Peter Dinklage and Dwarf Roles

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chris Spider 

It's like he can't get a role if it's not a dwarf.

I bet the dwarf acting community hates Weta right about now. "Yay!!! They're finally adapting Tolkien's masterpiece!!! Jobs all around, guys. Elijah who? Compositing?......... shit."

Not to mention Tim Burton's CHARLIE IN THE CHOC FACTORY... "You mean Deep Roy is playing ALL the Oompa Loompas??? WTF?"

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chris Spider 
It's like he can't get a role if it's not a dwarf.

It probably seems like that because that's pretty much the truth of it. He's a great actor (Charlie Kaufman's Hope Leaves The Theatre audio play might be the best showcase for his versatility) and I'd love to see him get more roles just on the strength of that. But even taking aside rare conditions like this, appearance already goes a long way towards determining what kind of roles an actor is going to have a chance at landing. A dwarf actor is always going to have a tough time getting roles not explicitly written for dwarfs. At least he seems to get quite a lot of work - fingers crossed the exposure will lead to more people taking a chance and casting him in more varied stuff.

David Rappaport never escaped being typecast, but he was so good within that box e.g. Time Bandits and the much maligned The Bride (don't care what anyone says, him and Clancy Brown were great together). Such a sad, untimely end.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Disciple_72 

David Rappaport never escaped being typecast, but he was so good within that box e.g. Time Bandits and the much maligned The Bride (don't care what anyone says, him and Clancy Brown were great together). Such a sad, untimely end.

He was also very good in the TV show The Wizard.

It's hard because the very nature of screen acting does require someone to be of a certain physical type depending on the role they're auditioning for. That's not discriminatory, that's the reality of acting.

As a consequence I honestly don't see a role Dinklage can take in the near future that doesn't at least call minor attention to his physical stature, regardless of his obvious abundance of dramatic talent.

Rappaport was the first name I flashed on as well. And then there's Michael Dunn.

Dinklage has an unusual advantage in that his condition affected only the growth of his limbs, leaving him that incredible full-size voice. I haven't watched Living In Oblivion in years, but you hear him before you see him.

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Rain Dog 

As a consequence I honestly don't see a role Dinklage can take in the near future that doesn't at least call minor attention to his physical stature, regardless of his obvious abundance of dramatic talent.

I just had a funny image of Dinklage in THE SPECIALIST or BASIC INSTINCT opposite Sharon Stone. Eye to eye in medium 2-shots and love-making scenes, without any attention brought to it.
 

It's a crap film, but Dinklage's role in Penelope doesn't depend on size. There are probably others.

I think this sums the argument up in two ways: one, addressing the issue 'why does a dwarf always have to be called out as a dwarf' and two, showing how absolutely stellar Dinklage is:

I pretty much hated him in Underdog, but I think that was the writing not HIM.  But that specific role didn't have to be a dwarf, did it help his cartoonishness, sure, but they could have gone any number of ways with physicality on that one.  

No love for him in Find Me Guilty? That movie was sank at the box office as soon as Dinklage was cast against Diesel, sadly, but it was inspiring in that you can tell the role would have been good for a Pacino or a Dustin Hoffman, and he really nails it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chris Spider 


Ah, still need to see that. And Doc, that scene is GREAT. Makes me want to watch the whole movie. Is Dinklage in more than just that one scene?
 

Not really, the scene's quite a bit longer than that but it's his only one. But it's got a lot of quality Buscemi and Catherine Keener.  Definitely worth a look.

He is, actually.  I just didn't think name-dropping James LeGross would pique anyone's interest.  Guess I forgot where I was.

I saw Living in Oblivion ages ago, didn't know it was Dinklage and have subsequently thought about Dinklage's roles and what the dwarf in Living in Oblivion would think of them... and it's him.

Well there you go.

Living in Oblivion is a great film.  The Wolf.  Genius.

From Devin's review of Threshold, a sci-fi show Dinklage was in:

http://www.chud.com/7386/dvd-review-threshold-the-complete-series/

Sometimes I worry about the fact that I'm able to remember bits and pieces of reviews written five years ago concerning crappy TV shows that I never actually watched. But then I'm able to use that knowledge for conversations like this, so I guess that justifies it. 

In Saint John of Las Vegas it is literally never brought up and up until about 30 minutes into the movie it keeps shooting him from low angles so you can't even tell he's short until a scene where he's standing in a party store talking on the phone to Steve Buscemi.

It's also worth noting that though his size is usually brought up in movies, a lot of the roles he gets (like his unforgettable turn in the original Death at a Funeral) were not written for a dwarf actor.

Any actor is limited to some extent by their physical appearance, and in Dinklage's case, it'd be hard to say it hasn't been a boon. When midget rolss come around, he's top of the list. 

But yeah, he's obviously limited to playing roles that to some extent hinge on his height. Just like if you don't want someone weird-looking and annoying, you don't hire Daniel Stern. I didn't see the Richard III production, but my understanding is that it utilized his height in some interesting ways, like the opening monologue involved him struggling to climb onto a tall throne.

Yeah, he was good in Threshold. There was one super shitty bit where the studly military-guy male lead takes him into a side room and basically threatens to beat the shit out of him if he doesn't fall into line and play nice. It read like it was meant for a regular sized actor, but the size discrepancy really put you on-side with Dinklage. This was a guy using his brain and his mouth to get his point across and this fucking cunt of a Four Square Soldier Boy was more concerned that that the hot chick's feelings had been hurt. In an end-of-the-world situation I would have been happy to see Dinklage pull a gun and blow the guys nuts off. The whole show was pretty shitty though - full of that kind of ill-conceived drama. Good thing they killed it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Arjen Rudd 

But yeah, he's obviously limited to playing roles that to some extent hinge on his height.

That's why Dinklage fans should check out Hope Leaves The Theatre. He plays a whole bunch of different roles, none of which are dwarfs (unless you count when the bits where he plays himself I guess).

Quote:

Originally Posted by Martin Blank 

It's a crap film, but Dinklage's role in Penelope doesn't depend on size. There are probably others.

Pretty sure his role as a wedding planner in Michael Showalter's THE BAXTER makes no mention of his dwarfism.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Doc Happenin 

I think this sums the argument up in two ways: one, addressing the issue 'why does a dwarf always have to be called out as a dwarf' and two, showing how absolutely stellar Dinklage is:

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by Schwartz 

He is, actually.  I just didn't think name-dropping James LeGross would pique anyone's interest.  Guess I forgot where I was.

James LeGros, who was in a nightmarish movie populated with dwarfs from another dimension... PHANTASM 2. Hmmm... all makes sense now.

If I have to select from one of them, then I will surely go for Dwarf Roles.

Mmmmmm dwarf rolls...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lSPYzS7PFNc

 Goldie hawn has something to add to this thread!

With a name like "Dinklage", I think he was destined for dwarfdom.

Here's to you, PD!

This last image is from a western, THE LAST RITES OF RANSOM PRIDE. Anyone see this? Apparently it's on Netflix instant.