Great! I look forward to it.
Cast the Characters of Trek Literature
- Thread starter Haval_Runa
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The LOL smiley, pictured here: 
, is usually considered an indication of the poster's meaning what he wrote to be taken humorously.
Red hair + ham = David Caruso.
If I'm going to get kicked, I might as well admit that within the parameters of what he is (i.e, a scenery chewing ham), I rather like Caruso. I have the same response to Shatner.
, is usually considered an indication of the poster's meaning what he wrote to be taken humorously. Red hair + ham = David Caruso.
If I'm going to get kicked, I might as well admit that within the parameters of what he is (i.e, a scenery chewing ham), I rather like Caruso. I have the same response to Shatner.
When I was reading Final Frontier, I kept picturing Eric Roberts as George Kirk (well, his hair is red-ish) and Charles Dance for April. But since someone else suggested Tom Wilkinson for April, I keep seeing him in the role.
Commander Cavit said:
The LOL smiley, pictured here:
RookieBatman said:
EDIT: Yes, I do realize that Cavit was joking. But mentioning Caruso in a casting thread is still a kickable offense.
The wink usually indicates much the same thing.
I guess that's were we disagree, then. I don't think that Shatner is a scenery-chewing ham. I think that he really is a good actor. Maybe some things he did on T.J. Hooker, or that Rocketman performance were a bit hammy, but he's still a very good actor.
I'll admit that I haven't watched much of Caruso, so maybe I haven't given him a fair shake. However, even ignoring Caruso himself, I really can't stand the fill-in-the-blank formulaic quality of CSI: Miami. Is there anything you can recommend starring David Caruso besides that?
I think he's a really good actor who can be a scenery-chewing ham when he isn't trying hard enough to be a really good actor. He's also a very skilled practitioner of an older, more theatrical style of acting that was larger than life to reach the back rows, as opposed to the more naturalistic, intimate school of acting that's become preferable in the age of movies and TV.
And he's a savvy actor who's learned to embrace his reputation as a scenery-chewing ham and play it up for laughs.
All I know about him is that I really dislike what little I've seen of him. But I don't recall him being a ham, and I'm certainly shocked by the suggestion that he's anything remotely like Shatner in his acting style. If he were, I wouldn't find his acting so unappealing.
To me, the actor whose style most closely resembles Shatner's is Dwight Schultz. They're both actors whose technique is very visible, who are clearly constructing their performances before your eyes. And sometimes Schultz's technique and cadence are so uncannily Shatnerian that I suspect he modelled himself on Shatner. Although I think that's something easier to see if you really evaluate Shatner's style fairly and get a good grasp of its basics, rather than buying into the caricature popularized by comics and impressionists.
Caruso was actually really good during the first season of NYPD BLUE - you can see why everyone went on and on about him to such a degree. Unfortunately, he believed his own press. I've enjoyed him in other things, but never so much as in that first season. I could almost picture him as George Kirk.
I completely agree with Christopher. A year or so back (this would have been after THE PRACTICE but before BOSTON LEGAL premiered), I went to a salute to William Shatner sponsored by the Museum of Television & Radio at the Director's Guild here in Hollywood. There was a Q&A with the man himself, preceded by a retrospective consisting of clips from throughout his career. It basically went chronologically, with the caveat that the STAR TREK stuff was saved until the very end, and it was very interesting to see his progression as an actor. In some of the earliest clips (what looked like kinescopes of live TV in some cases, as well as a few scenes with E.G. Marshall in THE DEFENDERS), it was amazing to see the subtlety and intensity of Shatner's acting. It becomes much easier to see why William Shatner was so well-regarded as an actor in the early Sixties, and how it was such a coup for STAR TREK to sign him up. But what was even more interesting to me was that you could almost pinpoint the exact moment where he seems to stop trying very hard, and becomes instead more known for the "hammy" acting he's so often criticized for. As Christopher points out, Shatner
is a very good actor when he's trying hard, and this is borne out by his recent work as Denny Crane, and also by some of his work in the STAR TREK films, most especially Nick Meyer's two movies. I'm really glad he's getting some of the respect he deserves, especially at this stage in his career.
Now then, back to the topic: I think Vaughn Armstrong should play Sean Connery. Oh, wait...
