JourneywomanSupporting or Featured? Stealing Scenes: The Art of the Cameo
August 17th 2007 05:50
There is a fine line between supporting and leading actors these days. Last years Oscar ceremony was living proof. Forest Whitaker had less screen time than co-star James McAvoy in The Last King of Scotland - and yet he still nabbed the Best Actor Oscar. Meryl Streep's villainous Miranda Priestley in The Devil Wears Prada had less screen time than Anna Hathaway. Judi Dench and Cate Blanchett had equal screen time in Notes on a Scandal. I won't even mention the nominations nightmare that was The Departed! And who was the lead in Dreamgirls? Beyonce got top billing sure, but JHud still had more screen time!
It's an interesting point to explore. Just how do actors with roles that are often tiny, and on paper quite forgettable, manage to go out and steal scenes and even entire movies away from co-stars with far larger roles? What turns a cameo into a featured part and a supporting part into a lead?
With plenty of evidence to hand lets begin with a very recent example. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix made a very clear casting coup when they secured Oscar nominated actress Imelda Staunton for the role of Dolores Umbridge - a kind of Dame Edna Everage gone wrong... and that's really wrong!!! However, with the movie in the past, it's really not so clear that Staunton did indeed steal the movie after all! Sure she got the critical attention, but it's Helena Bonham Carter's turn as the wickedly wild (and disturbingly sexy) Bellatrix Lestrange who is having the fanblogs created about her!
Her character was hugely hyped in movie trailers - with tantalising glimpses shown of her deadly duel with Sirius Black. Despite the fact that this, and various other scenes were cut from the final screen version of the movie, she still remains one of the most memorable characters - and she was barely on for five minutes! Though originally it also seemed that her dueling scenes were not to be included in the extended edition DVD release, overwhelming fan pressure may end up seeing studio's save her witchy images from the cutting room floor! Hell of a way to steal a movie Helena!
Peter O'Toole is another fine example of scene stealing. Cast as King Priam in the action epic Troy, he seemed the odd duck out amidst a cast of young body-beautifuls. That didn't stop him garnering a mass of Oscar buzz. Admitedly who wouldn't rather watch Brad Pitt and Rose Byrne make out drenched in sweat? But all the same it was Peter O'Toole who ended up lending the entire project credibility and showing his younger cast members just how it was done!
The Aviator was as cameo laden a film as can be had in this day and age. And yet despite an astonishing performance from Leonardo DiCaprio as reclusive and eccentric aviation industry billionaire Howard Hughes, it was Cate Blanchett who walked off with an Oscar and Alan Alda who grabbed a nomination.
And who could forget Kate Beckinsale as Ava Gardner. Most astounding of all was Gwen Stefani. In her single acting credit to date, as 1930's blonde bombshell Jean Harlowe, Stefani was on screen for maybe thirty seconds and had exactly one line. And yet she was so astoundingly alike her character in appearance that she remains an extremely memorable highlight of the picture - and this alongside some of the finest performances commited to celluloid in recent times! Not bad at all.
Arguably no actress alive today knows more about stealing a movie in a tiny role than Dame Judi Dench. She managed to win an Oscar with an eight minute performance in Shakespeare in Love - arguably one of the finest Queen Elizabeth I's ever seen on the screen, and that's going up against some hefty competiton!
But then check 1980's costume flick A Room With a View. Co-star Maggie Smith was expected to walk away with that picture, starring alongside a then very green Helena Bonham Carter, a very naked Julian Sands, and an uninspired Daniel Day-Lewis.
However, it was Dench who ended up winning the BAFTA Award for Best Supporting Actress in a five minute role that must count as one of her most glorious to date!
Dench romped home with an enthusiasm and an energy actresses half her age would envy!
If you saw the 2003 hit comedy Stuck On You, ask yourself, was Meryl Streep in it? If your answer was "no" then you're dead wrong!
