Actors not people

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I have liked Tom Hanks ever since I saw Forrest Gump. And that's the only person I see in Tom Hanks, a doofus. A well-meaning, light on the IQ, incredibly insightful, well-sheltered human being. And later in his role in Castaway he propelled that BRAND to new levels while still reminding me, that complete nobodys can lead an amazing life, and have still a lot left to live for. The same goes for his recent movie with Julia Roberts. People like him should have the movie crafted around his character or his brand, because when it comes to GIANTS like him, people are coming to see the character, not the movie.

Tom Cruise is another example. All I see in all of his characters, from Jerry MacGuire, to Legend, to Mission Impossible, to Jack Reacher, to Vanilla Sky, to Knight and Day... is Maverick. Yep, I see a "one of your snot-nosed jockey doing a fly-by on MY watch tower, I've HAD it. I want some BUTT. " So basically I see a guy who gets away with stuff because he's so charming and then he gets SLAMMED and poof a great movie. It's not hard. In fact that's why Rock of Ages was such CRAP is because he didn't get his ass handed to him in that one. Plus I have done some Karaoke in my time and WAY UP HERE are people that know singing because it takes years to get there and I don't think those people had the the chops yet, though it sounded about low 80ish out of 100 on singing quality. And you know, btw, Oblivion would have been much better if he had a little bit more of a paradise before getting his butt kicked. I really wanted to imagine that world with him and that girl in the middle of nowhere.  It was nice and SHE was nice-looking without looking OMG like Katie Holmes.  

Just saying.

Angelina Jolie is another example. All I see now in all her movies is Lara Croft. Does that ruin it for her? I don't think so, although I imagine doing a jet-ski flip might have made playing other roles, slightly less comparable.  Wanted was great example of Lara Croft and when she suicided, I teared up because, I mean LARA!  And yet in her role in The Tourist, totally different.  Not a lot of action, no invincibility. Mr. and Mrs. Smith, invincible.  I mean in The Tourist she is just wasted. She is sexy sure but I dunno. She NEEDS to play Wonder Woman, AS THE GODDESS DIANA, if you know what I mean. That's who I attribute to her character.

So all of this is leading me to Brent Spiner. I know, who the HELL is Brent Spiner? He's the guy that played DATA on Star Trek : The Next Generation(TNG). I was giving him some advice on twitter on roles he could play like mostly robotic roles because of a reference he made to not working so much. But it hit me later that maybe I was stereotyping him. I love DATA in many of the same ways I love Tom Hanks' characters. Yet it occurred to me that the person you are tweeting may have a very different actual personality than the character he plays. And he said it once or twice that he isn't DATA and that to treat him so is to belittle his real person right? It seems so, but I mean how can I be a fan of him if he is different?

He confused me.

And for many similar reasons, I remain confused about William Shatner. I grew up as a child exploring the world, yelling and pitching fits(over-acting), and giving lessons to my little brother, much like Kirk would do on his shows to Spock who was his superior in many ways(my brother has always been the better looking one) and yet his subordinate. He was a role model for me. 

The CHARACTER, not the actor. 

So I shouldn't really care about the actor, right?  

I mean if you think about it hard, ALL THOSE FANS adore a bunch of LIFELESS HUSKS that had their roles written for them, their clothes prepared for them, their faces done for them. 

Us FANS are a bunch of MORONS!

Yet, that is my lesson for you actors out there from the best at the top to the not-so-famous. In the end, your BRAND is going to be what people look for when they see your name. Much like people expect a Big Mac to taste the same at every McDonald's, they expect to see some of the same character in all of your roles. Maybe different because situations can come in ALL different forms; but you need to keep that shining example of what is best about you, that Big Mac, always "at the ready" so people can go,

"Yeah, you guys go ahead and get whatcha want, I already know I want a Big Mac. " 

EDIT: I just want to add, that in Netflix when I find a great somebody I search for their other movies knowing that they will be quality movies because the actor successfully charmed me.
　
ps. And rememeber that u have a lucky piece of real estate when people are writing about u, because there is only so much real estate in my mind, much like there is only so much space in a supermarket.  I can't be bothered with Troi or with Spock or with Brad Pitt or Patrick Duffy or Jodi Whatley because-- IT'S TOO MUCH, so count your blessings and Merry Christmas. 

pss. this post ws so much nicer when I first wrote it.