This is not a critique of men who can’ act. This is an acknowledgment of a select few whose success on the big screen is more about their own presence than the characters they portray. These men don’t immerse themselves in a script or “become” the character. Instead, they use them as a vessel to more or less be themselves. None of them are all-time talent, but they all achieved what talent alone cannot. Whether it was by design or not, we fell in love with them, not just their movies. In my mind, this is what has (or had) allowed them to have long careers. The films were great, but the focus, the draw, the intrigue, and the appeal was always about them.
Steve McQueen
The “King of Cool” was one of the most effortless-looking dudes I can think of. He really was just that: cool. While he was capable of a more “delicate” approach to acting, such as the film “The Sand Pebbles,” he is best remembered for films that matched the hectic pace at which he burnt through life. Cars, guns, explosions, and adventure were what McQueen did best. Classics like “The Great Escape,” “Bullitt,” and “Papillon” were never short on action.
The way Steve carried himself was like someone barely putting on a cold front to hide their anger and inner turmoil. It seemed like there was always trouble brewing in his mind but he somehow, he kept it together most of the time. This quality allowed Steve to bring a sense of vulnerability to roles that were by nature authoritative and perhaps more black and white, especially for that time. McQueen’s movies were pretty straightforward, but he had a level of realness because of his vulnerability that actors like John Wayne or James Garner never did. I don’t think that was acting either. I think he was more conflicted than he’d probably want audiences to believe. For that reason, I think he was a few notches above most action stars in his era and today.
Harrison Ford
The one thing most people seem to know about Harrison Ford is that he was a carpenter before he was an actor. He was also 35 years old, when he finally got his break when he was cast as Han Solo in Star Wars: “A New Hope”. He had a variety of small roles at that point , including one as “Bob Falfa” in George Lucas’s film “American Graffiti” in 1973. At the time, Lucas had a policy against re-casting actors in new projects. Fortunately for Ford, after being asked to read lines for Han Solo, he won the director over and was given the role. If that was luck, Harrison Ford never took it for granted, as his films have gone on to gross more than $9 billion worldwide.
Ford is first and foremost an action star, and he made his money doing so. “Star Wars,” “Indiana Jones,” “The Fugitive,” “Air Force One,” among others. Yet films like “Blade Runner” and “Presumed Innocent” show that Ford is just as capable of carrying a movie with a more staggered pace. I have listened to a handful of interviews with the man, and it never fails to amuse me how much he hates talking about his movies. If you haven’t seen a Harrison Ford interview, do that now. While he may come across as dismissive or cold, I don’t think that’s who he is at all. Harrison Ford is exactly who his most memorable characters are: confident (Han Solo), resourceful (Dr. Richard Kimble, Indiana Jones), and purposeful (Rick Deckard). I don’t think Ford is the type to let something go to chance when he can say in the matter. When I look at his career, I don’t see a man who stumbled into acting and then let the tide take him where it may. I see an intentional, thought-out career of someone who never failed to make the most of an opportunity and always valued a straightforward approach. This is why there is no separation between Harrison Ford and his characters. He is Han Solo. He is Indiana Jones. He is Rick Deckard. They are him.
Samuel L Jackson
Like Harrison Ford, Samuel L Jackson was a late bloomer in the acting game who was has never been short on success once the ball got rolling. Jackson is the highest-grossing actor of all time, with his films bringing in over $27 billion worldwide. Jackson began acting in the 70s, but his journey to superstardom began much later with small roles in huge films including “Jurassic Park,” “Coming To America,” and “Goodfellas .”His “big-break” though came with “Pulp-Fiction”, his first collaboration with Quentin Tarantino, and a film that also resurrected the career of John Travolta. For me, that epic monologue in the apartment is almost like Jackson unleashing all that pent-up frustration for it having taken so long to get his career started. Obviously, that’s probably not really the case but knowing his story, including battles with addiction, makes the scene feel like a coming-out party of sorts. Many awesome movies, and even more motherfuckers, later, and you have a career built on being himself. Whether he plays a “hero” (The Hateful Eight, Star Wars, Pulp Fiction) or the villain ( Kingsman, Glass): he is pretty much always the same dude. Heck, he convinced George Lucas to give him a purple lightsaber so his character would be easier to spot amidst a sea of green and blue sabers in a large battle scene. Samuel L Jackson doesn’t act; he plays himself. We wouldn’t have it any other way.