Is Avery Brooks a good actor?

Discussion in 'Star Trek: Deep Space Nine' started by Plomeek Broth, Feb 2, 2014.

  1. HaventGotALife

    HaventGotALife Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    The talk around Ben Sisko--that he was weak and that his Spencer for Hire character was a better one, I think got to Mr. Brooks. Just a guess, but he didn't start out as a ham. He didn't end as a ham. It was seasons 3-5 when he really had no nuance to his performance. He was applauded for it (at least in my house) at the time, but he really ruined the character's best moments.
     
  2. Keith1701

    Keith1701 Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    I agree with your statement.
     
  3. Jarvisimo

    Jarvisimo Captain Captain

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    This panel interview with Brooks is really good! It really addresses some of the concerns people might have about Brooks.

    [yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lGo8RRWHOUQ[/yt]
     
  4. Sci Fi Fan

    Sci Fi Fan Lieutenant Junior Grade Red Shirt

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    I also think he made the character. All of the captains of the various series were so different but we were fortunate that they were all great choices.
     
  5. Jarvisimo

    Jarvisimo Captain Captain

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    I think the difference between your thread title and your questions is interesting :)

    Definitely, Avery Brooks was a good actor. Whether his best acting was in DS9, that is a question to be asked. Have you seen American History X? Also, consider his stage career. This is his career description on his wiki article:

    None of these are easy roles, but his career success on the stage infers that in the eyes of his peers and critics that Brooks certainly is a good actor, whether judged by the roles he has been asked to play or his acclamations such as Shakespeare Award.

    As for your actual questions about Brooks in the show. I loved his work, for many reasons. When in Treklit set after the series Sisko is described for his presence or his depressions or his charisma (as in Prophecy and Change, or Warpath, for example), these aren't inventions of the authors writing up something Brooks as a performer never conveyed. Rather they are genuine reflections, for me, of the skill and gravitas and versimilitude Brooks brought to the role. I do think I am a very biased responder to Brooks - I grew up watching DS9, and forgive many of its failings when perhaps I should be more critical. However, I think with regards to Brooks I am not overlooking anything - at least, I hope not. But I don't know.
     
  6. DS9forever

    DS9forever Commodore Commodore

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    Brooks is amazing in American History X. He's also great in 15 Minutes, where his character has a great scene confronting Kelsey Grammer's Fox News-type character.
     
  7. sinesoma

    sinesoma Cadet Newbie

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    My girlfriend always said he was a good stage actor but not well suited for television, which I agree with. There are certain times, especially during a sporadic laugh, when I see nothing. he is also a crazy close talker, crazy.
     
  8. Keith1701

    Keith1701 Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    I agree as well.
     
  9. Tulin

    Tulin Vice Admiral Admiral

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    Oh-verrrr EEEE-nun-SEE-ates eh-verrrr-reeeee sing-guhl sill-uhhhh-buulllll.

    HUGELY fucking annoying.

    No.

    Not good for the part or the show.
     
  10. JD5000

    JD5000 Captain Captain

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    You might have noticed Picard/Stewart does the same thing. It's kind of a prereq to professional acting. Maybe if he had mumbled through it all?

    Shatner.
     
  11. lurok

    lurok Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    I just found out today Brooks played Solomon Northup (12 Years A Slave) first, back in a 1980s film for PBS directed by Gordon Parks. Ashamed haven't seen it yet but will do asap.

    and...

    Indeed.
     
  12. GalaxyX

    GalaxyX Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    Sisko's best scenes are with Jake. I think Cirroc Lofton brings them both up a notch. Separate they both have issues with their characters (Jake mostly to being useless, and Sisko is just angry and unstable)

    In defence of Beverly and Wesley, I think it was implied that since the death of Jack, both Beverly and Wesley have become distant with each other, due to the trauma both of them being a reminder of their loved one (Father and Husband respectively). Perhaps due to the fact that Wesley, being a guy, did not know how to relate to his mother as well as he did to his father.

    Jake and Sisko are both men, so easier to relate on that level. I wonder how it would have been if Jake had been female, or Sisko had been female.
     
  13. Seven of Five

    Seven of Five Stupid Sexy Flanders! Premium Member

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    I like Sisko a lot, possibly being my favourite captain. Avery Brooks is certainly a divisive actor though. I'm just on a series rewatch, and I forget how much it took Sisko, Bashir and Dax to settle into the rhythm of the show. Sisko and Dax in particular had issues with the acting as well as the writing.

    Gradually, the producers wrote more to suit Brook's persona. By season three, Sisko came into his own. And of course, by the time he's bald and bearded, he's also totally badass. :D

    He's not the best actor the franchise ever hired, yet he has had so many emotional moments that I remember. I agree that his best scenes were often with Jake.
     
  14. Dale Sams

    Dale Sams Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    Crap...now it's going to look like I'm picking on Galaxy....

    I WISH that sort of thing had been implied. It would have improved their characters immensely.

    God...being a Marty Stu in a 'perfect society'...Wheaton had no chance.
     
  15. Dale Sams

    Dale Sams Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    Heh. I've always thought Clu Gulager was ahead of his time because he did a lot of eccentric roles where he spoke under his breath a lot, acted 'out' instead of to the actor. Would have some business going on. I found him refreshing and realistic....but last night I was watching him on the MST3K version of San Francisco International, and he would say a few lines and the Bots would go "Mrrrrbullllessssm mummmblessss mrrrummmblesss"
     
  16. GalaxyX

    GalaxyX Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    lol no worries.

    I feel Wesley is also unfairly picked on. Sure they made him be the whiz kid, and sometimes made the adults look like buffoons to make him look smarter, but he was a product of the style of that show. I think he was an excellent role model for kids, and I know I, as a nerd who works with high technology on a daily basis, see some of myself in him.

    I think it was 2 or 3 episodes where he was really annoying, and even then not overly so. I find Jake's insistence on being a writer just as annoying.

    I also feel sorry for Will Wheaton. It's clear that he feels unfairly judged by people about the character. You can feel the tone of defensiveness in all his writing and when he is interviewed at conventions and such.