What was Alec Guiness's Problem w/ Star Wars?

I was just wondering if anyone could tell me what exactly was Sir Alec's problem w/ the Star Wars Saga? And if possible what was Liam Neesons apparent problem. Thanks much.

 

I believe he was upset that everyone loved him for working on Star Wars, but never thought of his other work, or something like that.


As for Liam Neeson, he just disliked AOTC's lack of emotion and it being full of special effects. He loved TPM, but I'm not sure what he thinks of ROTS.

 

I'm not sure about Liam Neeson; i think he felt AOTC was too cartoony.

Now Alec Guiness..I beleive his problem was that he was a very well and accomplished actor (and that is no doubt true); but after going through a bit of a dry spell in his career SW came to his front door and He became so identified with that role; that most people forgot his older work (lawrence of arabia, bridge of river kwai, spy who came in from the cold etc.) and he was a great actor no doubt. But he turned into a bitter old man because of it. Especially the new generation of kids; who didn't even know who he was before SW came out. I can't really blame him.


Now having said that. i put my own slant on it. I think this is very dissapointing. He was a great actor and deserved all the accolades he got; but to turn his back on fans is absurd. A whole new generation got to know him and the role put him back on the map (academy award nomination?) and he just kinda dismissed it after jedi. Most people would love to be remembered this way and he scoffed at it.

 

Reading some excerpts from an unauthorized biography, one time Sir Alec was approached by a young boy and his mother asking for an autograph but Sir Alec refused to sign anything until the boy promised that he NEVER WATCH STAR WARS again. Naturally the boy cried and the mother told Alec that that was a "terrible thing to say". It just seems that he was TOO bitter that their's got to be more to it than his anger of being type-cast.

 

It happens to many older actors when they make a hit movie to a new generation of fans.

Alec Guinness: Won an Academy Award in one of the greatest movies ever "The Bridge over the River Kwai" and he is remembered by anyone 30 years and younger as Ben Kenobi!

Ray Walston: Was on the hit show "My Favorite Martian" and a very good broadway actor, and he is known to us as Mr. Hand in Fast Times at Ridgemont High!

Paul Newman: Great actor, my friends know him as the player-hockey coach in the classic comedy Slap Shot!

I just think they get mad because one great movie can make such an impression on people, they are in a sense type-cast as that one role, and unfortunately it usually isn't their best.

 

Getting angry and bitter about it is within his rights.
People shouldn't be bothering the man for autographs all the time anyway--that right there is cause enough to get bitter. Let the man have peace, let him be. Or even if you approach him, compliment him and be on your way.

For example, this summer I saw Tim Burton in London. I walked over and politely asked if he was Tim Burton. He replied in the affirmative, I told him how much I loved his films and that was about it. He wished me a good vacation. I didn't run to him with a piece of paper begging for his name. I took up a minute of his time, was polite and was on my way.

To bother an old man like Alec is just sort of rude. He has a right to be bitter, he was a very accomplished actor. Very good in Dr. Zhivago by the way.

-Seldon

 

He was just upset that it had overshadowed his previous films. Ironically, he was one of the few that really believed in the film as it was being made.

 

I think Sir Alec eventually made peace with his Star Wars fame - Has anyone seen Mute Witness...?

 

Didn't Lucas intend to begin the prequels w/ a voice over by Sir Alec but changed his mind when his health began to fail?

 

I've never heard that one before.

 

I remember hearing about it on televsion in the years leading up to filming of the TPM. Apparently Lucas wanted to go for a more flashback approach similar to "The Godfather: Part II" but instead opted to go for the more classic OT approach.

 

Reading some excerpts from an unauthorized biography, one time Sir Alec was approached by a young boy and his mother asking for an autograph but Sir Alec refused to sign anything until the boy promised that he NEVER WATCH STAR WARS again. Naturally the boy cried and the mother told Alec that that was a "terrible thing to say".

Interesting, if you check the IMDB trivia on him they have this instead,

"Reportedly answered one "Star Wars" fan's boast that he'd seen the first movie over a hundred times, with a nod and the words "Promise me you'll never watch it again." The boy was stunned, but his mother thanked Guinness."

Personally I find that much more believeable. I just can't believe someone like Alec Guiness, who according to everyone who's worked with him i've heard has said that he was a very nice patient man. It just doesn't seem like him to go so far as to upset a young child like the former excerpt implies. I can totally see him doing the later though, it's actually kind of funny.

 

It is completely inappropriate for Liam Neeson to criticize Attack of the Clones for a "lack of emotion" given his wooden performance in Phantom Menace. I don't think I've seen any worse acting than his "there's always a bigger fish" line. Qui-Gon Jinn was certainly a cool character, but Neeson's ho-hum acting put a damper on Episode I. Qui-Gon could have been a much more interesting and appealing character. Instead, Neeson made Qui-Gon very bland.

 

I for one found Qui-Gon to be the most interesting character in TPM...

He also said it was hard to express any emotion in TPM because of Lucas, and that he had to fight to put his hand on Shmi's shoulder.

 

I actually find Liam Neeson's performance in TPM to be quite good as he came off to be very natural in his delivery; Especially when compared to Natalie Portman, Jake Lloyd and Ewan McGreggor's performances in EP 1 (though thankfully Ewan got better throughout the trilogy)

 

I found everyone in TPM to be great, but AOTC... ehh...


But, anyways, is this all the reasons we got? That's it?

 

There's got to be more to it than, Sir Alec being bitter for becoming typecast and Liam's disappointment of AOTC. Anyone happen to read an Alec Guiness Bio that can shed some light?

 

Maybe it is just me, but Liam carried TPM.

-Seldon

 

I agree with Seldon.

 

I thought Liam Neeson was incredible. He was, to TPM, what Alec Guiness was to ANH. Jake Loyd was bad, Natlie was ok, at the time I disliked Ewan(although now I realize that he was a different person in that film than he later becomes, so he was good), but Liam was the heart of the film.
I don't understand how people can consider his performance to be wooden! He was able to show so many small little subtle emotions despite having a jedi's emotional mask on that it was just incredible. He became my favorite character in the saga overnight because of how he was able to humanize the Jedi in a way none of the others did! I loved Alec Guiness in ANH, but I think Liam did him one up.
It's strange because in a way, Qui-gon is the original Ben Kenobi, because as Obi-wan gets older and wiser he just becomes more and more like his old master!

 

I agree with Seldon. Liam is the man.

 

Alec Guiness is dead right. Im pretty sure he is I read about it years ago but im not sure if what I was reading was correct. If he is R.I.P

 

Yes. He passed away in 2000.

 

Yea im pretty sure he past away a while ago just wanted to check, cause I never remember hearing anything about it. And probably because I just started liking SW later that year when I was 10 years old

 

"I for one found Qui-Gon to be the most interesting character in TPM...

He also said it was hard to express any emotion in TPM because of Lucas, and that he had to fight to put his hand on Shmi's shoulder."

Mabye he liked Shimi. No, just kidding.

That's interesting, I wonder why GL would not want Qui-gon to have emotion, after all he stumbled onto the choosen one.