...James Woods, who I celebrated here a few days ago. But he is very much an out-and-proud Republican. Apart from his Walk of Fame star, he has received several prestigious awards from the military for his years of work on behalf of veterans: he doesn't just turn up for the occasional photo-op with troops - as the American say, he works his ass off for those who've served their country. Sounds like a good man. And a brave one - I think we can safely assume that any American actor willing to declare their conservatism in modern Hollywood has guts.
You may remember Sinise from roles in big movies like Forrest Gump, Apollo 13, and The Green Mile, or from his years as Detective Mac Taylor on the TV series, CSI: New York. For me, his most memorable role was in Ransom (1996), where he played the spectacularly twisted New York police detective, Jimmy Shaker, who kidnaps and demands a ransom for airline magnate Mel Gibson's son in Ron Howard's remake of a 1956 film noir classic. Ransom is one of the most right-wing/libertarian "man's gotta do" American films since Hollywood went full nutsoid-liberal in the '70s - Mel Gibson's arline boss ignores the authorities, his friends, and his wife, and, instead of paying the ransom to the kidnappers, offers the full amount to the person who provides information leading to the kidnapper's arrest. Sinise - and Gibson - are both superb:
I have not seen the 1996 version of "Ransom" because I very much enjoyed the original version [1956] with Glenn Ford and Leslie Nielsen [spelt "Ransom!"]. It was Nielsen's first film and given what we know of this actor since his debut I kept imagining him wandering about with his hand-held fart machine bugging the hell out of the staid Ford. Have ordered the Sinise version from LoveFilm so thanks for the tip. As you say, he is a fine actor.
ReplyDeleteAs Rickey Gervaise said at the end of a recent Golden Globe ceremony "And from Mel Gibson and myself - Shalom!"