What else stood out at me at the Oscars? As ever, George Clooney's self-consciousness bothers me. I mean, he's GEORGE CLOONEY, right? What's he got to worry about? And yet, he's acutely aware of himself, is staggeringly self-conscious, and it bothers me. He's a pretender to the Cary Grant throne (yeah, there's a Cary Grant throne, and only Cary Grant got to sit on it), and he knows it, but he's like the guy at the party who talks too loud, swaggers when he's sitting still, and tries to get everybody to listen to this "really funny story" that's actually not funny, but that won't stop him from cornering you and telling you it, anyway. It bothered me every time the camera would go to Clooney and he's mug for the camera, or otherwise react to it. Chill out, Clooney. You're a movie star, not an actor, and there really is a difference, and your movie star is setting. I know it bothers you (it's come up in interviews, although he guffaws about it like it doesn't really bother him, but I know it does; I can just tell). That acute self-awareness is off-putting; he's not natural, he's contrived.
And speaking of that, I'm bothered by Stanley Tucci's eyes -- he has these dead eyes that call to mind Michael Caine. And I think it's part of the problem. I see it every time he performs -- he embodies that East Coast style of acting, where American actors focus on theater work in hopes of being as good at it as English actors. The English have a remarkable ability to create Great Actors(tm) -- those workmanlike actors who can basically be inserted into any role and they will excel in it. They bring a very cerebral approach to acting that focuses on craftsmanship instead of the from-the-heart style of Method. And with the English, it works.
But when American actors try it, they come off as cold and actorly -- and Tucci is of that school. He's a successful actor, gets a ton of work, and he's very much that kind of actor who you say "Can you play this?" and he'll gaze at you coldly and say "No problem." and he'll give you a credible performance of whatever the fuck it is that he was called upon to play.
And, to me, that's exactly the problem. There is a clinical detachment to his craftsmanship, an inherent coldness to his work that, regardless of the role he plays, remains there. It's why I bring up Michael Caine -- Caine has a huge, huge career that spans endless decades. And he's played countless roles -- but that clinical coldness is always in his roles, like the smile that fails to reach the eyes. The coldest thing onscreen is Michael Caine smiling -- just look at his eyes, and you'll see the smile doesn't get up there. Tucci has that same thing going on -- the smile doesn't reach the eyes, the life doesn't get in there.
I pay so much attention to actors' eyes -- and Tucci's got scary-cold eyes. And you know where I went after thinking about his performance style, right? Yes. He's a Scorpio. I knew it. The eyes always, always reveal the Scorpio. Cold fucking eyes.
I didn't know that until I just looked a second ago -- what bothered me is those shark's eyes of his and his cold, clinical performing style, and then I thought "Oh, wait, I bet I know what he is." Sure enough.
I'm not saying Tucci's a bad actor, because he's not -- he's a highly competent craftsman with his acting. He'll give you any performance you require of him. He's what George Clooney could, perhaps, aspire to, if Clooney were actually a good actor, and not George Clooney(tm), the fading movie star. But Tucci won't ever be an incendiary talent -- he's acting far too up in his head to ever take that kind of risk. For him, I'll wager it's an exercise in calculated performance -- his guiding star would be Olivier, not Brando.
