Post by jhar26 on May 10, 2014 15:21:54 GMT -5
The Yahoo 50 Greatest Actors Alive: No. 46 Forest Whitaker
By Bryan Enk
Age: 52
Stating the Case: Forest Whitaker has enjoyed an eclectic and unpredictable film career, building a varied resume that includes genre films, B-movie thrillers, celebrated indie darlings, and high-profile Oscar favorites. Despite his very distinct physical traits — including a hulking 6-foot-2 frame and a left eye ptosis that gives him an almost constant look of contemplation and inquisitiveness — Whitaker has an impressive range as an actor.
The Texas-born thespian (and occasional producer and director) is capable of delivering completely credible and convincing performances in a variety of roles, including a kidnapped British soldier ("The Crying Game"), a terrifying African dictator/man-child ("The Last King of Scotland"), a modern-day samurai warrior-philosopher ("Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai"), a White House butler ("Lee Daniels' The Butler") and a troubled jazz saxophonist ("Bird"). Also, one of his first movies was "Fast Times at Ridgemont High" (1982), and that's just awesome. Speaking of...
Breakthrough Role: Whitaker had supporting roles in high-profile films such as Martin Scorsese's "The Color of Money" (1986), Oliver Stone's "Platoon" (1986), and Barry Levinson's "Good Morning, Vietnam" (1987) before breaking on through with his passionate performance as Charlie "Bird" Parker in Clint Eastwood's "Bird" (1988). Whitaker's portrayal of the immensely talented yet self-destructive jazz musician earned him the Best Actor award at the Cannes Film Festival and a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actor in a Motion Picture — Drama.
The Best of the Best:
5. "Phone Booth" (2002): Whitaker is the cool 'n' calm detective on the case in director Joel Schumacher's chamber drama remix of "Dog Day Afternoon" in which a hotshot talent agent (Colin Farrell) is held hostage in a New York City phone booth (it's a period piece of sorts) by an unseen sniper (Kiefer Sutherland).
4. "Lee Daniels' The Butler" (2013): Several decades of 20th century American history are seen through the eyes of Cecil Gaines, a butler who serves eight presidents during his tenure at the White House. The all-star supporting cast comes and goes as Forest Whitaker provides the dramatic anchor and unique point-of-view of this celebrated piece of historical fiction.
3. "Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai" (1999): Whitaker mixes philosophy with gunplay in director Jim Jarmusch's hipster homage to Jean-Pierre Melville's "Le Samourai" (1967), in which a modern-day NYC samurai takes on the mob after he's marked for death by his former employers.
2. "The Crying Game" (1992): Neil Jordan's still-astonishing one-of-a-kind drama starts off as a hostage thriller chronicling the would-be friendship between a British soldier (Whitaker) and his IRA terrorist captor (Stephen Rea) and turns into something else entirely by the second act. A film that refuses to be rendered simplistic and identified only by its much-discussed plot twist, despite our best attempts over the years with various "She's a He" jokes.
1. "The Last King of Scotland" (2006): Whitaker's most acclaimed performance to date is his ferocious turn as Idi Amin, the Uganda dictator known for creating fanciful titles for himself... such as "the King of Scotland." A fictional story that incorporates real-life events, "The Last King of Scotland" has Whitaker as a man described by his personal physician, Dr. Nicholas Garrigan (James McAvoy), as "an angry, spoiled, uneducated child ... and that's what makes you so f--king scary." He nailed it.
The BIGGEST Hit: The actor's biggest commercial hit to date is Oliver Stone's "Platoon," which earned over $138 million at the domestic box office. Movies about the Vietnam War seem to agree with Whitaker, as his runner-up is "Good Morning, Vietnam" with $123 million.
With Honors: Whitaker cleaned house with "The Last King of Scotland" as his performance as Idi Amin earned him the Oscar for Best Actor, the Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Motion Picture — Drama, and a Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role, among many other awards. He also won the African-American Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor for his performance in "Lee Daniels' The Butler" (2013) and was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award for Best Lead Male for his work in "American Gun" (2005).
Really Fun Fact: According to IMDB, Whitaker was originally set to play the role of Sawyer on the ABC series "Lost" but dropped out when 20th Century Fox greenlit "First Daughter," the Katie Holmes comedy he directed that was relesed in 2004. The "Lost" role of nickname-savvy Sawyer, of course, would go to Josh Holloway.
