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Why are Bond actors not typecast while Trek actors always are?

Good Will Riker

Good Will Riker

Admiral
Seriously, we have so far seen Sean Connery become a Hollywood superstar, Roger Moore a goodwill ambassador for UNICEF, George Lazenby become super rich off of overseas films and real estate, Timothy Dalton perform in critically acclaimed stage productions/mini-series/films, Pierce Brosnan continue to star opposite "A-list" actors in studio films, and Daniel Craig offered big blockbusters while filming his Bond films.

Yet, out of the Trek actors, the only to really breakthrough are just William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, and Patrick Stewart. Why is that?

:confused:
 
I don't know about Roger Moore and George Lazenby. Besides their Bond work, they aren't really on the map, for me anyway.
 
I disagree with your premise. There have been plenty of Star Trek actors who weren't typecast and have successful careers. In addition to the three you already mentioned, Walter Koening, Levar Burton (although his most famous works were before The Next Generation), Michelle Forbes, Avery Brooks, Colm Meany, Alexander Siddig...shall I go on?
 
I'm with you on Connery and Brosnan. Craig is also doing pretty well for himself, despite still being attached to the Bond role. But Lazenby? What did he do after OHMSS, of note?

Trek actors seem unable to escape the typecasting, though, you're right. Takei in particular has made a career of doing Trek conventions, post-TOS.
 
Moore was well-known before Bond from his role as Simon Templar on The Saint.

Lazenby, on the other hand, struggled for years in large part due to the negative buzz his brief tenure as 007 generated. He might have been poised for a comeback in the mid-70s when Bruce Lee approached him about co-starring in a film, but unfortunately Lee died before it began filming. 99% of everybody wouldn't know George Lazenby if they tripped over him.

Dalton, Brosnan, and Craig already had well-established careers of their own before Bond (Brosnan's was the highest-profile of the three due to his role on Remington Steele) so it was harder for them to be typecast.

Similarly, some of the people we primarily associate with Trek had well-established careers before Trek. Avery Brooks was on Spenser: For Hire and a respected stage actor. Levar Burton was the host of Reading Rainbow and had starred in Roots. Kate Mulgrew was well-known from her roles on Ryan's Hope and Mrs. Columbo. Scott Bakula did some show nobody's ever heard of called Quantum Leap. (:p) Rene Auberjonois was on Benson (along with Ethan Phillips).

So yeah, what was your argument again? Or was that just a brain fart?
 
cardinal biggles said:
Moore was well-known before Bond from his role as Simon Templar on The Saint.

Lazenby, on the other hand, struggled for years in large part due to the negative buzz his brief tenure as 007 generated. He might have been poised for a comeback in the mid-70s when Bruce Lee approached him about co-starring in a film, but unfortunately Lee died before it began filming. 99% of everybody wouldn't know George Lazenby if they tripped over him.

Dalton, Brosnan, and Craig already had well-established careers of their own before Bond (Brosnan's was the highest-profile of the three due to his role on Remington Steele) so it was harder for them to be typecast.

Similarly, some of the people we primarily associate with Trek had well-established careers before Trek. Avery Brooks was on Spenser: For Hire and a respected stage actor. Levar Burton was the host of Reading Rainbow and had starred in Roots. Kate Mulgrew was well-known from her roles on Ryan's Hope and Mrs. Columbo. Scott Bakula did some show nobody's ever heard of called Quantum Leap. (:p) Rene Auberjonois was on Benson (along with Ethan Phillips).

So yeah, what was your argument again? Or was that just a brain fart?
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I don't care about any of this.
But I do want to vote for your candidate. Finally a candidate i can relate to!
 
Jeri Ryan is doing well for herself by staring alongside a heavy hitter like James Woods on the reasonably high profile Shark (although a Channel 5 announcer joked "Yes, that is Seven of Nine..." :p ).

I'd say Colm Meany, out of the relatively lesser Trek stars, has the most frequent success outside of Star Trek featuring in numerous movie roles from both sides of the pond over the last fifthteen years more than most other Trek actors outside of Patrick Stewart...
 
TV actors are not movie actors. They can make the leap, but it is VERY HARD. For every George Clooney that makes it there are a dozen Jimmy Fallons.

So listing a bunch of film stars and then asking why a bunch of TV stars didn't end up like them is a pretty obvious question. It's just the way it works!
 
I disagree. Sean Connery was typecast. That's why most of his post-Bond career generally sees him in action films. Not many roles like The Offense came his way. He only got The Offense for that matter on the condition he reprise Bond, and poor box office returns tanked the prospect of a second arthouse film with Connery headlining it.

Colm Meaney has always been a respected actor here; both before, during, and after his stint on Star Trek. He's an accomplished character actor and I don't think DS9 did anything to diminish that.
 
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Good Will Riker said:
Roger Moore a goodwill ambassador for UNICEF, George Lazenby become super rich off of overseas films and real estate, Timothy Dalton perform in critically acclaimed stage productions/mini-series/films,
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Your comparison is deeply flawed.

What's Roger Moore done on film since A View To A Kill? A short voice-over at the end of The Saint? A few appearances on Alias?

Lazenby? He showed up on one of the Man from UNCLE reunion films, playing Bond! And then he was Jor-El, and then The Pretender.

Dalton? I can only think of a few things --- The Rocketeer, that western with Ali Larter, and the Gone With The Wind TV movie back in the '90s.

Brosnan's the worst though -- he channels Bond in most of his movies now. The Thomas Crown Affair, The Matador, Tailor from Panama... its just another shade of 007.

Nope, not typecast at all.
 
Mutarada said:
Good Will Riker said:
What's Roger Moore done on film since A View To A Kill? A short voice-over at the end of The Saint? A few appearances on Alias?
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The Van Damme movie THE QUEST. Some Sherlock Holmes schlock for t.v.


Dalton? I can only think of a few things --- The Rocketeer, that western with Ali Larter, and the Gone With The Wind TV movie back in the '90s.
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The cult-classic comedy with Fran Drescher "The Beautician and the Beast" and t.v. mini-series Cleopatra as Julius Ceaser IIRC. Looney Tunes Back in Action....

So, no, they ain't done shit! :lol:
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MeanJoePhaser said:
Mutarada said:
Good Will Riker said:
Dalton? I can only think of a few things --- The Rocketeer, that western with Ali Larter, and the Gone With The Wind TV movie back in the '90s.
Click to expand...
The cult-classic comedy with Fran Drescher "The Beautician and the Beast" and t.v. mini-series Cleopatra as Julius Ceaser IIRC. Looney Tunes Back in Action....

So, no, they ain't done shit! :lol:
Click to expand...

I was going to say that Dalton could of gone back an done lots of stage work given his background. Then I looked at his wiki entry and he's only done one major play in the in the past 8 years and that was 2003/05 totalling 3 since Licence to Kill came out.

In the same time he's appeared in 25 odd tv and movie productions ranging from cameo to lead with the villian in Hot Fuzz as his biggest role in recent years.
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