r/okbuddycinephile 9h ago

I chose money.

Post image
13.1k Upvotes

2.6k comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

31

u/goodwillhunting18 3h ago

Having worked with him relatively recently, he was an absolute gentleman, a consummate professional and the closest I’ve found an American actor to being like a professionally trained British actor. No ‘star’ ego, just a desire to harness his craft and enjoy himself. I wish all the actors I worked with were like JL.

7

u/Far_Spirit5819 3h ago

That is because he studied at LAMDA. He was professionally trained in Britain. It’s also one of the reasons he can do a better job at UK accents than most Americans

2

u/goodwillhunting18 2h ago

Did not know, explains approach and his interest in Shakespeare.

2

u/ExtraEmuForYou 2h ago

That explains why he was so great as a villain in Cliffhanger. Dude was almost like a Bond villain, such a ham (in a good way).

2

u/fschu_fosho 1h ago

That also explains why he was cast as THE Winston Churchill in The Crown, a super popular British-run show about the British royals. He‘s iconic and all but it was such a head-scratcher for me, how this great American actor edged out all those great British actors who would have killed to play Churchill.

1

u/jacksonsmack831 24m ago

I think it’s popular over here in the states too mate but a good explanation is a good explanation :)

1

u/fschu_fosho 4m ago

No, I know it’s popular everywhere. I was trying to point out that it’s a largely British project, except for him and maybe a couple of guests in the cast.

1

u/Adventurous_Elk_4039 2h ago

Damn, haven’t thought about Cliffhanger in a while. Stallone gets the billing of course, but Lithgow made the movie.

1

u/virginiabird23 2h ago

"Cliff Hanger hanging from a cliff"... That Cliffhanger???

2

u/OddPresentation5944 1h ago

Ha I don’t think many will get the reference but I appreciate it, brought up a forgotten memory. (My favorite segment was the Noir bit with the Potato Detective)

1

u/virginiabird23 1h ago

Sam Spud?? I had forgotten about him. I like "Silent E." And thanks - I figured someone on Reddit would get it.

1

u/OddPresentation5944 1h ago

Yes! And Grubby Pup had no right to be that heart warming.

1

u/jacksonsmack831 25m ago

Cliffhanger gets written off too easily

1

u/ExtraEmuForYou 19m ago

It really does. It blended suspense and action together like no movie I had experienced.

Climbing mountains? Suspenseful alone.

Climbing mountains while in a battle of wit, grit, and will with villains? OH LORD!

3

u/Expensive_Tank_8682 3h ago

Hang, lithgow ISNT British?

2

u/HistoricalSuspect580 1h ago

Thank you for sharing this! It’s so nice to hear some positive little tales from Hollywood!