Type-casting and Superman's Curse

[Criadoman]

Ok, so here's the topics...

1. Supposedly actors are type-cast who do Superman or super-heros period.
2. You could get killed being Superman.

Well, to one, I happened to have 1st hand from a televised interview on 20/20 I believe, that when asked if he was type-cast for having been Superman - Chris said that was not true.  He cited he was offered American Gigalo, and An Officer and a Gentleman (both Richard Gere career builders) and Body Heat.  Anyone else remember this interview?  So I say this is bunk.

To #2, considering Kirk Alyn died of natural causes - Dean Cain is still around, all the Superboy's are, etc. again absolute bunk.

Comments?

[Klar Ken T5477]

Bunk/

There was no mention of a curse until Jerry Siegel cursed the 78 film with a press release.

He and Joe got their pension.  'Curse' lifted.

I guess seniors Jack larson and Noel Neill are 'cursed' too.

Supersitious baloney and media horse shate.

[nightwing]

Any new actor who debuts in a breakout role that brings him instant fame is going to be "typecast" to a certain degree.  That is to say, if we didn't know who Christophe Reeve or Brandon Routh was before Superman, but their movies make a huge dent in pop culture, then to some degree we will always associate them with the role that brought them into our lives.  This isn't limited to Superman; Sean Connery ended up with an Oscar only after two decades of working hard to convince people he was more than just James Bond (though even now, in his 70s, many articles on the actor still refer to him as "former Bond Sean Connery").

One actor who seems to have beat the system, in a way, is Harrison Ford.  Depending on who you talk to, he's either "Han Solo," "Indiana Jones", "Jack Ryan" or, to a lesser degree I suppose, "Dekkard."  Before that, there were a handful of other actors who turned their "franchise hero" image to their advantage, like Buster Crabbe (who was both Flash Gordon and Buck Rogers) and Johnny Weissmuller (who was both Tarzan and Jungle Jim).

The one thing few superhero stars HAVE done, of course, is gain respect as "serious" dramatic actors.  But with Christian Bale that may be changing.

As for the "Superman Curse," it's bunk of course.  You can add to your list of "curse survivors" Bud Collyer, Danny Dark, Tim Daly and George Newbern, all former Supermen who emerged unscatched from their time in the role.

I really enjoyed what Bryan Singer said about the curse in a recent interview.  He said he mentioned it to Brandon Routh to make sure he wasn't concerned about it.  Routh responded, "Hey, it could be worse.  I could not get the part and something terrible still happens to me!"

[ShinDangaioh]

Routh could always follow he path that mark Hamil took.  In other words, voice acting. True, Mark Hamil started as a voice actor, but still....

Luke Skywalker or Joker?

[KavMan]

If Routh's lucky; he'll get offered good roles and will not dedicate his life to this franchise.

Hamill tried to break away from the Star Wars, but the roles didn’t come as easy! Lets hope Routh has better luck and won’t vanish behind a VO.

[cK]

[Uncle Mxy]

Dean Cain's had other good TV runs since Superman -- Ripley's (which he produced), the Laci Peterson movie, good recurring roles on Hope & Faith, The Division, Las Vegas, etc.  He's erred in taking starring roles in low budget straight-to-DVD crap where he might've been better off doing supporting work in bigger pictures (he was good in Out Of Time), but he's certainly stayed working.

[KavMan]

Cain is a good actor and does deserve big Hollywood pictures; and even though he is getting supporting work in major movies, I feel he has what it takes to do leading man stuff.

All he needs is one big movie to throw him to the top.

Maybe if Quentin Tarantino hires him, he'll get the better stuff. He deserves better roles, with his talent.

[cK]

[stumpy]

I agree that the curse is just tripe.  This is the result of a natural human reaction to see patterns in anything and, when aware of a possible pattern, to ignore all the things that don't fit it.  I would venture that this tendency explains things like the "curses" of  the Hope Diamond and purported odd behavior during the full moon.

Further examples of nightwing's point that any actor who is unknown before breaking through in an iconic role will be subject to a certain amount of typecasting include Lucy "Xena" Lawless and even Gillian "Scully" Anderson.

BTW, I often wondered why Dean Cain never made it bigger, either in better movies or in a hit TV show.  Seems like he has the talent and it's true that he keeps working.  If Vin Diesel can do it...