By Will Talbot, Second year, Theoretical Physics
The Hollywood star-making machinery is an opaque and mysterious beast. For the majority of us, our only window into that world is through the silver screen itself, or through the self-congratulatory award shows and press tours seen via our phones and televisions. The inner workings remain largely unknown and so we can merely speculate as to why some actors and actresses are lauded with trophies and thrusted relentlessly into our faces, while others, with seemingly equal talent, fade into obscurity. In the latter case, the actress who most immediately comes to mind is Sheryl Lee, most famously known for playing Laura Palmer in David Lynch’s Twin Peaks.
Laura Palmer is an iconic character in television history. The image of her as homecoming queen, all smiles with her tiara adorned updo, is burned permanently into pop culture history. As is the image of her washed ashore dead on the beach: ‘dead wrapped in plastic’, as was famously said in the pilot episode.
In the original two seasons of Twin Peaks, Lee also portrayed Maddy- Laura Palmer’s cousin and doppelgänger. Yet within the popular mind, she remained simply an image: the visage of a dead girl. Lynch, however, wasn’t content to leave Laura Palmer’s story there. The prequel film to the series, Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me (1992), portrays the final seven days in the life of Laura Palmer.
In this film Lee gives a performance that has been described as ‘operatic’ and ‘soul-tearing’. Her portrayal of a teenage girl experiencing the most horrific circumstances, circumstances that would eventually lead to her death, fully lives up to those descriptions. However, despite this acclaim the name Sheryl Lee remains virtually unknown to all those but the most dedicated fans of Twin Peaks.
This may be partly because Fire Walk With Me was originally panned by critics upon release and was only retrospectively acclaimed in the decades that followed. Similarly, Lee’s performance did not receive any major accolades at the time and so has been rendered largely absent from the annals of film history. Since then, Lee has worked only sporadically, however anyone who has bared witness to the sheer brilliance and virtuosity of her performance in Fire Walk With Me will agree that Sheryl Lee deserved to become one of the major actresses of her generation.
On the other hand, certain performers seem to achieve this status for less obvious reasons. Perhaps rather controversially, I would suggest that Adam Driver fits this bill. While he undoubtedly possesses talent, Hollywood seems hellbent on casting Driver as todays leading man, a role which I would argue he simply doesn't fit.
I must confess to having an instinctual dislike for Adam Driver which does colour my opinion of him. However, many people seem to feel exactly the same, which is surely not a desirable quality for a leading man.
Take Tom Hanks, for example. Whether or not you are his biggest fan, he is undoubtedly likeable and so we want to keep watching him. I have the opposite experience with Adam Driver. Even in otherwise brilliant films- for example, Marriage Story (2019), I cannot help but feel as though Driver is… out of place.
His acting lacks the naturalistic quality which I think is essential for screen acting. He never seems to possess his roles, and so it feels as though you can see the wheels turning behind his eyes as he trundles his way through the script. It’s as though he is doing an impression of a great actor whilst never quite managing to be one himself.
Perhaps I am in the minority by feeling this way though- Hollywood continues to shower him with roles and accolades. Why? I’ll never know.
Featured Image: IMDb
What actors/actresses do you believe are overrated/underrated?
