Controversial film roles that neither hurt or helped an actor's career

[Doomnaut]

Originally Posted by darkdigital

Kevin Bacon in The Woodsman

I have no idea what would draw someone to the roll of playing a child molester. In fact I'm not sure why someone would want to make or watch the film like that.

I remember seeing the posters for it, think that looks interesting them reading the synopsis & thinking no, I'll give that a miss.

Either way, it didn't hurt or help his career.

I haven't seen it but Colin Firth called Bacon's performance his favorite of the decade(00-09). The draw for an actor is the challenge of attempting to humanize a despicable character.

[Kevin Holly]

It's a good film, it's not like the film actually features child molestation or anything like that. Just another good performance from the Bacon.

[Cabby]

Willem Dafoe in Scorsese's The Last Temptation of Christ?

[Buscemi]

Originally Posted by Cabby

Willem Dafoe in Scorsese's The Last Temptation of Christ?

Already been mentioned.

Sergio Leone said about the casting, "This is the face of a murderer, not of Our Lord!"

[jamesdevil]

Originally Posted by darkdigital

Kevin Bacon in The Woodsman

I have no idea what would draw someone to the roll of playing a child molester. In fact I'm not sure why someone would want to make or watch the film like that.

I remember seeing the posters for it, think that looks interesting them reading the synopsis & thinking no, I'll give that a miss.

Either way, it didn't hurt or help his career.

It certainly helped Jackie Earle Haley.

[King Troll]

Matthew fox went all out in Alex cross but no one cared

[Rizor]

Didn't Dakota Fanning star in a movie where she got raped? I remember it getting some headlines. But ultimately, no one cared.

[Monterey Jack]

Originally Posted by jamesdevil

It certainly helped Jackie Earle Haley.

And he's been typecast as a skeevy pervert ever since.

[Buscemi]

Originally Posted by Monterey Jack

And he's been typecast as a skeevy pervert ever since.

Surprisingly, his small part in Parkland was not like this. He played a priest in that one and though heavy on the ham, the character wasn't perverted.

[Samus Aran]

Originally Posted by Buscemi

On Caviezel: playing Jesus did hurt his career, more or less. After the film came out, his next few films failed to take off and he chose to go in a different direction in his career (he also had a spiritual awakening from doing the film, so there's that too). It wasn't really until Person of Interest that his career got back on track.

Anyway, he's good as the villain in Escape Plan. There's something about him playing villains that works so well.

He thinks it hurt his career.

Caviezel also walked from playing Cylclops in X-Men to make some stupid hydroplane movie no one saw. I think I read somewhere where he thought the only character with any depth in the script was Wolverine.

We'll never know if Cyclops would've been marginalized like he was if Caviezel had played the role or if they would've actually given him something to do in the sequels.

[esteban²]

Originally Posted by toddly6666

Tom Hanks in Philadelphia
Sean Penn in Milk

Sure didn't hurt. But helped a lot. Both parts that did well for the carreers of those actors. Hanks was praised and got the Academy Award en Golden Globe for it. Penn was praised and got the Academy Award and 11 other awards for best actor in this. Praised by critics and audiance, that is.

[toddly6666]

Originally Posted by esteban²

Sure didn't hurt. But helped a lot. Both parts that did well for the carreers of those actors. Hanks was praised and got the Academy Award en Golden Globe for it. Penn was praised and got the Academy Award and 11 other awards for best actor in this. Praised by critics and audiance, that is.

they were already hot superstars before the roles aka they were already at peak and stayed at the peak after these two films.

[esteban²]

I know. But it's at least strange to say roles like that don't help to keep them in that place. Imo, these are not cases that answer to the subject of the topic.

[Cabby]

DiCaprio's performance in J. Edgar with the make-up and homosexual themes seemed like he went a little past his comfort zone but ultimately nobody really seemed to care and it didn't really help or hurt the perception of him.

[Shawn Elestren]

This thread is kinda redundant.

Surely it should be "either hurt or helped a career" rather than "neither hurt or helped".

It would make for more interesting discussion.

[Kevin Holly]

Originally Posted by Rizor

Didn't Dakota Fanning star in a movie where she got raped? I remember it getting some headlines. But ultimately, no one cared.

Hounddog.

Originally Posted by Shawn Watson

This thread is kinda redundant.

Surely it should be "either hurt or helped a career" rather than "neither hurt or helped".

It would make for more interesting discussion.

Redundant =/= uninteresting, but other than that, yeah.

Brooke Shields in Pretty Baby and Blue Lagoon.

Casey Affleck in The Killer Inside Me.

[Buscemi]

I'd say the two Shields roles helped. Pretty Baby launched her acting career while The Blue Lagoon made a lot of money and turned her into a teen idol.

And while Kevin brings up Michael Winterbottom films, Angelina Jolie in A Mighty Heart. An American playing Mariane Pearl was controversial at the time of production (my personal choice would have been Charlotte Gainsbourg) but by the film the film opened, no one cared. In fact, the film probably did its biggest damage to Winterbottom (whose career has never returned to the level it once was).

[Kevin Holly]

Originally Posted by Buscemi

I'd say the two Shields roles helped. Pretty Baby launched her acting career while The Blue Lagoon made a lot of money and turned her into a teen idol.

That so? Good to know. Cheers

[slimdude]

Originally Posted by Buscemi

I'd say the two Shields roles helped. Pretty Baby launched her acting career while The Blue Lagoon made a lot of money and turned her into a teen idol.

I couldn't understand why Brook Shield's mother even allowed her 12 year old daughter to make Pretty Baby anyway! When I first saw the movie years ago, I felt very uncomfortable, as If I were a voyeur to child pornography. Isn't there a law against child pornography? Pretty Baby should have been banned across the country and even though, Pretty Baby was a movie, the director should've been criminally prosecuted for sexually exploiting minors. I wouldn't dare allowed my 12 year old daughter make a movie like Pretty Baby, and Brook Shield's mother should have been criminally prosecuted as well!

[Shawn Elestren]

Originally Posted by slimdude

I couldn't understand why Brook Shield's mother even allowed her 12 year old daughter to make Pretty Baby anyway! When I first saw the movie years ago, I felt very uncomfortable, as If I were a voyeur to child pornography. Isn't there a law against child pornography? Pretty Baby should have been banned across the country and even though, Pretty Baby was a movie, the director should've been criminally prosecuted for sexually exploiting minors. I wouldn't dare allowed my 12 year old daughter make a movie like Pretty Baby, and Brook Shield's mother should have been criminally prosecuted as well!

Censoring art is a slippery and dangerous slope. And in a world where every 12-year-old with a smartphone is taking naked selfies who really cares?