Trademark: Lazy-eyed dignity in the face of oppression.
Most Underappreciated Achievement: Whitaker was a stand-out in the extremely impressive ensemble cast of "Smoke" (1995), writer Paul Auster's and director Wayne Wang's valentine to working-class Brooklyn. Whitaker brought a smoldering anger and heartbreaking sadness to his role as Cyrus Cole, an auto mechanic with a hook for a hand who discovers he has a long-lost son (played by Harold Perrineau Jr.).
Nobody's Perfect: Whitaker was an unfortunate participant in the much-reviled fiasco that was "Battlefield Earth" (2000), the screen adaptation of the first half of Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard's 1982 sci-fi novel. A longtime pet project of producer-star John Travolta, "Battlefield Earth" is today considered one of the worst movies ever made (although at least a couple of people like it — it's got a 2 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes), earning Whitaker a Golden Raspberry nomination for Worst Supporting Actor for his performance as Ker, one of the Psychlos, an alien race that has dominated the Earth for over a thousand years.
Moonlighting: Whitaker is also an occasional film director, making his directorial debut with the HBO crime drama, "Strapped" (1993). He's gone on to direct three feature films to date: "Waiting to Exhale" (1995), "Hope Floats" (1998), and "First Daughter" (2004), the latter of which starred his "Phone Booth" co-star, Katie Holmes. He also produced last year's Sundance/indie hit, "Fruitvale Station."
And for His Next Acts: Whitaker provides one of the voices in the English dubbed version of the Oscar-nominated French animated film "Ernest & Celestine," which will be released in theaters on Feb. 28. Opening that same day is the horror thriller "Repentance," which reunites Whitaker with his "Powder Blue" co-star, Sanaa Lathan. Whitaker also reunited with his "Smoke" co-star Harvey Keitel for the drama "Two Men in Town," which had its premiere at the Berlin International Film Festival earlier this month and will hit U.S. theaters sometime in 2014. He's also part of the cast of Jennifer Lynch's new thriller, "A Fall From Grace," which is currently in pre-production. Best of all, though, is he'll be joining Liam Neeson for whatever gloriously nonsensical scenario is conjured for "Taken 3," which will commence with production in March.
By Bryan Enk
Age: 52
Stating the Case: Forest Whitaker has enjoyed an eclectic and unpredictable film career, building a varied resume that includes genre films, B-movie thrillers, celebrated indie darlings, and high-profile Oscar favorites. Despite his very distinct physical traits — including a hulking 6-foot-2 frame and a left eye ptosis that gives him an almost constant look of contemplation and inquisitiveness — Whitaker has an impressive range as an actor.
The Texas-born thespian (and occasional producer and director) is capable of delivering completely credible and convincing performances in a variety of roles, including a kidnapped British soldier ("The Crying Game"), a terrifying African dictator/man-child ("The Last King of Scotland"), a modern-day samurai warrior-philosopher ("Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai"), a White House butler ("Lee Daniels' The Butler") and a troubled jazz saxophonist ("Bird"). Also, one of his first movies was "Fast Times at Ridgemont High" (1982), and that's just awesome. Speaking of...
Breakthrough Role: Whitaker had supporting roles in high-profile films such as Martin Scorsese's "The Color of Money" (1986), Oliver Stone's "Platoon" (1986), and Barry Levinson's "Good Morning, Vietnam" (1987) before breaking on through with his passionate performance as Charlie "Bird" Parker in Clint Eastwood's "Bird" (1988). Whitaker's portrayal of the immensely talented yet self-destructive jazz musician earned him the Best Actor award at the Cannes Film Festival and a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actor in a Motion Picture — Drama.
The Best of the Best:
5. "Phone Booth" (2002): Whitaker is the cool 'n' calm detective on the case in director Joel Schumacher's chamber drama remix of "Dog Day Afternoon" in which a hotshot talent agent (Colin Farrell) is held hostage in a New York City phone booth (it's a period piece of sorts) by an unseen sniper (Kiefer Sutherland).
4. "Lee Daniels' The Butler" (2013): Several decades of 20th century American history are seen through the eyes of Cecil Gaines, a butler who serves eight presidents during his tenure at the White House. The all-star supporting cast comes and goes as Forest Whitaker provides the dramatic anchor and unique point-of-view of this celebrated piece of historical fiction.
