It is a tortuous comparison because I can seriously not think of anyone who is like Paul in the US and it doesn't help the reader at all to mention Tom Hanks when trying to understand who Paul is, as it completely disregards his other roles in the industry for which Paul is equally known.
Exactly. That's basically my point, except you say it better. *G*
Imagine if Canadians had never heard of Tom, and their intro was that he was "The American Paul Gross". That would sound even more ridiculous. It's the same thing turned around.
I took the Tom Hanks thing to refer simply to their respective status: Paul is (highly arguably) the most famous and successful actor north of the border at present, as well as being one of its most versatile; but there the comparison ends really - it certainly wasn't referring to a physical similarity at all.
I realize it's not about physical resemblance, but people who don't know Paul who read this are going to assume resemblance, I think. I mostly posted the pics because I like posting pics, but I still think people will think visually at first read.
Paul is far edgier as an actor, has way more gravitas and charisma and takes on more interesting projects in my view -and I like Tom Hanks, don't get me wrong, but he hardly dings my bell and I am rarely entranced by him although I appreciate his work.
As much as I like Tom (and I really do), he's always Tom Hanks, even in his deepest character roles. I never forget that I'm watching Tom Hanks. Paul takes a role and wraps it around him until I forget about anything but the character. Geoffrey Tennant, case in point. I do wish that he'd take darker roles; Murder Most Likely was a screaming departure for him, and gorgeously done, and I wish he'd do something that gritty again. Tom McLaughlin is pretty dark, though. Having said that, Paul brings edginess even to roles where it probably wasn't in the character description. Benton Fraser, case in point OMG. Fraser has this deep, intense current running just under the surface, and okay, that's another meta!post entirely.
And Paul as Forrest Gump? I can't believe for a minute that Paul would take on that pile of steaming sacchariny crap. Aside from a few mis-steps, he appears to have a very finely-tuned crapometer in terms of his career. Of course the other big difference between the two actors is this: Paul has actually done really good work post-1995.
I liked Forrest Gump until my kids overplayed it and I got sick of it. Also Road to Perdition and The Green Mile. But yeah, there's only a couple of Paul's films I refuse to see, and I think those were made for exposure and quite possibly to pay the rent.
no subject
Exactly. That's basically my point, except you say it better. *G*
Imagine if Canadians had never heard of Tom, and their intro was that he was "The American Paul Gross". That would sound even more ridiculous. It's the same thing turned around.
I took the Tom Hanks thing to refer simply to their respective status: Paul is (highly arguably) the most famous and successful actor north of the border at present, as well as being one of its most versatile; but there the comparison ends really - it certainly wasn't referring to a physical similarity at all.
I realize it's not about physical resemblance, but people who don't know Paul who read this are going to assume resemblance, I think. I mostly posted the pics because I like posting pics, but I still think people will think visually at first read.
Paul is far edgier as an actor, has way more gravitas and charisma and takes on more interesting projects in my view -and I like Tom Hanks, don't get me wrong, but he hardly dings my bell and I am rarely entranced by him although I appreciate his work.
As much as I like Tom (and I really do), he's always Tom Hanks, even in his deepest character roles. I never forget that I'm watching Tom Hanks. Paul takes a role and wraps it around him until I forget about anything but the character. Geoffrey Tennant, case in point. I do wish that he'd take darker roles; Murder Most Likely was a screaming departure for him, and gorgeously done, and I wish he'd do something that gritty again. Tom McLaughlin is pretty dark, though. Having said that, Paul brings edginess even to roles where it probably wasn't in the character description. Benton Fraser, case in point OMG. Fraser has this deep, intense current running just under the surface, and okay, that's another meta!post entirely.
And Paul as Forrest Gump? I can't believe for a minute that Paul would take on that pile of steaming sacchariny crap. Aside from a few mis-steps, he appears to have a very finely-tuned crapometer in terms of his career.
Of course the other big difference between the two actors is this: Paul has actually done really good work post-1995.
I liked Forrest Gump until my kids overplayed it and I got sick of it. Also Road to Perdition and The Green Mile. But yeah, there's only a couple of Paul's films I refuse to see, and I think those were made for exposure and quite possibly to pay the rent.