The Most Oscar nominated Actress of all time turned up towards the end of the film, onstage as the lead actress in Bonnie and Clyde: the Musical - a play within a movie. And though it was a very forgettable moment in itself, go back and check it out. Meryl tears up the stage - and she wasn't even credited for her performance!
Johnny Depp is unquestionably the greatest actor of his generation and one of the finest we have ever had. His presence in a movie guarantees attention, to say nothing of an extraordinary and unique performance. However, see him in his second collaboration with Tim Burton, Ed Wood, and you'll find it's veteran actor Martin Landau who steals the show!
Landau won an Oscar for his showstopping performance as dried up and vaguely nuts 1930's horror star Bela Lugosi - and this alongside one of Johnny Depp's finest and funniest performances yet! It's an amazing film to watch. It's hard to know just who you want to watch the most!
When a modern remake of Great Expectations is released and with two of the hottest stars of the day (Gwyneth Paltrow and Ethan Hawke) in the young leads - and nudity to be had! - you know where to look right? At Anne Bancroft naturally!
Cast as deranged hermit Nora Dinsmoor, Bancroft made off with the movie right under the noses of her young co-stars, giving an extraordinary performance in what would otherwise prove to be an extremely ordinary movie.
James McAvoy has finally secured himself a place amongst the established young actors of Hollywood - and he's been through a hell of a lot of bit parts on the way. One of his finest was in Stephen Fry's 2003 directorial debut Bright Young Things, in which he played the young Simon, Earl of Balcairn, who commits suicide after his rejection from high society.
It's a performance of astounding heart and depth which astoundingly did not receive a single nomination - though Bright Young Things was largely rejected by critics as a whole.
Another excellent cameo in the same film, an aged John Mills, credited simply as "Man Taking Cocaine at Party" made his final performance a memorable one - even though he literally was just a man taking cocaine at party! He has twenty seconds of screen time and nothing to say - it's still a showstoppingly funny moment, his second last on the big screen.
How about The Lord of the Rings trilogy?
Orlando Bloom built a multi-million dollar movie career from that foundation despite the fact that he started with one of the smallest parts in the series. And though the fantasy trilogy absolutely set out to be an ensemble piece, by the end, who would dispute that Ian McKellen was the lead? And who could forget Cate Blanchett or Christopher Lee in their showstopping performances within the series?
Let's go vintage for a second. If you don't know the name Agnes Moorehead you will surely know her most famous role: Endora, the witch-mother from hell in the popular TV sitcom Bewitched. Well check 1950's movie The Swan to see her grand-high "witchiness" during her big-screen days and you will watch as the imperious red-head singlehandedly steals a film starring Grace Kelly and Alec Guiness. Some brilliant one-liners become sheer magic in her hands...
"My dear, I have a book. I shall send it to you. It's most reassuring. It proves conclusively that Napoleon never existed."
Brad Pitt is a fine example of how to take advantage of a cameo. In 1991 he was an established actor but still a few years away from the superstardom that would come his way with Interview With a Vampire and Se7en. However, he took a minor role in Thelma and Louise and turned it into a showcase for his acting talents. Unsurprisingly he began to get leading roles thereafter.
While we're in "Brangelina" territory lets look at the infamous couples other half. Just what Angelina Jolie was thinking when she signed on for the underwhelming Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow is something I doubt even she will ever know! And yet, within a movie of unremoved blandness she is the single blinding high point.
In a role both sly and sexy she makes Jude Law and Gwyneth Paltrow look like Rank amatuers - unfortunately she couldn't save the movie, which admitedly did show promise in the beginning.
Who here knew that Oprah was an Oscar nominated actress? If you didn't go and see The Colour Purple. This Spielberg directed picture was rightly nominated for eleven Oscars and in an act of supreme injustice, it didn't win a single one!
The movie was Whoopi Goldberg's debut performance, yet another notch in Danny Glover's belt, and also featured talk-show host and lifestyle guru Oprah Winfrey in one of the finest performances of the century - and that's no understatement!
She does not steal the movie from Whoopi Goldberg - but she comes damn close! Eitherway she immortalised herself on screen in a performance that will undoubtedly survive the ages.
