here's a thought i was afraid to voice, as i just adore adam.... but... he's not really a great actor. do you think he will translate well onscreen? some of those trailer shots of him seemed two-dimensional, whereas jesse and wilson were so alive. i think that besides mark, roger is the hardest character to portray because there is such a danger of making him pissed at the world, and then a dylan mckay who is somehow hot for mimi. i really hope he surprises people with his acting. i just thought about this because someone said "i hope he took ating classes for this one". that may be a valid wish... What I'm going to say is partially because I *want* to believe in him, but it's also partially because I DO. If Adam really had that much trouble acting, he wouldn't have pulled off Cabaret. He wasn't the best, but he did a damned good job, especially given the typical expectations of his abilities. I don't know what all he's done in the past couple of years to help, but his acting has certainly taken a good few leaps and bounds.
The last thing I saw him do on camera was Temptation - some of it was horrible, but in other parts I was kind of impressed with his acting chops... I wasn't sure how he'd be on screen. It seemed to be certain things on him that looked weird, like that implied sex scene he had with Alice Ripley, but that's the whole wimpy chemistry thing he does sometimes. After that, I was a little worried because I didn't think his film acting was going to be any good at all. As much as I make fun of him in School of Rock, that's not really a good thing to judge him by, either. But God, that thing cracks me up.
As for this two-dimensional idea, and about some of the other characters seeming more vibrant or alive in the trailer clips... for one, it's not all that fair to judge based on just a trailer, so I don't want to do *too* much of that, but I also think that's just... the way Adam played Roger. He was kind of like a volcano; quiet, lost, but would errupt with all of that hidden emotion at any point in time. Roger's broken - he's not going to have those qualities that the other characters display, until a certain point in the plot, I think. Roger doesn't *want* to open up to Mimi, and even if something like that turns out to be a fault in Adam's acting, I think it'll work, just like it did on stage.
I know I make jokes about his acting, and I probably did worry about how he'd be on camera. A lot of times what gets people about him is his charisma and presence, which may not be as evident on film. He isn't the best actor, and I'll be one of the first to say it. But, Roger is his baby. If there's anything he can do, and do beautifully, this is it. He also acts best through music, which I think is a huge part of the reason RENT worked so well for him. I have complete faith that he's not going to disappoint. He's going to kick ass up there; I know he can.
A work of art is an invitation to love.
Updated On: 6/4/05 at 11:19 AM
