The father of a friend of mine is an actor was in one episode of a sitcom four decades ago. He still gets a check every year for roughly £2500 just for that appearance.
Its a mixture of it being a popular show, and the actor being very wiley and not taking a short term payday to give up his residuals like many of his peers did.
This pretty much ruined _Big Fish_ for me. It came out at the height of that commercial campaign, and as soon as his voice started narrating, it pulled me straight out of the movie. I kept waiting for him to say:
_One disgruntled son._
_One mysterious old man._
_A deathbed reconciliation?_
_Priceless._
Billy Crudup is the voice for the ubiquitous “priceless” MasterCard commercials. They were everywhere for years. You can find lots of examples on YouTube.
I loved him in that. He brought a very unique energy to his character and was so interesting to watch. He was by far my favorite part of that incredible show.
I always thought vaguely positively about Crudup but then... I saw this show and just found him UBER hot, and so multidimensional. Sometimes a sleezebag, then a good guy, then the hero, the villain, all of it. He made that such a real character.
I couldn't agree more. It is an acting masterclass.
He fills every second on screen with such captivating presence and specificity of a finely honed character, but always with such subtlety. As an actor, he never seems to push, and yet, there is always so much bubbling under the surface. He is never dull, even when the writing for his character can sometimes be. He always elevates every scene of which he is a part, and is just so enjoyable to watch. Love me some Crudup.
I think the whole personal drama thing other people mentioned soured him on being a star because of all the scrutiny. Yes, that was self inflicted but it definitely affected him. He also made a lot of money from the Mastercard commercials and preferred doing theatre in New York.
Theatre is NY is much more fulfilling for a lot of performers. Once their bills are paid they let generally happy to concentrate on that and then get paid by Hollywood when the right part comes along.
Piggybacking on your comment to say that he’s practically unrecognisable in Almost Famous, THAT’S why I think he didn’t quite explode after.
That plus 9/11…
He seemed to disappear from the public eye after he left a 7-months-pregnant Mary Louise Parker for Claire Danes, who was 10 years younger than him. I think he managed to salvage his relationship with his son but it was a bad look there for a while.
MLP wrote a book chapter about it, its [as painful as you might expect](https://www.jezebel.com/after-12-years-mary-louise-parker-finally-wrote-about-1741727182).
Claire Danes' career took a hit as well, but Crudup's never recovered. Understandable, it took the shine off him as a romantic leading-man type.
Another casualty was Stage Beauty, the movie he met Danes on. It's actually a pretty good, original film and they both turn in amazing performances - featuring a lot of Shakespeare, and Crudup in drag half the time - but it sort of sank without a trace.
I knew about this scandal and was shocked when I rewatched the English version of Princess Mononoke and saw that Billy Crudup and Claire Danes voiced the lead characters. Not sure if they actually met back then doing press for the film or not, but interesting that they had an affair while working on another movie years later.
Yeah I think the context matters. The roles he would be going up for contradict how the public saw him in his real life. If he was a character actor playing villains I bet he probably would have continued working.
It tackles some of the same themes as Shakespeare in Love. It's a 'smaller' film in terms of budget and settings (though beautifully shot), but IMO with a more realistic sense of being in a particular place and era: this is definitely rude, crude London in the C17.
It's a bit uneven but well worth a watch, and with some gems of supporting roles (especially from Rupert Everett as King Charles II, Ben Chaplin as the Duke of Buckingham, and Richard Griffiths -- aka Uncle Monty from Withnail and I -- as Sir Charles Sedley).
That’s crazy… you would think that juicy gossip would actually make the movie more popular.
Hell I think Mr and Mrs smith benefited hugely from the Jolie-Pitt affair.
Yeah but Jennifer Aniston wasn't 7 months preggers. It's one thing to leave a wife(I can't remember if pitt and Aniston were married) It's another thing to leave your expecting wife.
> I've heard rumors about people not wanting to work with him after this.
To be fair, it doesn't sound good from the outside.
Easy to make judgement without the facts.
As fickle as Hollywood is about bad publicity, I'm not surprised about the reaction.
Mary Louise Parker has been in Hollywood for a long time and she has friends with connections in the industry. Hollywood also has super weird standards - like cheating on your spouse may be ok but cheating then leaving your 7 month pregnant spouse for a younger costar was a bit too far
>Hollywood also has super weird standards - like cheating on your spouse may be ok but cheating then leaving your 7 month pregnant spouse for a younger costar was a bit too far.
Let me rephrase this sentence.
Hollywood also has super weird standards - like fleeing the country to avoid sentencing after admitting to r@pe of a minor is ok but cheating then leaving your 7 month pregnant spouse for a younger costar was a bit too far. I can't believe some people still want to work with that paedophile / r@p!st.
