Wednesday, May 19, 2010

By The Numbers: Jeremy Irons

I can honestly say I've been a fan of Jeremy Irons since I was 11. The voice of Scar in The Lion King? Hecks yeah. Scar was the best thing about the movie. Also, I'm told he's done other more grownup projects, you know, if that's what you really want to talk about.


First a quick rundown of how this all works for anyone new to reading this column.

I take all the films an actor or actress has been in and break them down into three categories, 'Good' 'Bad' and 'Ok.' I do not count TV appearances or Made for TV movies. Afterwards a quick analysis will show whether or not they're a good actor by the numbers. Invariably there is a 2-3 +/- point bias on a person to person basis. Also, since 'ok' movies are not bad they count towards the positive column in the overall figuring. If by the numbers they fall in the 50 - 60% range, they're a bad actor; 61 - 70% good actor, and 71 - 80% great actor. Anything higher is unlikely, but will be classified as "elite."


Talk is cheap (what I like about it) let's see them numbers:


I chose the color scheme cause I'm in the mood for cherries.


Something new has come from these numbers. I had, when I first started doing this column, expected to see it often, but Irons is the first. His 'Ok' movies outnumber the good and bad ones. I really am surprised to find that out, but again, more surprised it hasn't happened more often. The problem with Jeremy Irons is that he's done a lot of TV, and I don't count that into the numbers as television and theatrical acting are two different beasts. Maybe I should start running a TV BTN as well. At any rate it doesn't matter for him because with so many ok movies, when the numbers are crunched, Jeremy Irons comes out to a whopping 74% positive over 26% negative, which officially makes him a 'Great' actor.


Thanks to GuanoLad for this week's pick!


If you'd like to suggest someone for a future edition, let me know in the comments below.

10 comments:

  1. He's one of those actors where I recognize the name, but not the face... I don't know why, but that's how it is.

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  2. All I can think of is "Jeremy's Iron" from The Simpsons...also, Mufasa dying. Heartbreaking.

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  3. He's an actor you can pretty much rely on everytime out...

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  4. Yeh, he never seems to let me down even in bad movies. Your system seems to be pretty accurate so far. Now where is that Hollywood phone call we both have been waiting for.

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  5. So shocked at the good percentage. But then again, Die Hard 3 and Lion King. Awesome flics!

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  6. Part of the problem with an actor as enjoyable as Mr. Irons (or Jer, to those who have played Monopoly with him) is that he takes a bad movie and makes it ok, and makes an ok movie good. So the numbers are skewed a bit on this one. Try to imagine all of his roles being performed by Porky the Pig, and you'll see what I mean. But I suppose that's what makes him a "great" actor, even though he always demands to be the race-car or he won't play. Uncool, Jer. Uncool.

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  7. Is he the highest ranked actor yet?

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  8. Asblack, the highest legitimately. Rick Moranis is technically higher, but he's done half the number of films.

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  9. Totally loved his voice as "Scar" in the Lion King.

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  10. I still picture him as the the bad ass from Die Hard 3.

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