Discuss Burt Reynolds
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He wasted his #1 status doing junk
posted by D.J.STAFFMOD on September 22, 2017 at 3:19 AM
At one time in the 1970s he was the #1 box office draw, and highest paid actor, but the movies he chose to do are really just junk. You would think his agent could've found him one of those great movies from the '70s to star in, and not another one of those corruption in a small Southern town flicks, which seem to make up half of his peak career work.
Reply by manfromatlantis
on September 7, 2018 at 4:18 AM
yes he did..
Reply by DanDare
on September 8, 2018 at 5:23 PM
Burt was the number 1 box office star for an unprecedented five straight years.
I think his agent did something right.
Reply by DRDMovieMusings
on September 11, 2018 at 1:39 AM
The OP conceded that. His point was, box office notwithstanding, his body of work isn't of a quality commensurate with his talents.
Doing box office is one thing, a measure that does not make a movie or career good (Transformers, anyone?); doing good work that holds up over time is what seems missing from his body of work (and great movies don't always do killer box office). Somehow, sadly, he did not accept scripts that really showcased his acting chops in stories that were compelling.
Can we pin that on his agent? It'd be interesting to know what scripts he saw and rejected, or never got to see that he should have seen.
Reply by DanDare
on September 12, 2018 at 5:23 AM
We will end up with the Warren Beatty argument like how he was offered every major role in the 1970s and turned them all down. No one asks that every major actor is first choice for any film that is greenlit. Anyhow could you seriously take Warren Beatty as Superman?
In the case of Reynolds, he turned down James Bond presumably when Moore was offered the role. Would he had done it as an Englishman? Would he had been any good? He turned down Han Solo but hold on I thought it was Christopher Walken that was offered the Han Solo role first.
I am just waiting for Francis Coppola to confirm that Reynolds turned down Michael Corleone after Robert Redford his first choice also turned him down for The Godfather!
I think Reynolds was a very good actor. I think Reynolds himself alluded that he went for populist films and should had tried harder for more serious roles to stretch him. This presumably rules out Bond, Solo or even Superman.