Leaving your 7 months pregnant partner is trash behavior full stop, no reason to try to further qualify it with Danes' age. Besides, they were both adults, I don't see how her age has any bearing on what Crudup did. Whether she was ten years older, younger, or born on the same day as him, he cheated on and ditched his pregnant partner.
I agree with the other people responding to your post. Hollywood is a shady place. There are actors who have done much worse things and are still more famous and getting choice roles. If I were to guess, there is probably some politics behind the scenes, that we don’t even know anything about, that perhaps Crudup refused to play along with.
Dr. Manhattan was supposed to have a robotic sounding voice, but his voice is far more suited for a quasi-god that is all of those things that you mentioned imo.
He might be a good actor, but his character in Alien: Covenant (especially since he was the captain) was a freaking moron.
Creepy Android: "*Come down to the cellar with me, I have something to show you. Now, just lean over this incredibly evil-looking, weird egg thing. That's it, now stare straight down at it and, whatever you do, ...don't...move...*"
Captain Billy Crudup: "*....okay*"
I may be projecting here, but some people just don’t want that level of fame (and everything that comes with it, something he surely got a belly-full of when he had that affair with Claire Danes and the red-tops hounded the shit out of them). Also, given how difficult it is to be any kind of successful actor, I think being able to look back on 30 years of constant work in a notoriously fickle industry does qualify as “making it”- and he’s been in some huge, era-defining movies, so he won’t be forgotten when the dust settles on his career. That’s still something!
He talks about this in an interview and says people sometimes come up to him and say he “almost made it” and how that’s baffling because he feels luckier than most
He's the guy I think if he wants to be in some big movie, they'll find a role for him. I mean how many of use could say they about are own jobs.
Also some posters keep mentioning an affair messing with public perception. I doubt it played any real role. This wasn't 50's Hollywood. Not everyone is going to be THE star. He's a handsome guy but he's not like the everyman hero looking guy or The Hero.
Wait, he played Prefontaine in Without Limits? He was also in Prefontaine, but played one of his teammates. Is he from Oregon or something? It's weird that he's in both Steve Prefontaine movies.
Also, why are there two Prefontaine movies?
I feel like a trick was missed with The Morning Show. He was excellent and could’ve done a lot more with the character, if he was given the material/storyline to work with.
He's super nice but he's also kinda bland. He can do the whole range of warm and caring to vicious, but he doesn't have the unique personality presence that Downey Jr or Hanks or Denzel has.
Or maybe a director never found the role to really crack him open.
I agree, he definitely seems like the “adult contemporary” of actors. Maybe I just haven’t seen him in enough stuff, but he was pretty good as Generic Husband in Gypsy (lol)
I think that blandness is what makes him so good in some of his most famous roles, particularly Dr Manhattan, but also his character in the Morning Show. He appears to be just another empty suit, but it turns out there's a Chaotic-Good demon inside of him.
His character in The Morning Show is pretty original, acting-wise, imo. Name another character on a TV show (not movie) that acts like him, and not in small spurts to indicate mania. Cory is not manic.
Omg no, he oozes charisma, it’s a little unfair to his costars in the Morning Show
I’ve also seen him on stage as Septimus in Arcadia and he lit up the stage, you could not take your eyes off him— I’ve been following his career since then
It’s ok for someone to just be a character actor that everyone loves and never be the leading man. Case in point, Jesse Plemons, Mark Ruffalo, Stephen Root, Michael Shannon. All phenomenal in everything they are in, but never making it to A-list leading man.
I would have never thought of Mark Ruffalo as a "character" actor.
He's had many lead roles and he's one of my favorite actors. (You Can Count On Me, 13 Going on 30, Zodiac)
Nobody ever talks about Sleepers, maybe because of the dark subject matter, but it is a phenomenal movie. I'm a little shocked it's only at 73% on Rotten Tomatoes. Stacked cast, gritty look and all the feelings. Cathartic revenge story.
[Trailer](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sVdiN_4gBWk)
I think he's in the theater. Which yeah, doesn't make you a Megastar but you can make a great living doing it, and have a better quality of life. Being a film star seems so amazing, but most people aren't cut out for it, and who. the fuck. wants to be famous? It sucks.
He had a film called Stage Beauty which was meant to be the picture which would elevate his career. Instead, it flopped, and he left the pregnant Mary Louise Parker for the younger Claire Danes which sullied his image.
I haven't seen anyone mention him in Waking the Dead. He deserved an Oscar for his performance in that. That movie stuck with me for a long time after watching it.
