Follow-up to "Being typecast"

Didn't expect to receive as many comments as I did on my last post. Addressing them in order...
- Abe - I think Jim Carrey has the talent to be a good dramatic actor... the thing is that he has been such a hit in physical comedy that I get the sense that he has to fight a lot of inertia career-wise since that's all the general public expects of him.
- Rich - Robin Williams is another two-successful-genre actor - comedy and drama ("Good Will Hunting").
- Spoon/Andrew - I know Nicolas Cage did "Family Man," but it wasn't popular enough to really establish him as a viable comedic actor... plus it got horrible reviews. I never saw Adaptation, but apparently it was another excellent movie that nobody saw, which unfortunately holds him back from breaking out of his typecast.
- Gina/Karen - I think women tend to have to choose roles within comedy or drama in order to really stretch themselves - some are typecast into being the "sweet" one (Meg Ryan) or a very serious one (say, Jodie Foster). There are a few that have done different roles ranging from nice girl to b!tch (for lack of a nicer term) roles. Charlize Theron is a good example. Julia Roberts seems to be defined by her comedic roles and her Oscar-winning turn as Erin Brockovich.
- Karen - I'm defining "success" in the sense that the big-name actor or actress performed well enough in a role so as to make the impression upon an audience that they can do that type of acting well. Even though "What Women Want" wasn't a great movie overall, it was seen by enough people, and Gibson's performance was good enough, that people can see him as a comedic actor if he wants to take on that role.
- Andrew - I think the reasons why actors and actresses feel the desire to become more versatile or to try new roles is probably similar to what us non-celebrities feel when we hit a mid-life crisis. "Is this really all that I'm good at? Do I have any hidden talents? Maybe I can do this well!" Particularly with those who consider themselves "purists" with regards to acting, I suspect they feel that a well-rounded practitioner of their profession would have experience with all types of performing art. If you recall, in the past few years there has been a steady number of relatively well-known actors and actresses who took a year or two off from Hollywood to do Broadway. I heard somewhere that many thespians consider the stage to be the "last true acting," since movies and TV depend so much on the director's vision. So, it's not too surprising that Hugh Jackman is currently starring in a play, or Kevin Spacey is performing in London, or Nicole Kidman/Catherine Zeta-Jones/Renee Zellweger sing their own songs in musicals - being stretched is "more pure" than just cashing a check with your latest blockbuster movie.
- Cal - Yeah, Theron is pretty attractive, but for my money, you still can't touch Zeta-Jones in "The Mask of Zorro." Yowza.

On a somewhat related note, check out this post from the "Lord of the Rings" message board about which actors auditioned for parts in the 3-part trilogy. While I think they caught lightning in a bottle with the cast they assembled, it's fun to consider the other possibilities. I could have seen Sean Connery or Patrick Stewart as Gandalf, Russell Crowe as Boromir and Sean Bean as Aragorn. I'm also immeasurably relieved that Vin Diesel and Keanu Reeves didn't get to play Aragorn.

Went to see Lebron and co. at the Coliseum Arena on Saturday night, and boy is he the real deal. He's probably the best player I've ever seen live. Makes the game look so easy. He ended up with a triple double, even though it was kind of a cheap one with an uncontested assist to Zydrunas cinching it for him in the last 15 seconds.

I need to get new glasses. I've been wearing this pair at least since the beginning of college or so, and nowadays I wear glasses probably 80% of the time (contacts on the weekend since I'm more active). Debating what type of frame to get - brand, color, features, shape, whether to get the lenses that automatically tint or not... any suggestions?

Shared my high school and college experience/testimony with the youth group last Friday, and in the process of preparing I had to go back through old yearbooks, photo albums and journals to revisit who I was back then. I am a very different person than I was, and it was actually kind of depressing looking back at old messages and such. In short, I went only one layer deep. I think I'll detail this in another post.

Been in something of a dry spell spiritually lately. I can't stay like this.