MB

Thankyou - I'm not quite sure how to post it again after I edit, though.

Steve Crook

After you edit a message, just Save and that will post the edited message to replace the one you started editing. Try it with your next message (you can always edit it again to change it back)

Steve

wadsy

An Australian actor by the name of John Clayton, ( passed away now sadly).

He lived locally to me & to where I work. Sometimes He'd see me having

a ciggie ( i've quit now) outside work. He was such a nice guy, he'd always

let on & ask how i was. A lovely guy, he was a very good character actor

on Aussie film & TV.

shaun brown

The late Frank Middlemass

Met him at Manchster's Piccidiily station and we talked for a bit.

good actor too!

Harold Shand

Maybe I'm biased but I don't like to think Gary Oldman has sold out. Maybe like all of us he needs to pay the mortgage.
As for Tim Roth in those dodgy Incredible Hulk trailers. Now that's selling out.
As long as he uses the money to make great British drama like The War Zone I think I can forgive him.

batman

I hate the term 'sold out' when used with regard to actors. What have they done that is so wrong. Both Oldman and Roth are terrific actors and they both appear in low budget films and 'blockbusters'. To enable them to make films like Nil By Mouth and The War Zone they have to maintain a high box-office profile. These days that means Hollywood. Also these chaps are working actors and are entitled to make a living. I also think that they have a lot of fun making these movies and who wouldn't want them to enjoy their work.

Modestyblaise ... you make the accusation of selling out and yet you claim to want to be a Hollywood screenwriter. Isn't that a case of pot and kettle. What's wrong with writing scripts for low budget Brit films.

"Boom boom a baby .... Banham Zoo .... Banana pants! Hahahaha"

MB

I can live in Hollywood and write for little independants can't I? I wish I hadn't put that in now.

Erm - I realise that actors have to pay the rent - but Gary Oldman (who btw is quite a major idol of mine) is not in that position now - I hate to see him in really awful nonsense. He stands out like a sore thumb and I feel embarrassed for him.

I think it depends how much rent you need and whether morals and integrity and stuff is important - I'd always assumed it was for Gary..sighs..I don't know why..he was maried to Uma Thurman who as far as I can make out - is free from these concerns...

batman

Of course you can, you can do whatever you choose, but I bet if Joel Silver rang up and offered you $3m to write Die Hard 5 you wouldn't turn him away. I know I wouldn't. Think of the freedom that cash would give you to spend time on personal projects.

My point was that it's not only unsuccessful actors who have commitments, successful ones do as well, and they have to maintain a level of success otherwise they soon get forgotten and they lose what they have worked hard to achieve. They also sometimes need to have a change, to be in a film like Lost In Space must be a hoot compared to some low budget grimfest about child abuse.

You can't question a person's morals and integrity because they take the money now and again. Acting is a job and one's time at the top can be short. Good luck to Gary .... long may he continue to have the best of everything, artisitic credibilty, commercial success and, I believe, a happy personal life.

I am also sure he can cope with the embarrassment.

"Boom boom a baby .... Banham Zoo .... Banana pants! Hahahaha"

Harold Shand

Without getting into a lifestyle debate don't most people live to their means? If you can command $5 million for a movie you're not going to live in a terraced house in Macclesfield.
Trust me you're never free from these concerns - its all relative.

Mysteryfan

I was wondering if anyone has met Diana Rigg and is she willing to talk to fans?

Chevyman

Liz Fraser was very charming to meet and a stunning woman IMHO. Still is I think

Robert Pugh had quite a chat with me about his "back catalogue". Really nice chap

Derren Nesbitt who I met at a boxing dinner.Gentleman.

Not entirely appropriate here but:-
Keith Moon was a real laugh (we grew up in the same area at around the same time). Underneath the exterior lay a very kind and funny guy who never forgot his mates or where he came from.

Chris Rea. A genuinely lovely man who always put his family before his career

Muhammad Ali. What can I say. My idol; a legend. Surprisingly very quiet on both occasions when we spent some time together without the press. He loved his fans.

Gazza

In response to the points made about 'selling out'. . .

Juid Dench always says she does the James Bonds so she can afford to work at places like the National, which is where she's happiest but doesn't earn star's salaries. Even straight plays in the West End don't pay too well for the big names unless they're in a blockbuster musical.

batman

And that's the truth ..... Olivier only became financially solvent when he received advice from Michael Caine when they made Sleuth, and he was one ofthe biggest stars of theatre we've ever had.

A mate of mine who is a jobbing actor makes an average of between £10,000 - £12,000 a year. He can't afford to buy a house, gets no holiday pay and drives a clapped out old car. He has been acting for around 18 years and still dreams of making it big. If he was to be offered a big payday on a shit TV show or film he'd bite their hands off for it. There is no such thing as selling out with regard to actors .... they have nothing to sell except themselves and deserve the highest price they can get.

"Boom boom a baby .... Banham Zoo .... Banana pants! Hahahaha"

Gazza

It's why I gave it up Bats - I didn't have that extra % of drive that's absolutely necessary in the profession. Some of the work I was getting didn't even allow me to cover the rent on my then shared council flat.

MB

Of course there is..if, for example, an actor is morally opposed to films that depict extreme meaningless violence and then accepts a truckload to appear in such a film they are selling out on their principles - pure and simple.

Like screenwriters, artists etc etc - actors just have to do something else too..it's not easy..but then nobody ever said it was going to be..you can't spend your life waiting around for that big break and then claiming that you are skint because of the particular career you chose..you just have to do something else meanwhile...like running a sandwich shop