Is there a point of being too selective?
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Archived from the IMDb Discussion Forums — Jay Tavare
banuisce — 18 years ago(November 23, 2007 05:56 AM)
With the general understanding that Jay is selective in his roles, attempting to move away from stereotype 'buckskin' roles and apparantly involved in the 'invisible' aspects of the trade- writing etcetera, the question that persists in my mind is that- is there a point of being too selective?
Someone such as myself, weary of historical rehash or interpretation, certainly no interest in 'cowboy' theme for the simple reason of living in Texas- good Lord, I see men in sh**kickers and Stetsons at least five days a week, that leaves little in the body of Jay's work to be seen. Unbowed sounds interesting but 40 dollars is too steep and I'll cut my fingers off before accepting any copy that does not reimburse those who created it. I'll keep an eye out on cable, as far as I'll go to see it.
Back to the point, should he not be encouraged to expand his field as to raise his visibility? Episodal work on television? Consider a series part? (Or more mini series) Certainly there are fans who would enjoy seeing him for any amount of screen time, big or small. If it is that he is content with his course and choices, not suffering from overambition, good for him. But is it good for his career? There is only so much recycling of past parts that can be done before people (the big wide world being referenced here) forget or lose interest in waiting.
The hypothetical to be considered is, if you were in a position to advise, what would you offer? Is it wise to limit yourself with exacting criteria and hope to hit a precise mark? Or would it be more prudent to simply be seen more, by more people, even if the genre is not to taste?
Thoughts anyone? -
Judgemenot — 18 years ago(November 23, 2007 10:19 AM)
From what I have seen of his work, they are not your typical Indian roles, in Cold Mountain he was just another solider who happens to be of Cherokee blood. In Adaptation he was an orchid hunter who happened to be Seminole, no bow or arrows or feathers were involved. lol
Also his roles in The Missing and Into the West showed a completely different take on a Indian Chief or warrior, with a range of emotions that had not been seen before.
In El Padrino he was a tough latino FBI agent, in Ex Decision he was a Middle Eastern and in Street-fighter he was a Spaniard. I think he does have range, but I would like to see him in a contemporary role as a lead.
I think he has been diverse in his roles and to be honest he has got away with more than is normally allowed by and I don't mean this as an insult, most ( Indian Actors ). To me it seems he makes the Indians more three dimensional, he shows they can cry or laugh just like all of us and that is not typical in any sort of way.
I agree he should think TV as that would bring a whole lot more exposure for him. Just look at how many folks found him and became fans after only 23 min of his work on Into The West!
I also think his looks could be what makes him difficult to cast. He has looked so different in each role and from his day to day shots he is a striking looking man in real life, who does not fit the guy next door roles, so unless it's a role that needs his kind of presence, he is not easy to cast. But I also think he has built himself a great foundation in Hollywood over the last half decade.
His name is known for his performances although he is not a house hold name, folks do know of him and his roles.
Also I never thought of any of Jay's roles as the normal buck skin indian in the background part.
He has stood out in each of his roles no matter how short the time on film they have given him. -
banuisce — 18 years ago(November 23, 2007 12:42 PM)
Let's not ignore the elephant in the room, it is his ethnic appearance that is limiting. One need not draw up a stat sheet to state the obvious, fewer roles are available to ethnic actors, non whites as a whole, my meaning to include Asian, Black, Hispanic or Latino, and multiracial as well as Native American, not just Jay.
Hollyweird has yet 16d0to recognize the changing face of the world with few exceptions. Television, I see spotty glimmers of hope such as the series 'Heroes' which prominently featured an interracial couple and gave credible lead roles to a Japanese and East Indian male. (I expect a certain English woman of Indian descent to correct my terminology if offensive or dated) While they do still play a Japanese and East Indian, I'll call it progress that the series isn't all American and hope it grows from there.
One need not wander far into these boards to see a race/ethnic fight going on, it is utterly not my intention to start one. I would love nothing more than to see race or ethnicity disappear as a factor across all genres and forms of media when a role is cast.
I would love to see Jay, or Will Yun Lee, or Naveen Andrews or- well I'd better stop for the sake of my keyboard, doesn't respond well to drool- in roles without racial identity, roles they have been chosen for or won simply because they are talented in spite of the script being written for someone named O'Malley, but that is for these men, and women, to persist in changing. My part is to tune in or buy the tickets in support of the powers that be brave enough to open their eyes to what we want. Diversity. Talent. Quality.
Whether or not his roles have been typical, they have been race/ethnic based, what I would like to see is a total departure from the type. Period.
From what I glean, it is what he wants as well, and I hope he gets it. -
lolobdaz — 18 years ago(November 23, 2007 05:05 PM)
You are so right !!
Every once and awhile Hollywood shows a few glimers of looking outside of it's curtained windows, that which have been pulled since the 60's era.
I really luv to see more Actors chosen based on their skill and ability to assume a role versus any form of Ethnicity.
Morgan Freeman recently commented something along those lines when he said, he would prefer to be considered an Actor, not a Black Actor. I'm paraphrasing here.
Obviously, it's difficult for any handsome Actor to play supporting against any other Actor, probably the reason much of Jay's performance in 'Cold Mountain' ended up being cut. You can only have one leading man, and Jude was 'suppose' to be it - a great deal of competition for any up and coming performer.
Unbowed was an important film, it would be nice to see Jay do another important Indie film. Seriously, it seems that the Indie films - the little film with no big budget, no off the charts promotion, yet they are kicking in the doors of Hollywood, and Oscar is noticing. Look at Whale Rider, Napoleon Dynamite, and Little Miss Sunshine.
Something like that might give him the opportunity to have a 'true body' of work to excercise his Talents.
Working with Chris Eyre would be exciting too, that's something I'd seriously want to see.
Just some thoughts..
Dazz -
banuisce — 18 years ago(November 23, 2007 06:08 PM)
My layman's interpretation of the 'tiers' of the movie world is that there is Hollywood, a virtual machine, antiquated and withered of soul, then there's Sundance, growing but still devoted to let's say- mid range indies, growing on their heels is South by Southwest, abbreviated SxSW, (in my back yard) which is a conglomerate showcase of indie films, artwork and m1c84usic. Where to put Cannes, not sure. Then there's a whole range of 'dedicated' film groups- Black, Native American, Asian- et al. I'm really no student of the industry, thus these are commoner views so to speak.
Something at the Sundance or SxSW level, mid range, attended by a wider audience than the dedicated groups, but not insular Hollywood either. Or again, back to television where more and more actors are transitioning out of cable series- coming from Off Broadway as it were into 'mainstream'.
Morgan Freeman is one of the few actors I will go to see on name alone, whatever the genre and I'm fussy about what I'll sit through in a theater. More along the lines of- well, there's nothing on the schedule I'm dying to see- oooh wait- Morgan Freeman, than an actual following.
I saw 'Cry Freedom' on HBO in the late eighties (never went to theaters then, it's hubby's fault I do now) and couldn't tell you any other actors name in it except the one I went out of my way to learn afterwards, Denzel Washington. His performance rendered my soul open to uncontrollable crying, a rare event, one performance, not the top billing, he rose steadily from there. It happens.
Thanks to both for sharing your thoughts.