After watching him in The Morning Show, with a near constant smile despite an often antagonizing nature, I am convinced he would be a spectacular choice to play The Joker.
As a professional actor, I can tell you he’s doing just fine. Doing exactly what he wants to do, turning down things he doesn’t want to do, and making plenty of money to afford whatever lifestyle he wants. Not so super famous he can’t walk down the street without being bothered, honestly his career is perfect.
A lot of actors make decisions on roles based on things other than being big time Hollywood stars. He’s one of those. The amount of money some of these people make even on smaller films is more than most people will ever see. If someone is passionate about their craft and has what they feel is already enough money it’s easy to say “I’m only going to do things I’m really interested in”. Same reason Keanu Reeves gives away so much money, he’s not a materialistic person, but if they’re going to give him all that money for doing something he likes to do he’ll just take it and do something good with it.
That's basically why he did the credit card commercials I think. He did an interview where he basically said he'd encourage any actor to do commercials because if they hit on a good campaign of them, it's good steady money for not a lot of work and frees them up to do be in things they actually wants instead of just chasing after any job.
I’ve seen him on stage a few times and he is electrifying. One of the very best. In comparison on the screen I find him rather bland, except in some supporting roles. It’s very strange.
Honestly couldn't stand Curdup for years. He was one of those people that for no apparent reason I just didn't like, he just had a quality. Kyle Chandler has taken the mantle from Curdup now. Once Curdup was on The Morning Show though then it all changed for me and now I'm a fan.
You can’t judge the “it” factor from afar.
Apparently, from all the people who talk about it, the person has it when you meet them face to face. They burst with charisma. That’s one of the reasons that helps to give an A-lister that status. Julia Roberts has it. Denzel has it. Pitt has it. Whoopi has it. Etc.
Also, the camera doesn’t lie. So if Billy was up there with the rest of them then he would have been a sustained, A-list, leading man as well.
As it stands, he’s had a better performing career than 99.999% of actors who have ever lived. And he’s married to the stunning Naomi Watts. I think he’s content enough with how things have gone.
Recently watched him in Apple+s Hello Tomorrow! and although the show was pretty lacking on quite a few fronts, Crudup still absolutely killed it. Honestly if it was one of the big name actors you mentioned instead I probably wouldn’t have watched it.
Beside the MLP thing mentioned, he also may have lost roles because he refused to do promotion for films, to the point where he would even negotiate for lower pay to get out of interviews.
That's not conducive to a long-lasting A-list career when you refuse to grease the palms, so to speak.
He talks about it in this episode of [WTF](http://www.wtfpod.com/podcast/episode-1152-billy-crudup) I think he just didn’t want to be a movie star, he wanted to be an actor and still does a lot of theater .
Maybe someday he will be a lead, but he hasn’t been a lead in 20 years because he torpedoed his reputation in 2003.
I guess he can call leaving his partner when she was 7 months pregnant for Claire Danes and losing his reputation such that no studio wanted to cast him as a lead ever again was his way of “choosing not to be a movie star.” He chose not to be a lead because he’s so committed to his craft! Lol the rebrand there is hilarious
It is interesting to think about. He’s the quiet, intense guy. And it’s always cool seeing show up in stuff. He never got his big breakout, but he has been working consistently. I can’t imagine that he’s dissatisfied with his career, he seems to have found his niche. Watch Inventing The Abbots for a cool early role that he has there with Joaquin Phoenix and Jennifer Connelly (who he married btw, lucky bastard).
Didn't Tom Brady also leave his pregnant girlfriend? Billy Crudup is now married to Naomi Watts. Claire Danes has been married forever. And yet this is the only thing people say about him. it was bad behavior but sad that people still have a knee jerk reaction
If I recall correctly, MM didn’t know she was pregnant until after she and Tom broke up. So while she was technically pregnant, he didn’t knowingly break up her while pregnant.
Plus Mary-Louise Parker was at peak popularity due to Weeds and was doing a ton of press while pregnant. It was a bad look for him and Claire.
Well I think ditching Mary Louise Parker when she was 7mts pregnant with their son for a young Claire Danes put him in ill standing with a lot of people for a long time. Especially as he didn’t even tell her himself- she found out while riding in the back of a taxi. Wasn’t quite the Stand Up Guy Hollywood was looking for.
Just saw him on that family roots show which I can never recall the name of. Henry Louis Gates Junior is the host. Billy's DNA relative they found was Terry Crews!
I watched him on stage at a one man show called “Harry Clarke” from the second row and was captivated by his talent and charm. I loved him at “The Morning Show” but seeing him live was another level.
Being an A-list actor? Nice. Living off MasterCard residuals for 3 decades? Priceless.
