Anne Thompson of Variety has written an interesting article saying that the U.S. is short on tough guy actors. She says that we are far from the days of Steve McQueen, and directors seem to need to turn to other countries to find tough guys. Most American male stars are boy-men. Johnny Depp can be fey, and Brendan Fraser is goofy. Ed Norton? Tobey Maguire? Most definitely boy-men.
Casting the titular tough-guy New York hero of his upcoming adaptation of “The Spirit,” Frank Miller also had trouble finding the right actor.
“Hollywood is great at producing male actors, but sucks at producing men,” says Miller. “I found them all too much like boys.” (He hired New York TV actor Gabriel Macht, 36.)
Two of the top rising action stars right now are both from the U.K.: “300” star Gerard Butler and Jason Statham (“Death Race”).
“We all wish there were five more guys like Jason Statham,” says producer Mark Gill. “There’s no shortage of roles for them. There’s a shortage of guys who can plausibly do them. The more expensive the budget, the narrower the list.”
Having just seen a series of Jason Statham movies on DVD in the past month, I see what Anne is talking about. I cannot think of an American actor who has his charisma of toughness. Not one his age, anyway. Crank was set in the gang culture of L.A., and here was Jason Statham with his English accent. But no one else could do it like him! And of course, I've always admired Gerry, and look forward to his upcoming action roles in RocknRolla and Game. It's not just the accent, there's just something about these real men, who are most definitely NOT boy-men. Read the whole article here.
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