'New Moon' Asks Michael Sheen to Howl & Bite ... Again?
Filed under: Romance, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Casting, Remakes and Sequels
There's always a seriously talented actor making his or her way through the world of cinema, destined for either critical superstardom or complete obscurity. These days, it seems to be Michael Sheen. The man has made his way through the world of film. He's tackled Shakespeare, and other literary names like Reilly and Wilde. He gets many chances to play Tony Blair. He kicked ass in Music Within and the more recent Frost/Nixon. But he's also the man of werewolves and vampires. The man has got range. After a whopping three Underworld films as Lucian, The Vancouver Sun reports that he's now joining the world of lusty teen vampires with Twilight. In the upcoming New Moon, he'll play Aro, the mind-reading leader of the Italian vamp clan called Volturi -- basically the royal family of bloodsuckers. Director Chris Weitz says: "Aro is, on the surface, a very gracious and friendly vampire, but beneath that he is a tremendous threat." Visually, he's like the Armand (if going by the movie version of Interview with the Vampire), which is why EW previously offered Crispin Glover as a possible casting choice.
We've got Sheen, and that's certainly not a bad thing. Nor is it bad that he's getting more work, high-profile at that. But this is a man with a ridiculous amount of talent, and I'd be much happier with the money-maker movies if he got a real chance to shine beyond them, rather than falling into a million supernatural sequels and a supporting part in a teen vamp romance. They're not doing for him what Planet Terror did for Josh Brolin.
Are you a fan of Sheen? If so, what would you like to see him in? Me, I think he's ripe for something from the Coens.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
4-13-2009 @ 4:03PM
CLS said...
I saw Michael Sheen onstage in Amadeus in 1999 and he blew me away. The versatility he displays is unbelievable- slap a pair of glasses on him and he's a nebbish, bulk him up and he's an uber-villian. I hope the industry will wake up and begin to see him as more than Blair, the undead, or Kate Beckinsale's baby daddy.
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4-13-2009 @ 4:23PM
dishesaredone said...
I literally had no idea he was the same guy from the Underworld trilogy. They are craptastic and he is great in them.
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4-14-2009 @ 12:42AM
vegimorph said...
heh, from werewolf to tony blair and david frost to werewolf again. That's the weirdest cycle I've ever seen
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4-20-2009 @ 5:46PM
Pop Culture Curmudgeon said...
I am excited that they cast such a talented actor. All of the other actor will learn from his example, and the resulting movie will be much better because of his presence.
I also find it amusing how actors shuttle back and forth between the work they love (e.g., stage work, Frost/Nixon) and the work that pays the bills (e.g., Underworld).
http://popculturecurmudgeon.wordpress.com
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