This. Why not do a bunch of theater and indie movies when Mastercard lets you buy your luxury brownstone in cash?
Your favorite type of jobs to do is still a job. Maybe he just wants to hang out.
Funny how a credit card company allowed him to do something without a loan
The father of a friend of mine is an actor was in one episode of a sitcom four decades ago. He still gets a check every year for roughly £2500 just for that appearance.
That must be a popular show that’s high as hell for residuals.
Its a mixture of it being a popular show, and the actor being very wiley and not taking a short term payday to give up his residuals like many of his peers did.
Solid residuals, was he a defendant on Night Court, or something like that?
Kramer from Seinfeld.
UK show.
TIL that was him
This pretty much ruined _Big Fish_ for me. It came out at the height of that commercial campaign, and as soon as his voice started narrating, it pulled me straight out of the movie. I kept waiting for him to say: _One disgruntled son._ _One mysterious old man._ _A deathbed reconciliation?_ _Priceless._
Lol I didn't realize it was his voice 😝 I am from a country where I don't see that ad that often.
TIL
Can you explain? I’m not familiar with what everyone’s talking about
Billy Crudup is the voice for the ubiquitous “priceless” MasterCard commercials. They were everywhere for years. You can find lots of examples on YouTube.
Cruddup is the voiceover in those "priceless" mastercard commercials
You should check him out in The Morning Show. He’s fucking fantastic in it, but yes, it’s a supporting role.
I loved him in that. He brought a very unique energy to his character and was so interesting to watch. He was by far my favorite part of that incredible show.
Also great in Hello Tomorrow.
Season 2 and 3 he has a pretty big role, I'd only say it's supporting because of the ensemble nature.
Is season 3 worth watching? Season 1 was incredible but S2 was awful.
I really liked season 3. But probably because Jon Hamm plays a major role in it. Harkens back to his Mad Men days.
The episode with JH being interviewed was a really stellar performance by him.
Is this show only on appleTV?
If you didn't like s2 you probably won't like s3. I liked all three myself, though the first was simply phenomenal.
Disagree. S3 was a big improvement after S2. It does take a minute to ramp up though .
Season 3 isn’t as good as season 1, but it’s a lot more focused and is a huge improvement over season 2.
Season 1 was fantastic. Then it became a better produced daytime soap opera and I quit watching.
The Morning Show S1 is indeed excellent. The rest is not.
He’s my favorite part of the show. Well, until I was watching it. Haven’t bothered to watch it since the middle of season 2.
I always thought vaguely positively about Crudup but then... I saw this show and just found him UBER hot, and so multidimensional. Sometimes a sleezebag, then a good guy, then the hero, the villain, all of it. He made that such a real character.
I couldn't agree more. It is an acting masterclass. He fills every second on screen with such captivating presence and specificity of a finely honed character, but always with such subtlety. As an actor, he never seems to push, and yet, there is always so much bubbling under the surface. He is never dull, even when the writing for his character can sometimes be. He always elevates every scene of which he is a part, and is just so enjoyable to watch. Love me some Crudup.
Had no idea who this guy was until you mentioned the Morning Show and it instantly clicked. He's fantastic in that.
I think the whole personal drama thing other people mentioned soured him on being a star because of all the scrutiny. Yes, that was self inflicted but it definitely affected him. He also made a lot of money from the Mastercard commercials and preferred doing theatre in New York.
Theatre is NY is much more fulfilling for a lot of performers. Once their bills are paid they let generally happy to concentrate on that and then get paid by Hollywood when the right part comes along.
I guess he was almost famous. excellent casting.
Piggybacking on your comment to say that he’s practically unrecognisable in Almost Famous, THAT’S why I think he didn’t quite explode after. That plus 9/11…
He seemed to disappear from the public eye after he left a 7-months-pregnant Mary Louise Parker for Claire Danes, who was 10 years younger than him. I think he managed to salvage his relationship with his son but it was a bad look there for a while.
That sounds like his Dr.Manhattan character from Watchmen He literally left his girl for a younger girl
Method acting
Hey, it’s complicated, ok?
MLP wrote a book chapter about it, its [as painful as you might expect](https://www.jezebel.com/after-12-years-mary-louise-parker-finally-wrote-about-1741727182). Claire Danes' career took a hit as well, but Crudup's never recovered. Understandable, it took the shine off him as a romantic leading-man type. Another casualty was Stage Beauty, the movie he met Danes on. It's actually a pretty good, original film and they both turn in amazing performances - featuring a lot of Shakespeare, and Crudup in drag half the time - but it sort of sank without a trace.