I completely agree with Christopher. A year or so back (this would have been after THE PRACTICE but before BOSTON LEGAL premiered), I went to a salute to William Shatner sponsored by the Museum of Television & Radio at the Director's Guild here in Hollywood. There was a Q&A with the man himself, preceded by a retrospective consisting of clips from throughout his career. It basically went chronologically, with the caveat that the STAR TREK stuff was saved until the very end, and it was very interesting to see his progression as an actor. In some of the earliest clips (what looked like kinescopes of live TV in some cases, as well as a few scenes with E.G. Marshall in THE DEFENDERS), it was amazing to see the subtlety and intensity of Shatner's acting. It becomes much easier to see why William Shatner was so well-regarded as an actor in the early Sixties, and how it was such a coup for STAR TREK to sign him up. But what was even more interesting to me was that you could almost pinpoint the exact moment where he seems to stop trying very hard, and becomes instead more known for the "hammy" acting he's so often criticized for. As Christopher points out, Shatner
is a very good actor when he's trying hard, and this is borne out by his recent work as Denny Crane, and also by some of his work in the STAR TREK films, most especially Nick Meyer's two movies. I'm really glad he's getting some of the respect he deserves, especially at this stage in his career.
Now then, back to the topic: I think Vaughn Armstrong should play Sean Connery. Oh, wait...
Okay, I can agree with that. I guess I was kinda thinking that some people consider "good actor" and "ham" to be mutually exclusive.
Whenever I watch David Caruso on CSI: Miami, he always reminds me of a Matrix Agent!Commander Cavit said:
The LOL smiley, pictured here:
Red hair + ham = David Caruso.
If I'm going to get kicked, I might as well admit that within the parameters of what he is (i.e, a scenery chewing ham), I rather like Caruso. I have the same response to Shatner.
Seconded. In fact, I was hoping that he might have played the lead in the (then untitled) 5th Star Trek series, when it was but a glint in Paramount's eye. This was, of course, when his career was really in the pits and before he landed the (presumably more lucrative) lead in CSI Miami and before B&B went for Scott Bakula - a much less charismatic and effective actor IMHO.
Caruso also gave pretty decent performances in Mad Dog and Glory as Robert DeNiro's cop partner and in First Blood, as a slightly more sympathetic member of the police unit hunting Rambo.
Actually not, because that's where I first saw him and decided I totally disliked him. I haven't watched him in anything since, aside from the odd couple of minutes of his CSI show during channel-surfing.
Could you specify when that moment was? I have a theory that it has something to do with the tinnitus (ringing in the ears) that he's suffered from since a special-effects explosion went off too close to him in an ST episode (maybe "Arena"). I gather it got really bad over the years. It seems to me that it must be hard to give a subtle, nuanced performance when you're trying to hear yourself over a loud ringing in your ears.
But I certainly think he gave some good performances after TOS. His turn as a Columbo murderer in 1976's "Fade in to Murder" was superb.
Hey, I just recorded First Blood, I might try to give that a look sometime.
I've only watched 3 episodes of CSI: Miami, the one Gary Sinise was in (that introduced CSI: NY), the one Joe Flanigan was in, and the one Michael Shanks was in.
And I couldn't stand Horatio any of those time. So, if Caruso was playing him to be unlikeable, he succeeded.
Edit: Forgot one time I'd actually seen the show.
And I couldn't stand Horatio any of those time. So, if Caruso was playing him to be unlikeable, he succeeded.
Edit: Forgot one time I'd actually seen the show.
I knowRookieBatman said:
The wink usually indicates much the same thing.Commander Cavit said:
The LOL smiley, pictured here:
I was aiming that salvo more at Christopher.
And here's whenre Christopher and I largely agree. I don't see the terms as mutually exclusive. I've seen Richard Burton and Richard Harris be both. Some men are so full of greatness that even their halfbaked efforts have a grandeur to them.
I've never watched a full episode of any of the CSI shows. I like Peterson but I think Sinise is an overrated hack. But I'm a Law & Order guy, especially SVU, and I have my loyalties to uphold
As for Caruso he's quite good in the first season of NYPD Blue (as mentioned), Session 9, Proof of Life, Gold Coast and King of New York.
You should do, it's a pretty good movie. The second and third episodes are trash, but this was a decent movie in the Deliverance/ Southern Comfort vein, if not as good as either.
Someone else mentioned Caruso in The King of New York - I'd forgotten about that, but yeah, he was good in it, alongside Walken, Snipes and Fishburne. Pretty good company to hold your own in.
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