Actors and early works

Have you ever watched a movie, and found yourself wondering why you were watching it at all? I have, and it's no fun. It seems that a lot of movies made early in an actor's career are about as entertaining as a colon cleanse. They seem to have chosen to do them just to have work and a paycheck, or maybe to get their name "out there" to the public eye. Sometimes I watch these early films and wonder how the actor ever overcame them enough to actually become famous.

Denzel Washington comes to mind immediately. He's a superb actor, handsome, and plays every role as if he really is the character. However, some of his earlier works are either just bad writing or bad directing, as his full talent is never shown in them. They are, at best, at the high school play level, in my opinion. I'm very happy he has become more discerning in the roles he accepts. I am never disappointed with his more recent movies.

Other actors, such as Mel Gibson, seemed destined from the beginning to be stars and even in early roles were able to step out beyond the script and truly become the star of the movie. Gibson's Mad Max series catapulted him into stardom not because the movies themselves were great or classic, but because Gibson became larger than the actual role required. His acting talent superseded his good looks in these films and to me it seems as though he created the character himself.