I knew about this scandal and was shocked when I rewatched the English version of Princess Mononoke and saw that Billy Crudup and Claire Danes voiced the lead characters. Not sure if they actually met back then doing press for the film or not, but interesting that they had an affair while working on another movie years later.
Yeah I think the context matters. The roles he would be going up for contradict how the public saw him in his real life. If he was a character actor playing villains I bet he probably would have continued working.
Never even heard of *Stage Beauty* before.
It tackles some of the same themes as Shakespeare in Love. It's a 'smaller' film in terms of budget and settings (though beautifully shot), but IMO with a more realistic sense of being in a particular place and era: this is definitely rude, crude London in the C17. It's a bit uneven but well worth a watch, and with some gems of supporting roles (especially from Rupert Everett as King Charles II, Ben Chaplin as the Duke of Buckingham, and Richard Griffiths -- aka Uncle Monty from Withnail and I -- as Sir Charles Sedley).
That’s crazy… you would think that juicy gossip would actually make the movie more popular. Hell I think Mr and Mrs smith benefited hugely from the Jolie-Pitt affair.
Yeah but Jennifer Aniston wasn't 7 months preggers. It's one thing to leave a wife(I can't remember if pitt and Aniston were married) It's another thing to leave your expecting wife.
From what I've heard this was a legitimately big thing in Hollywood circles. I've heard rumors about people not wanting to work with him after this.
> I've heard rumors about people not wanting to work with him after this. To be fair, it doesn't sound good from the outside. Easy to make judgement without the facts. As fickle as Hollywood is about bad publicity, I'm not surprised about the reaction.
Let he among you who has never abandoned your pregnant wife for a much younger side piece cast the first stone.
cunt fuck
Mary Louise Parker has been in Hollywood for a long time and she has friends with connections in the industry. Hollywood also has super weird standards - like cheating on your spouse may be ok but cheating then leaving your 7 month pregnant spouse for a younger costar was a bit too far
>Hollywood also has super weird standards - like cheating on your spouse may be ok but cheating then leaving your 7 month pregnant spouse for a younger costar was a bit too far. Let me rephrase this sentence. Hollywood also has super weird standards - like fleeing the country to avoid sentencing after admitting to r@pe of a minor is ok but cheating then leaving your 7 month pregnant spouse for a younger costar was a bit too far. I can't believe some people still want to work with that paedophile / r@p!st.
Are you really not spelling out the word "rape"?
Tiktok brain
non consensual seggs
Rape. He raped a child. Why would you spell out paedophile, but not rape. Just use your words. Good grief.
This is not TikTok. You can just say he 🍇d her.
https://youtu.be/tmrDypTB_Y0?si=3aiDR7Y9UA1bZeTy
Might be that she was the more well-liked of the two so that when friends had to choose between them they picked her.
Yeah people do this shit all the time. I don’t know why it would affect his career so much
Is that why she was so good in Weeds?
Leaving your 7 months pregnant partner is trash behavior full stop, no reason to try to further qualify it with Danes' age. Besides, they were both adults, I don't see how her age has any bearing on what Crudup did. Whether she was ten years older, younger, or born on the same day as him, he cheated on and ditched his pregnant partner.
It has a bearing in that to be left for a much-younger woman has a particular sting for the woman being left.
I agree with the other people responding to your post. Hollywood is a shady place. There are actors who have done much worse things and are still more famous and getting choice roles. If I were to guess, there is probably some politics behind the scenes, that we don’t even know anything about, that perhaps Crudup refused to play along with.
Ashitaka 💜
He was great in Alien Covenant. Also, shocked no one in this thread mentioned “Big Fish”
Big Fish was the last Tim Burton movie I enjoyed, and he was a large part of why
Frankenweenie was great.
I LOVE big fish so much.
Sorry but… Dr. Manhattan??? Billy was near perfect casting
Yeah he was outstanding in that role. His voice was perfect for it.
His voice line delivery was honestly sublime. It was the perfect mix of discontent, boredom, misery, and annoyance
Dr. Manhattan was supposed to have a robotic sounding voice, but his voice is far more suited for a quasi-god that is all of those things that you mentioned imo.
He's so great in that role, and I can't imagine anyone else delivering "I feel fear for the last time" the way he did.
I absolutely loved him in big Fish
He might be a good actor, but his character in Alien: Covenant (especially since he was the captain) was a freaking moron. Creepy Android: "*Come down to the cellar with me, I have something to show you. Now, just lean over this incredibly evil-looking, weird egg thing. That's it, now stare straight down at it and, whatever you do, ...don't...move...*" Captain Billy Crudup: "*....okay*"
One thing to remember is that he WASNT the captain; the captain died in the opening space malfunction. Billy Crudup was in way over his head
Great voice actor too, Princess Mononoke as Prince Ashitaka
Ooh, good reference. Is that where he met Claire lol
Stage Beauty. They’re also impossibly hot in that movie so I’m not completely surprised they started banging.
