Wayne and Eastwood

Do you know what John Wayne and Clint Eastwood have in common? I mean, beyond being icons and movie heroes. Has it ever occurred to you that they're the same in every part they play?

As compelling as the characters they have played may be, they're really the same guy each time. Harry Callahan and Walt Kowalski are the same person, if only in different circumstances.

The same with Wayne. They don't act: they are what they are. And we like what they are. That's why we like their films. They're compelling people by themselves. It shows in their work. 

It's also why Wayne was a terrible Ghengis Khan. Yes, in one of the classic miscastings in Hollywood history, the Duke played the Mongol warrior on film. It did not go well. It just wasn't Wayne.

Some actors are able to put on a persona - Dustin Hoffman comes to mind - and do well with it. Others are just what they are but in front of a camera. I think that's what I like about the Wayne's and Eastwood's of the world.

Hans Snape

While watching Die Hard over the holidays - it is after all a Christmas movie - I couldn't help but notice the similarities between Hans Gruber and Severus Snape from the Harry Potter franchise. That shouldn't be a surprise, as both characters were played by the same man, Alan Rickman. He was to be sure an exceptional actor. Yet it's not surprising that certain traits might carry over into different roles. John Wayne as great as he was was John Wayne in every role he played.

Of course, what may be the best line in Die Hard (spoiler alert) is when Hans Gruber tells John McClane, Yippee Ki-yay, (insert crude swearing term here). Only since I watched the movie in December and now, and having made the connection, I do wonder if Severus Snape ever uttered in disgust, "Yippee Ki-yay, Mister Potter."

Hey, that's all I got this morning. But you hear him saying it now too, don't you?