So… those of you who are near and dear know I am a complete and total Movie/TV freak.I used to be an actor, but even though I have moved onto other things in my life I am still complete obsessed with the business. But for the most part, I think I’ve been neglecting that side of myself in this blog (except for my monthly video montages… which are less about sharing our experiences with friends and family; and more about giving me a monthly geek-out fix to feel creative).
Anyway, I feel it is time to flex the entertainment side of myself and I can’t think of any greater actor to pull me back to my “true entertainment geek self” than John Lithgow.Over the past few weeks I have been catching up on episodes of Dexter, season 4 (where John Lithgow plays the season’s guest serial killer). In short, his performance has blown me away. Even though Serena refuses to watch shows like Dexter with me, I have mentioned a few times in pass about how wonderful John Lithgow’s performance is… as an actor… watching him in this role is a privilege.
Dare I say it… but I am starting to think that John Lithgow may be one of the greatest actors of his generation. But due to his eclectic career I believe his true talent and gift can be over looked… especially to those of my generation. Where do you remember first seeing John Lithgow? For me it was “Santa Claus: The Movie” and “Harry and the Hendersons”… neither of which are hallmark movies of an epic career and some folks may even label these movies as a low-part in his career. But I think Lithgow would disagree with you. As it turns out, Lithgow is a great supporter of Children’s Entertainment. Did you know that he’s published 9 children’s books and 2 children’s music albums? I didn’t either (thank you Wikipedia!). Lithgow is also known for visiting schools to read to children. All I know is as a child; I remember adoring both of those movies… and now, revisiting them with my own son the movies are successful due mainly to Lithgow’s commitment to the project.
Anyway, as I grew older I gradually became introduced to new sides of Lithgow, the actor, through Footloose, Twilight Zone, The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai, Memphis Bell, At Play in the Fields of the Lord, The World According to Garp… and finally the genius of Terms of Endearment.
Lithgow is a talent. And I think we may have lost track of it during “Third Rock from the Sun”. No that ‘Third Rock” wasn’t good, quite the opposite. Unfortunately, as American’s we seem to associate talent with dramatic roles… and for the last decade, Lithgow has been focusing on comedy. And since we tend to pigeon-hole actors into genres I think we’ve forgotten about him. I least I did. So yeah… I was taken aback by his turn on Dexter.
At first take one might think “Wow, what a departure!” But honestly, it seems like Lithgow has been working towards this role he entire life and his is knocking out it out of the park.Whether it is a drama or an outlandish comedy Lithgow always manages to make his performances believable. And on Dexter, the intensity and subtleties of his character is eerie, unsettling, and ultimately disturbing… yet at the same time, as his character hunts his prey, he can seamlessly come across as warm, genial, and sincere. And maintaining the duality of these personality traits is seamless and believable… making his overall performance simply unbelievable (in an astonishing way). This duality of his character was most evident and impressive midseason when he started having a difficult time hiding his true, psychotic, self in public environments… as Dexter says, “He’s starting to show his cracks.”
My hats off to John Lithgow… it goes without saying that you will probably win an Emmy this year for your work on Dexter. And since I have pretty much followed your career my entire life… I am very excited to see what you have in store for us next!
1 comment:
I think you need to revisit Raising Cain. Additionally, not that I disagree with you, (and don't blow it, I still need to catch up on latest Dexter) but Oliver Platt is also one of those unsung actors....Deadline was sadly canceled way to early but that normally happens with intelligent tv shows.
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