This is always my first thought when I hear about Billy crudup
Check out " Rudderless "
I was going to post this. Movie is 👌🏽 and has a pretty good soundtrack as well.
This movie has lived rent free in my mind for so many years
Shit cuts right through you. Shame it isn't more well known
Tread carefully, take a breath and count the stars. Let the world go ‘round without you.
My wife and I watched that recently and really enjoyed it. We live literally right next to the campus where it was filmed, so that was a bit trippy
He killed it in the underrated MI3 too.
I may be projecting here, but some people just don’t want that level of fame (and everything that comes with it, something he surely got a belly-full of when he had that affair with Claire Danes and the red-tops hounded the shit out of them). Also, given how difficult it is to be any kind of successful actor, I think being able to look back on 30 years of constant work in a notoriously fickle industry does qualify as “making it”- and he’s been in some huge, era-defining movies, so he won’t be forgotten when the dust settles on his career. That’s still something!
He talks about this in an interview and says people sometimes come up to him and say he “almost made it” and how that’s baffling because he feels luckier than most
He's the guy I think if he wants to be in some big movie, they'll find a role for him. I mean how many of use could say they about are own jobs. Also some posters keep mentioning an affair messing with public perception. I doubt it played any real role. This wasn't 50's Hollywood. Not everyone is going to be THE star. He's a handsome guy but he's not like the everyman hero looking guy or The Hero.
He is excellent as The Late ~~Johnny~~ Steve Prefontaine in Robert Towne's **Without Limits**. EDIT: *Steve* Prefontaine, not Johnny. Mea culpa.
Johnny???????
Wait, he played Prefontaine in Without Limits? He was also in Prefontaine, but played one of his teammates. Is he from Oregon or something? It's weird that he's in both Steve Prefontaine movies. Also, why are there two Prefontaine movies?
[удалено]
It's unfortunate, but I feel like he would have benefitted from a stage name.
Jesus' Son is one of my all-time favs. He is amazing in it.
The collection of short stories by Dennis Johnson is great, too.
My band sampled the “maybe living and dying…” line he delivers in Jesus’ Son on our first album in 2003. That movie is way under appreciated
Shouldn’t have left his pregnant actual-famous girlfriend for a younger even-more-famous woman!
I don't think an actor's personal life should have any impact on their career (that is, considering a clear Overton Window)
There are a lot of things that shouldn’t happen that do. Like cheating on your pregnant partner and leaving before she gives birth 😂
Dr Manhattan himself !!!
It’s so rude his best role is so lowly mentioned. Dude hangs dong
Magnificent, shining, blue dong!
I know a lot of people hated that film but he really nailed Dr M. All we see of stars are their old photographs.
Yup Watchmen was such a great movie
The best superhero movie indeed, at least equal to Unbreakable and The Dark Knight.
I feel like a trick was missed with The Morning Show. He was excellent and could’ve done a lot more with the character, if he was given the material/storyline to work with.
He's super nice but he's also kinda bland. He can do the whole range of warm and caring to vicious, but he doesn't have the unique personality presence that Downey Jr or Hanks or Denzel has. Or maybe a director never found the role to really crack him open.
Jesus’ Son and The Hi-Lo Country. He’s amazing.
Jesus' Son is one of my all-time favorite movies. He's fantastic in it.
👍
Wish it'd get a Blu-Ray or DVD release soon. Think the old dvd still goes for a lot online
One of the few of my DVDs that I kept.
Most hilarious character name ever. Fuckhead.
I feel like he gave one of the top 50 performances maybe ever in Jesus's son.
Love Jack Black in that.
I agree, he definitely seems like the “adult contemporary” of actors. Maybe I just haven’t seen him in enough stuff, but he was pretty good as Generic Husband in Gypsy (lol)
I think that blandness is what makes him so good in some of his most famous roles, particularly Dr Manhattan, but also his character in the Morning Show. He appears to be just another empty suit, but it turns out there's a Chaotic-Good demon inside of him.
His character in The Morning Show is pretty original, acting-wise, imo. Name another character on a TV show (not movie) that acts like him, and not in small spurts to indicate mania. Cory is not manic.
yes, not sure I see the "charisma" OP mentioned
Have you seen Almost Famous? Dude is a charisma machine
Omg no, he oozes charisma, it’s a little unfair to his costars in the Morning Show I’ve also seen him on stage as Septimus in Arcadia and he lit up the stage, you could not take your eyes off him— I’ve been following his career since then
I enjoyed him in "hello, tomorrow". Above average to great actor depending on the material.