Now for a touchy subject: Tom Cruise.
Yes, he's presently Hollywood's lamest dog. Yes, he is a follower of the creapiness that is Scientology. Yes, he is apparantly an extremely messed up closetted gay guy. But yes, he can act. Check Magnolia. Cruise steals the movie out from under the noses of a line up of incredible character actors with a performance of energy, spirit and pathos.
More of the same and he may not have ended up being viewed as such an outsider in Hollywood.
But it's all very well to furnish a host of examples. What does it all mean? Basically a supporting part can be a very powerful tool, but only if it's used properly! A cameo can win you an Oscar - it's been done. A cameo can kick start your career. It's been done. However, a cameo can also remain a one hit wonder. Check Cuba Gooding Jnr in Jerry Maguire. He won an Oscar for that role. Where is he today?
A well written part is a great help. But from all appearances, results come mainly from attitude. The character is only as great as the characterisation it is given. From the brilliant enthusiasm of Judi (Legend) Dench in A Room With a View or Goldeneye through to the lanky grace of Orlando ("I can't really act but I'm pretty") Bloom's Legolas in Lord of the Rings, it's all about attitude.
If you're bored you're boring (John Travolta in Hairspray or Topher Grace is Spiderman 3). If you're bright, you're brilliant (Angela Lansbury in Death on the Nile or Alec Guiness in Star Wars).
However, the most important thing to remember about a supporting role is the follow up. If you do get an award or some attention or some positive buzz out of your supporting performance in a major picture, don't just follow it up with any trash! Take quality over cash and you may just find yourself on the way to a steady career as a bankable artist.
Helena Bonham Carter's Bellatrix Lestrange has won a fast growing cult fanbase
Peter O'Toole gave a magnificent and memorable performance in what was otherwise a skin-flick / action epic
The Aviator was as cameo laden a film as can be had in this day and age. And yet despite an astonishing performance from Leonardo DiCaprio as reclusive and eccentric aviation industry billionaire Howard Hughes, it was Cate Blanchett who walked off with an Oscar and Alan Alda who grabbed a nomination.
The Actresses who stole The Aviator
Judi Dench stole A Room With a View in a miniscule role - it was the first of many collaborations with fellow Dame, Maggie Smith
But then check 1980's costume flick A Room With a View. Co-star Maggie Smith was expected to walk away with that picture, starring alongside a then very green Helena Bonham Carter, a very naked Julian Sands, and an uninspired Daniel Day-Lewis.
However, it was Dench who ended up winning the BAFTA Award for Best Supporting Actress in a five minute role that must count as one of her most glorious to date!
Dench romped home with an enthusiasm and an energy actresses half her age would envy!
If you saw the 2003 hit comedy Stuck On You, ask yourself, was Meryl Streep in it? If your answer was "no" then you're dead wrong!
The Most Oscar nominated Actress of all time turned up towards the end of the film, onstage as the lead actress in Bonnie and Clyde: the Musical - a play within a movie. And though it was a very forgettable moment in itself, go back and check it out. Meryl tears up the stage - and she wasn't even credited for her performance!
Martin Landau nabbed an Oscar for his performance alongside Johnny Depp in the Tim Burton comedy Ed Wood
Landau won an Oscar for his showstopping performance as dried up and vaguely nuts 1930's horror star Bela Lugosi - and this alongside one of Johnny Depp's finest and funniest performances yet! It's an amazing film to watch. It's hard to know just who you want to watch the most!
When a modern remake of Great Expectations is released and with two of the hottest stars of the day (Gwyneth Paltrow and Ethan Hawke) in the young leads - and nudity to be had! - you know where to look right? At Anne Bancroft naturally!
Cast as deranged hermit Nora Dinsmoor, Bancroft made off with the movie right under the noses of her young co-stars, giving an extraordinary performance in what would otherwise prove to be an extremely ordinary movie.
