No one will ever argue that Gérard Depardieu should ever win People Magazine’s sexiest man alive… but holy crap can this dude act. There is a certain dignity he brings to every role he plays (admittedly I’ve only seen about 11 of his 100 or so films), even when playing the clown. He is intense, passionate, funny and just in general has a commanding presence when on the screen.
My first exposure to Depardieu was in his Oscar nominated role as the lead character in Cyrano de Bergerac (as a side note, it wasn’t until I saw this that I realized that Steve Martin’s “Roxanne”, which I also love, was a modern re-telling of the classic story). It was just simply once of the most memorable performances I’ve ever seen… and I’ve loved watching the guy ever since (Hell, I even loved him in Man In The Iron Mask).
It’s nice when not so handsome guys get recognized…. it gives people like me hope. The folks at Yahoo give us this:
French actor Gerard Depardieu will be honored at this year’s salute by the Film Society of the Lincoln Center, which recognizes the extraordinary careers of distinguished film artists each year. “Depardieu’s to European cinema in the ’70s what Brando was to American cinema in the ’50s,” Kent Jones, associate director of programming at the Film Society of Lincoln Center, said in a statement.
“He was able to connect to and represent the whole gamut of European males: tough guy, stud, intellectual, bourgeois, anarchic rebel, hedonist.”
There just aren’t enough guys like this around anymore. You know what I mean… true “actor’s actors”. REAL actors. It’s when you stop to think about the pure talent of people like Depardieu that you realize how much we’ve embraced and praise mediocrity in most of today’s big “stars”
“My life’s work has been to prompt others and be forgotten. Remember that night when Christian came to your balcony? That moment sums up my life. While I was below in the shadows, others climbed up to kiss the sweet rose.”
Yeah, let’s hear Dane Cook try to speak that line without making you throw up in your mouth a little.