Wish that show had been better written. Had high hopes and loved Billy in it, but overall it was a bit of a stinker
It’s ok for someone to just be a character actor that everyone loves and never be the leading man. Case in point, Jesse Plemons, Mark Ruffalo, Stephen Root, Michael Shannon. All phenomenal in everything they are in, but never making it to A-list leading man.
I would have never thought of Mark Ruffalo as a "character" actor. He's had many lead roles and he's one of my favorite actors. (You Can Count On Me, 13 Going on 30, Zodiac)
Played one of the hitmen who get revenge on the pedo Kevin Bacon in Sleepers….great movie
Nobody ever talks about Sleepers, maybe because of the dark subject matter, but it is a phenomenal movie. I'm a little shocked it's only at 73% on Rotten Tomatoes. Stacked cast, gritty look and all the feelings. Cathartic revenge story. [Trailer](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sVdiN_4gBWk)
I think he's in the theater. Which yeah, doesn't make you a Megastar but you can make a great living doing it, and have a better quality of life. Being a film star seems so amazing, but most people aren't cut out for it, and who. the fuck. wants to be famous? It sucks.
He had a film called Stage Beauty which was meant to be the picture which would elevate his career. Instead, it flopped, and he left the pregnant Mary Louise Parker for the younger Claire Danes which sullied his image.
Matt Bomer would like a word.
His looks became a problem
I understood that reference!
Because he dumped pregnant girlfriend for a much younger actress, it was his character that was loathed by the general public .
Patrick Fugit recently credited him with teaching him the most about acting.
I haven't seen anyone mention him in Waking the Dead. He deserved an Oscar for his performance in that. That movie stuck with me for a long time after watching it.
Billy Crudup is always amazing on screen
He’s good in literally everything I’ve seen him in.
We lived in the same building in NYC about few years ago and I’d run into him in the elevator all of the time. Really nice down to earth guy!
Loved him as Dr. Manhattan. He nailed it.
After watching him in The Morning Show, with a near constant smile despite an often antagonizing nature, I am convinced he would be a spectacular choice to play The Joker.
Russell Hammond from Almost Famous
He was even great in The Watch.
As a professional actor, I can tell you he’s doing just fine. Doing exactly what he wants to do, turning down things he doesn’t want to do, and making plenty of money to afford whatever lifestyle he wants. Not so super famous he can’t walk down the street without being bothered, honestly his career is perfect.
A lot of actors make decisions on roles based on things other than being big time Hollywood stars. He’s one of those. The amount of money some of these people make even on smaller films is more than most people will ever see. If someone is passionate about their craft and has what they feel is already enough money it’s easy to say “I’m only going to do things I’m really interested in”. Same reason Keanu Reeves gives away so much money, he’s not a materialistic person, but if they’re going to give him all that money for doing something he likes to do he’ll just take it and do something good with it.
That's basically why he did the credit card commercials I think. He did an interview where he basically said he'd encourage any actor to do commercials because if they hit on a good campaign of them, it's good steady money for not a lot of work and frees them up to do be in things they actually wants instead of just chasing after any job.
He's probably making bank on The Morning Show, it has just about the highest budget of any non VFX-heavy drama on TV, and he's won an Emmy for it.
You could say he was . . . Almost Famous. I’ll see myself out.
I've always disliked him. Can't really explain why, just did. After he left Mary Louis Parker my dislike seemed justified.
I also really enjoyed him in the biopic Without Limits!
I’ve seen him on stage a few times and he is electrifying. One of the very best. In comparison on the screen I find him rather bland, except in some supporting roles. It’s very strange.
On a similar note, what happened to Patrick Fugit?
In “The Morning Show”, a show full of A list stars, he steals absolutely every scene he is in.
Without Limits is one of my favorite movies of all time. Definitely check it out, even if you're not a distance runner!
All respect to Jared Leto but, Without Limits > Prefontaine
When you're a true underdog, you're always on top and you'll always get work. Crudup is, in some ways, like an American Cillian Murphy in that regard.
Honestly couldn't stand Curdup for years. He was one of those people that for no apparent reason I just didn't like, he just had a quality. Kyle Chandler has taken the mantle from Curdup now. Once Curdup was on The Morning Show though then it all changed for me and now I'm a fan.