Anne Bancroft stole what otherwise turned out to be a rotten movie with a performance of passion and power
It's a performance of astounding heart and depth which astoundingly did not receive a single nomination - though Bright Young Things was largely rejected by critics as a whole.
Another excellent cameo in the same film, an aged John Mills, credited simply as "Man Taking Cocaine at Party" made his final performance a memorable one - even though he literally was just a man taking cocaine at party! He has twenty seconds of screen time and nothing to say - it's still a showstoppingly funny moment, his second last on the big screen.
How about The Lord of the Rings trilogy?
It's won him no Oscars and he's on the way out, but Orlando Bloom took a minor role and turned himself into a superstar
Let's go vintage for a second. If you don't know the name Agnes Moorehead you will surely know her most famous role: Endora, the witch-mother from hell in the popular TV sitcom Bewitched. Well check 1950's movie The Swan to see her grand-high "witchiness" during her big-screen days and you will watch as the imperious red-head singlehandedly steals a film starring Grace Kelly and Alec Guiness. Some brilliant one-liners become sheer magic in her hands...
"My dear, I have a book. I shall send it to you. It's most reassuring. It proves conclusively that Napoleon never existed."
Thelma and Louise star Brad Pitt
While we're in "Brangelina" territory lets look at the infamous couples other half. Just what Angelina Jolie was thinking when she signed on for the underwhelming Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow is something I doubt even she will ever know! And yet, within a movie of unremoved blandness she is the single blinding high point.
In a role both sly and sexy she makes Jude Law and Gwyneth Paltrow look like Rank amatuers - unfortunately she couldn't save the movie, which admitedly did show promise in the beginning.
Oprah Winfrey became Oscar nominated actress as well as world renowned talk show host after her breakout performance in The Colour Purple
The movie was Whoopi Goldberg's debut performance, yet another notch in Danny Glover's belt, and also featured talk-show host and lifestyle guru Oprah Winfrey in one of the finest performances of the century - and that's no understatement!
She does not steal the movie from Whoopi Goldberg - but she comes damn close! Eitherway she immortalised herself on screen in a performance that will undoubtedly survive the ages.
Now for a touchy subject: Tom Cruise.
Cruise can act - Magnolia proves it - just it seems the stars have to be in allignment
More of the same and he may not have ended up being viewed as such an outsider in Hollywood.
But it's all very well to furnish a host of examples. What does it all mean? Basically a supporting part can be a very powerful tool, but only if it's used properly! A cameo can win you an Oscar - it's been done. A cameo can kick start your career. It's been done. However, a cameo can also remain a one hit wonder. Check Cuba Gooding Jnr in Jerry Maguire. He won an Oscar for that role. Where is he today?
The only Jedi Master with an Oscar nomination - Alec Guiness lent gravitas to the original Star Wars
If you're bored you're boring (John Travolta in Hairspray or Topher Grace is Spiderman 3). If you're bright, you're brilliant (Angela Lansbury in Death on the Nile or Alec Guiness in Star Wars).
However, the most important thing to remember about a supporting role is the follow up. If you do get an award or some attention or some positive buzz out of your supporting performance in a major picture, don't just follow it up with any trash! Take quality over cash and you may just find yourself on the way to a steady career as a bankable artist.
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Comment by JohnDoe
Film & TV on DVD
The lead actor is usually the one who plays the central figure/s or protagonist in the story. Other times ofcourse it's comes down to purely marketing or notoriety.
I always considered cameos as a blink and you will miss it situation. One or two lines, maybe a single scene but never more. Two scenes plus and thats what I would call a supporting actor. Generally speaking a cameo usually has the famous face playing themselves onscreen
Robert Altman's The Player may be the end word on star cameo's.
Alfred Hitchcock was the king of the playing himself cameo in his own films.
A few cameos that jump to mind
Samuel L Jackson turning up at the end of Out of Sight
Orson Welles in The Muppet Movie
Sean Connery in Robin Hood,
Roman Polanski in Chinatown
Bruce Springstein in High Fidelity
Don Siegel in Play Misty For Me
Great post, always enjoy reading your work.