that fits visually as much as possible.

Ideally, yes, that would be great. BUt with so many artists takig so many liberties, who's to say what the character looks like overall? I say in some cases it's a matter of if the actor looks believeable, rather than if they fit the most popular interpretations.
THis

doesn't look anything like this.

Neither does this

Or maybe this is a better comparison.

I honestly think in the looks department, Kilmer came closest but even he wasn't a perfect match. The point is, when we saw Bale in the role, we saw Bruce Wayne. We believed it. We felt it. And that's what's important. If we overemphasize the looks, we'll be holding out for somebody with Ben Affleck's chin to play 90% of the heroes.

 

[Chris Wallace]

My 9-year-old son had this to say:
"If you do a good job it really doesn't matter if you look like the character. Edward did a good job and he didn't look that much like Bruce."

 

[WeaponXProject]

My 9-year-old son had this to say:
"If you do a good job it really doesn't matter if you look like the character. Edward did a good job and he didn't look that much like Bruce."

That's a smart kid. I have been thinking about most of the actors playing the characters and not one looks dead on. It shouldn't matter that much about height and weight when there is someone that can carry a role and make you believe he is the character.

 

[Sawyer]

My 9-year-old son had this to say:
"If you do a good job it really doesn't matter if you look like the character. Edward did a good job and he didn't look that much like Bruce."

I was confused when I read this, until I realized it was Hulk you were talking about. I thought you were talking about Batman and I was like "WTF is Edward?" lol

 

[Chris Wallace]

I realized that afterward.

 

[Venom75]

It's very important to have both. Acting would rate a little higher,but the actor has to resemble the character or else the illusion wouldn't be complete.

 

[Chris Wallace]

Makeup & wardrobe can work wonders.

 

[Steve Rogers]

Actors can bulk up or slim down for roles. As Chris Wallace pointed out, make up and wardrobe also works wonders.

Land a good, solid actor first and then transform them into the character. Casting solely on looks can be disastrous.