3. "Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai" (1999): Whitaker mixes philosophy with gunplay in director Jim Jarmusch's hipster homage to Jean-Pierre Melville's "Le Samourai" (1967), in which a modern-day NYC samurai takes on the mob after he's marked for death by his former employers.
2. "The Crying Game" (1992): Neil Jordan's still-astonishing one-of-a-kind drama starts off as a hostage thriller chronicling the would-be friendship between a British soldier (Whitaker) and his IRA terrorist captor (Stephen Rea) and turns into something else entirely by the second act. A film that refuses to be rendered simplistic and identified only by its much-discussed plot twist, despite our best attempts over the years with various "She's a He" jokes.
1. "The Last King of Scotland" (2006): Whitaker's most acclaimed performance to date is his ferocious turn as Idi Amin, the Uganda dictator known for creating fanciful titles for himself... such as "the King of Scotland." A fictional story that incorporates real-life events, "The Last King of Scotland" has Whitaker as a man described by his personal physician, Dr. Nicholas Garrigan (James McAvoy), as "an angry, spoiled, uneducated child ... and that's what makes you so f--king scary." He nailed it.
The BIGGEST Hit: The actor's biggest commercial hit to date is Oliver Stone's "Platoon," which earned over $138 million at the domestic box office. Movies about the Vietnam War seem to agree with Whitaker, as his runner-up is "Good Morning, Vietnam" with $123 million.
With Honors: Whitaker cleaned house with "The Last King of Scotland" as his performance as Idi Amin earned him the Oscar for Best Actor, the Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Motion Picture — Drama, and a Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role, among many other awards. He also won the African-American Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor for his performance in "Lee Daniels' The Butler" (2013) and was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award for Best Lead Male for his work in "American Gun" (2005).
Really Fun Fact: According to IMDB, Whitaker was originally set to play the role of Sawyer on the ABC series "Lost" but dropped out when 20th Century Fox greenlit "First Daughter," the Katie Holmes comedy he directed that was relesed in 2004. The "Lost" role of nickname-savvy Sawyer, of course, would go to Josh Holloway.
Trademark: Lazy-eyed dignity in the face of oppression.
Most Underappreciated Achievement: Whitaker was a stand-out in the extremely impressive ensemble cast of "Smoke" (1995), writer Paul Auster's and director Wayne Wang's valentine to working-class Brooklyn. Whitaker brought a smoldering anger and heartbreaking sadness to his role as Cyrus Cole, an auto mechanic with a hook for a hand who discovers he has a long-lost son (played by Harold Perrineau Jr.).
Nobody's Perfect: Whitaker was an unfortunate participant in the much-reviled fiasco that was "Battlefield Earth" (2000), the screen adaptation of the first half of Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard's 1982 sci-fi novel. A longtime pet project of producer-star John Travolta, "Battlefield Earth" is today considered one of the worst movies ever made (although at least a couple of people like it — it's got a 2 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes), earning Whitaker a Golden Raspberry nomination for Worst Supporting Actor for his performance as Ker, one of the Psychlos, an alien race that has dominated the Earth for over a thousand years.
Moonlighting: Whitaker is also an occasional film director, making his directorial debut with the HBO crime drama, "Strapped" (1993). He's gone on to direct three feature films to date: "Waiting to Exhale" (1995), "Hope Floats" (1998), and "First Daughter" (2004), the latter of which starred his "Phone Booth" co-star, Katie Holmes. He also produced last year's Sundance/indie hit, "Fruitvale Station."
And for His Next Acts: Whitaker provides one of the voices in the English dubbed version of the Oscar-nominated French animated film "Ernest & Celestine," which will be released in theaters on Feb. 28. Opening that same day is the horror thriller "Repentance," which reunites Whitaker with his "Powder Blue" co-star, Sanaa Lathan. Whitaker also reunited with his "Smoke" co-star Harvey Keitel for the drama "Two Men in Town," which had its premiere at the Berlin International Film Festival earlier this month and will hit U.S. theaters sometime in 2014. He's also part of the cast of Jennifer Lynch's new thriller, "A Fall From Grace," which is currently in pre-production. Best of all, though, is he'll be joining Liam Neeson for whatever gloriously nonsensical scenario is conjured for "Taken 3," which will commence with production in March.
