Actor/Character Loyalty . . .

By Lonnie Cruse

I've been DVRing and watching the new Agatha Christie Miss Marple mysteries on PBS and enjoying them. Particularly the scenery. The size of those estate homes in England!!! Whew! In these episodes Miss Marple is played by Julia McKenzie who does a good job. I didn't care for the last set of Marple episodes on PBS, meaning not for the actress who played Marple. (Geraldine Fitzgerald? See, I couldn't even register her name in my brain.)

I have seen on discussion lists a HUGE discussion of who is the best ever Miss Marple. I place myself firmly in the Joan Hickson camp, and I'm not alone. Most Marple fans are loyal to Hickson as the best Marple ever. And WHO but David Suchet could ever play Poirot? I mean, really! He IS Poirot. Bless his heart, he is getting older. But he's still Poirot.

Which brings me to my point. I usually have one somewhere. Loyalty to actors who play certain characters. In the early days of movies, meaning the 1930's, actors often got type cast and were forever after stuck in that role. Take Bela Lugosi, for instance. Played Dracula a few times on stage, once on screen, and the dye was cast. He couldn't even BUY a job anywhere else. And yes, many actors have played Dracula since Lugosi. None hold a candle. Really.

I must admit Tony Shalub transferred/translated well from TAXI to MONK. He, in fact, BECAME Monk for many fans. Changing roles today for most actors is MUCH easier than it was at the dawn of movies/television. And it's kinda fun to see an actor stretch and show his/her range from character to character. Like Harrison Ford from Indiana Jones to President of the United States, with lots of different roles in between and since. And who HASN'T Meryl Streep portrayed???

So, dear reader/movie/TV fan how loyal are you to certain actors/actresses in certain roles? Is it difficult for you to watch someone else play a role, such as Miss Marple, when you loved the first actor in that role? Do you grit your teeth, or can you go with the flow? Let us know! And if you are a Marple fan, check out the latest PBS offerings. Well worth it.