Austin Improv

I got this email today, and I think it's a valid question.

Bill wrote:Jesse - I would like to see if you can answer a question for me. Way back in the day there were leading men that were loved by both men and women. The saying was "women love him and men want to be him." This was probably most true for Steve McQueen, a small guy but one who fit this description perfectly. Now the question - it seems today there are actors that men like and there are actors that women like, but none that are truly loved by both men and women the way McQueen was back in his day. Can you name a current actor that is "loved by women and that men want to be?""

You really think that's true? I wasn't around back then to see John Wayne or Lee Marvin or Bruce Lee while they were alive. But I believe it. It's gotten harder to get everybody on the same page.

We do have more of a niche market these days. *some* men want to be Brad Pitt. *some* men want to be Tom Cruise. *some* men want to be Johnny Depp. *some* men want to be Pierce Brosnan even...

Tom Hanks, Nick Cage, John Cusack, & John Travolta are sort of in their own category of "the every man." They never really exemplified sex appeal. We can just really empathize with them in particular.

For both sex appeal and the "every man" the closest I can think of is George Clooney. But even then.. not *everybody* wants to bed or be him. But yeah, he's the closest we have to a Steve McQueen.

Here's what it boils down to: Competition, the publicity machine, & public consensus.

Competition: the market is flooded with options these days. This creates niche market and the idea that you get to choose from the pack. Instead of being hit with Sean Connery 5 months out of the year you get hit with him off and on every few years.

The publicity machine: people aren't as susceptible to ads as they used to be. Studios keep trying but the star system is deteriorating thanks to paparazzi and related PR slips (such as Tom Cruise jumping up and down on Oprah's couch). The stars are not as safely guarded under the veil of ambiguity. The studio loses contol of them year by year. (Christian Bale screaming, Charlie Sheen doing whatever he does, winning?)

Public consensus: well, there really isn't consensus anymore due to the reasons stated. And obviously... the internet. The market has splintered off in hundreds of directions. People can express doubt on onine forums or discuss like we are doing right now. People who never really liked Brendan Fraser can find common ground and strengthen that feeling to one of disgust.

Hmmm. George Clooney is your best bet. I don't know alot of guys who loathe George Clooney.


[ I remember a few years ago I asked "Who is the modern day Burt Reynolds?" :) ]

Clooney isn't bad. I'd put Sam Rockwell in the same category.

on a smaller scale, i'd also say Nathan Fillion (the only guy i know who doesn't like him is so much like him that it raises a metric ton of Freudian questions. ).

i think it's more a sign of the times than a sign of the actors. we have more variety in what we watch and who we choose to watch. diversity of material breeds diversity of opinions. where we all used to go see the same movies and watch the same three TV networks and listen to the same popular music on the radio...now, we have access to so much more. so, as you say, it's much more niche. which i think is a good thing. others disagree. which i think proves my point more than theirs.

...but for all that, yeah, it's probaby Clooney.

So interesting that comedic actors are coming up.

I'd have to go with Bale. I know quite a few of the lady folk who wouldn't mind being in his bed. I know I wouldn't mind being him. Ya know, killin terminators and such.



Another vote I'd have to throw out there might be Liam Neeson. Granted I don't know of any ladies who fancy him that much but he's had some bad ass roles and does them well. I mean come on, he saved his daughter from trafficing, trained batman, saved a bunch of Jews, and is Zeus! (feel like I'm making a Chuck Norris list)

So far the thing that strikes me about Clooney is that he keeps his shit under wraps. In this way, he's resembles old school Hollywood.

He might advocate Darfur, but he's not getting drunk and punching out his sister or throwing telephones or melting down on the film set as far as we know. He keeps his Hollywood mystique in check.

Liam's pretty good. I would peg him for the modern day Lee Marvin.

Harrison Ford, though I guess he's kind of the last generation's Steve McQueen by now.

valetoile wrote:Harrison Ford, though I guess he's kind of the last generation's Steve McQueen by now.

That's exactly what I was thinking earlier! I wanted to come back here and list Harrison Ford as "the last of the old Hollywood A list."

You know? Back when stars had so much mystery about them and the paparazzi weren't getting snapshots of their crotches & mouthfuls of burger every other minute. When we lived under the illusion that all celebs had class.

