I've been watching a lot of Boston Legal recently. His roll is a transparent parody of himself, but the acting has actually been really good. (Is that an admirable thing, when you're playing yourself? It's all so twisty.) The exact thought occured to me while listening to a crazy-yet-interesting song he did with Henry Rollins. He has managed to turn being a ridiculous has-been into not just a marketable niche, but an artistically interesting one, and that's some scary mojo.
*nods* It's a very smart move, as acting is such a specialized profession, and there's no guaranteed retirment plan unless you make one yourself.
I will go so far as to egree that all an actor has to market is themselves, so they have to be very good at it, aware of their brand and stereotype. Shatner has managed, whether he landed himself in that niche of his own choice or not, to fully exploit his niche for regular work. That is quite an impressive feat - though I'm not sure it qualifies him as one of the greatest geniuses.
It seems a niche that quite a few people are striving to exploit, though more of them are musicians - Ozzy Osbourne, for example. Kiss and the Rolling Stones don't so much exploit who they are as much as consistently keep doing what they've always been doing, steady income via touring.
I believe all of the Original Trek crew kept working - it's impressive to take a full look at DeForest Kelley's credits, for example, and Jimmy Doohan made a career out of stage, radio, tv, movies, and public appearances.
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I will go so far as to egree that all an actor has to market is themselves, so they have to be very good at it, aware of their brand and stereotype. Shatner has managed, whether he landed himself in that niche of his own choice or not, to fully exploit his niche for regular work. That is quite an impressive feat - though I'm not sure it qualifies him as one of the greatest geniuses.
It seems a niche that quite a few people are striving to exploit, though more of them are musicians - Ozzy Osbourne, for example. Kiss and the Rolling Stones don't so much exploit who they are as much as consistently keep doing what they've always been doing, steady income via touring.
I believe all of the Original Trek crew kept working - it's impressive to take a full look at DeForest Kelley's credits, for example, and Jimmy Doohan made a career out of stage, radio, tv, movies, and public appearances.
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