Caesar CXXXVII Posted December 10, 2008 Report Share Posted December 10, 2008 (edited) The best "Nero" that I have seen . http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MWwX9Bw4Ruo Edited December 10, 2008 by Caesar CXXXVII Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
votadini Posted December 10, 2008 Report Share Posted December 10, 2008 The best "Nero" that I have seen . He certainly took the dangerously insane angle in the portrayal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Augusta Posted December 12, 2008 Report Share Posted December 12, 2008 (edited) Michael Sheen is undoubtedly a decent technical actor (his portrayal of 'Carry On' legend Kenneth Williams was almost perfect) but he has an unfortunate tendency to overact at times. I'm afraid I loathed his Nero, and I think I said so at the time on another thread. One will have to see how he develops, but at the moment he needs to purge off his 'stagey' taint. Rather like Olivier, he is a perfect advert for the 'all-technique-and-no-feeling' type of performer that we Brits have unfortunately inflicted on the world in the past. He is better in live stage performances than on screen, in my opinion (as was Olivier), but having said that, he did a decent job with Tony Blair in 'The Queen'. But this is one of his problems. His best roles have always been impersonations of famous characters - and there is an inherent danger in that sort of typecasting. As for the Nero - sorry, but he almost spilled over into caricature here and there and alas fell into the stereotypical 'I am playing an insane megalomaniac' mindset that has marred many a portrayal of this complex Emperor in my view. And I can't resist adding - HE ISN'T BLOND!! Nero was blond. Suetonius even tells us he was BLOND! Grrrhhhh! Is it too difficult to throw a wig on an actor, or give him a rinse? Gods - they even managed that with Colin Farrell.... So - sorry, Caesar - a miss with me, I'm afraid. And I watched the whole sorry mess when it was originally screened, not just the You Tube extract. In fact - I have yet to see a Nero I could believe in, let alone a definitive portrayal of the man. Edited December 12, 2008 by The Augusta Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DecimusCaesar Posted December 12, 2008 Report Share Posted December 12, 2008 As for the Nero - sorry, but he almost spilled over into caricature here and there and alas fell into the stereotypical 'I am playing an insane megalomaniac' mindset that has marred many a portrayal of this complex Emperor in my view. That's especially true of the portrayls of Caligula in TV and film. One of the best performances was Ralph Bates in 1968's 'The Caesars'. His portrayl was both chilling and rather mad without being camp. Michael Sheen's performance in this isn't too bad, but then, this episode wasn't very accurate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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