Also there's something about Pacino, De Niro, and Nicholson that set them apart from Ford... those guys have a tinge of darkness since they don't have classic leading man features, they played antagonists, & they appeared in so many experimental films.

MasterCylinder wrote:Another vote I'd have to throw out there might be Liam Neeson. Granted I don't know of any ladies who fancy him that much but he's had some bad ass roles and does them well. I mean come on, he saved his daughter from trafficing, trained batman, saved a bunch of Jews, and is Zeus! (feel like I'm making a Chuck Norris list)

I know plenty of ladies who likes them some Neeson.

Harrison Ford. George Clooney. Liam Neeson? - not so much, but maybe Pierce Brosnan or Daniel Craig. (Bond boys tend to be studly.) Still, I'm amused that all of these guys are older gentlemen. How about Matt Damon, for the younger set? Or even Will Smith (such an outrageously ordinary name for such a talented guy).

KathyRose wrote:Harrison Ford. George Clooney. Liam Neeson? How about Matt Damon, for the younger set?

Brad Pitt, George Clooney, and Matt Damon were all side by side in Ocean's Eleven. Maybe it's hard to gauge them beyond their film roles but of the 3 George Clooney definitely oozed with the most class.

I have no complaints with Pierce Brosnan. I was surprised when they skipped over him and cast Daniel Craig, since he was such a successful and popular James Bond.

Damon, yeah, i can see...though i guess he seems more in the James Garner/Paul Newman camp (which is my favorite camp, lol). charming, appealing, consistent, but not always the first to come to mind...though usually a very close second (that is if we accept Clooney as McQueen and Brad Pitt as Robert Redford...or am i thinking about this way too much? :p)

Craig i could maybe see, though i think i see him as more of a Terrence Stamp type (that could just be my love of British gangster films, though. ). Brosnan, Thomas Crown Affair aside, i don't see as much of a McQueen type. McQueen had a kind of blue collar everyman quality to him (even if that collar was often a turtleneck). Brosnan comes off much more...refined and upper crust.

i'd have agreed with Will Smith five years ago...now he just comes across kind of weird and culty...

Spots wrote:I have no complaints with Pierce Brosnan. I was surprised when they skipped over him and cast Daniel Craig, since he was such a successful and popular James Bond.

meh. Goldeneye was the only truly great Brosnan Bond film. Tomorrow Never Dies had some cool stuff, but it was mostly because of Michelle Yeoh. i much prefer Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace to the majority of Brosnan's films (which is no reflection on him so much as the writing).

The guy has to be masculine, not pretty but attractive -- Rugged Handsome. And their appeal is also tied to confidence and sense of self that registers outside the movie set -- in interviews, etc.

Leonardo Dicaprio, Matt Damion, Ben Affleck and Will Smith are all aging nicely. They were probably too pretty as young men to be idolized by other guys.

But I agree that there is less consensus in a world where there is a variety of choices of who to watch and who to idolize.

And of course, there is the disconcerting fact that all pretty people have the mental capacity of 2 year olds.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3uoKPklaIK8[/youtube]

Rev. Jordan T. Maxwell wrote:Damon, i guess he seems more in the James Garner/Paul Newman camp ... if we accept Clooney as McQueen and Brad Pitt as Robert Redford...or am i thinking about this way too much?

I admit.... I never meant the comparisons to be so literal. You've done a fine job though.

I would group Steve McQueen and MANY of the old Hollywood stars & compare them to George Clooney collectively. The market simply isn't the same to draw individual comparisons, IMO.

But again, I'm impressed with the literal comparisons you were able to make. Bonus points since you mentioned a distant relative of mine, one I hope I get to meet.

Spots wrote:

Rev. Jordan T. Maxwell wrote:Damon, i guess he seems more in the James Garner/Paul Newman camp ... if we accept Clooney as McQueen and Brad Pitt as Robert Redford...or am i thinking about this way too much?

I admit.... I never meant the comparisons to be so literal. You've done a fine job though.

I would group Steve McQueen and MANY of the old Hollywood stars & compare them to George Clooney collectively. The market simply isn't the same to draw individual comparisons, IMO.

yeah, i figured...my brain just seems very fond of direct parallels and analogies (though also of the "it's like this meets this" game...surprised i never got more meetings with producers, lol!).