J is For: Jeff Goldblum: By The Numbers

I first came to know of him as a kid when he co-starred as Malcolm in Jurassic Park. First impressions doing its tricks, I've always kind of liked him. Never particularly gone out of my way to watch his films, but enjoyed him in the right roles. However, even before looking at his filmography I knew that it would be a mixed bag. As always the question isn't how I perceive them, but how the numbers do.

First a quick rundown of how this all works for anyone new:

I take all the films an actor or actress has been in and break them down into three categories, 'Good' 'Bad' and 'Okay.' 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."

Now then, let's see those numbers:

I'm surprised that when I'm running the numbers I don't run into this more often, where the 'ok' movies make up the biggest slice of the pie. With a total of 65% positive, he falls under the category of good. To me the results make sense. He's a good actor, but far from great.  What more can you expect from someone who can go from being in Annie Hall to that disco classic Thank God It's Friday without batting an eye?

So who should I cover in future posts? I'll finish the challenge before I do the next one, but no reason I can't start getting a list going again. And remember, if you're unsure whether or not I've already covered someone, I have a page of older ones archived you can look through.