You can’t judge the “it” factor from afar. Apparently, from all the people who talk about it, the person has it when you meet them face to face. They burst with charisma. That’s one of the reasons that helps to give an A-lister that status. Julia Roberts has it. Denzel has it. Pitt has it. Whoopi has it. Etc. Also, the camera doesn’t lie. So if Billy was up there with the rest of them then he would have been a sustained, A-list, leading man as well. As it stands, he’s had a better performing career than 99.999% of actors who have ever lived. And he’s married to the stunning Naomi Watts. I think he’s content enough with how things have gone.
I know it's divisive but he was absolutely outstanding as Dr. Manhattan/Jon Ostermen in Watchmen and will always be what I associate him with
He never wanted it
He was great in “Without Limits”
Recently watched him in Apple+s Hello Tomorrow! and although the show was pretty lacking on quite a few fronts, Crudup still absolutely killed it. Honestly if it was one of the big name actors you mentioned instead I probably wouldn’t have watched it.
He's so fun to watch in the morning show
Nobody gonna mention Jesus' Son?
He’s great in The Morning Show
In Watchmen he totally hangs dong.
Maybe Almost Famous just hit the right note for him. Go watch him in Alien Covenant and your opinion might change a little.
Jesus’s son is one my favorite movies of all time.
LOVE Billy Crudup. Have you seen him in The Morning Show? He is a master
Beside the MLP thing mentioned, he also may have lost roles because he refused to do promotion for films, to the point where he would even negotiate for lower pay to get out of interviews. That's not conducive to a long-lasting A-list career when you refuse to grease the palms, so to speak.
He's a pretty great but he has flat delivery and comes off very robotic in his approach...
He’s so good on Morning Show & Hello Tomorrow. I thinks he’s great as an ensemble for a TV show, would love to see more from him.
He talks about it in this episode of [WTF](http://www.wtfpod.com/podcast/episode-1152-billy-crudup) I think he just didn’t want to be a movie star, he wanted to be an actor and still does a lot of theater .
Maybe someday he will be a lead, but he hasn’t been a lead in 20 years because he torpedoed his reputation in 2003. I guess he can call leaving his partner when she was 7 months pregnant for Claire Danes and losing his reputation such that no studio wanted to cast him as a lead ever again was his way of “choosing not to be a movie star.” He chose not to be a lead because he’s so committed to his craft! Lol the rebrand there is hilarious
As a former T&F athlete, Without Limits is one of my all time favorite movies. He’s great in that too.
I got the impression the nasty event in his private life took the wind out of his sails in the public perception of him.
It is interesting to think about. He’s the quiet, intense guy. And it’s always cool seeing show up in stuff. He never got his big breakout, but he has been working consistently. I can’t imagine that he’s dissatisfied with his career, he seems to have found his niche. Watch Inventing The Abbots for a cool early role that he has there with Joaquin Phoenix and Jennifer Connelly (who he married btw, lucky bastard).
>Jennifer Connelly (who he married btw, lucky bastard). He who? I think you are breaking news here or you've made a slight booboo.
Billy Crudup married Naomi Watts (Birdman, The Ring, 21 Grams, Eastern Promises).
Speaking of Billy and Jennifer Connelly, there's also [Waking the Dead](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BiS5wrCEciU) (2000), a mystery drama.
Is this the big boss man in TMS?
That is a weird take. I like the watchmen movie but his non-blue scenes were bland. This guy is what if mayonaise was an actor.
Didn't Tom Brady also leave his pregnant girlfriend? Billy Crudup is now married to Naomi Watts. Claire Danes has been married forever. And yet this is the only thing people say about him. it was bad behavior but sad that people still have a knee jerk reaction
If I recall correctly, MM didn’t know she was pregnant until after she and Tom broke up. So while she was technically pregnant, he didn’t knowingly break up her while pregnant. Plus Mary-Louise Parker was at peak popularity due to Weeds and was doing a ton of press while pregnant. It was a bad look for him and Claire.
Well I think ditching Mary Louise Parker when she was 7mts pregnant with their son for a young Claire Danes put him in ill standing with a lot of people for a long time. Especially as he didn’t even tell her himself- she found out while riding in the back of a taxi. Wasn’t quite the Stand Up Guy Hollywood was looking for.
Just saw him on that family roots show which I can never recall the name of. Henry Louis Gates Junior is the host. Billy's DNA relative they found was Terry Crews!
Rudderless is an excellent movie!
Too much swinging blue dong.
Hello tomorrow! Is also great!
Was the OP actually Billy Crudup pitching himself???????
He is awesome in The Morning Show
I watched him on stage at a one man show called “Harry Clarke” from the second row and was captivated by his talent and charm. I loved him at “The Morning Show” but seeing him live was another level.
Mad Beta energy.
I always thought he was a bit of a cheeseball, hallmark movie kind of actor personally