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I’m not talking about small time actors, directors or production studios.
I’m literally talking about the little guys, those actors who are somewhat ‘vertically challenged’.
In recent years there seems to have been a sharp drop in the amount of dwarves on the big screen and I know why....
In a similar idea to my ‘Death of the Action Hero’ post in which I thought that CG was killing of the beefy screen heroes because CG could be used to make any actor super human no matter how weedy they really are. Well, the same thing is happening to our mini screen icons.
With the exception of perhaps Danny DeVito and Gary Coleman, there aren’t too many famous ‘little guys’ that have made it big, and nowadays with technological wizardry in film special effects getting better all the time, the dole queues in Hollywood are now frequented by an army of dwarves more than ever. It’s not a great time to be a diminutive actor.
Many of these pocket-sized people are small time extras that earn their crust through the hard life of being an elf or dwarf in the supporting roles in fantasy films. Lord of the Rings showed us that although the main character was a dwarf or elf or whatever, CG could be used to make a normal sized and more screen friendly actor really small and fit into the part. In the old days smaller actors would have got the parts in LotR.
The fantasy film ‘Willow’ for example has some pig ugly dwarves in the main roles; if that film were made today CG would be used to make better-looking actors smaller so they could fit the role.
Apparently, in Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones, some or most of R2-D2 is now CG, I don’t know that for a fact, but if true then it’s another example of dwarves losing acting jobs. Though I suppose Kenny Baker (R2-D2) doesn’t really need more money nowadays as he’s probably already loaded from the Star Wars royalties and all those appearances at Star Wars conventions where nerds offer him £££ for his autograph.
The Ewoks and Jawas were big roles for smaller actors, but now the Star Wars series has gone on to use Jar Jar Binks as the cute character that will sell many a soft toy.
In Episode 1, the role of Watto would probably have gone to a dwarf had the film been made about 10 years ago.
Some of the best-loved midgets on screen were seen in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. The Oompa Loompas were pretty much portrayed as slave labourers, working their tiny orange butts off milking & sugaring, driving the Wonkatania boat, cleaning golden eggs, producing a never ending line of ‘Ever-Lasting Gob Stoppers’ and singing lots of mocking songs about the weak side of human nature. But we loved ‘em.
I wonder if they made a new Willy Wonka film (there were rumours about Marilyn Manson being Willy Wonka, but hopefully they were false rumours) would the Oompa Loompas be real midgets or would CG be used like it was in LotR to make normal and more recognised actors smaller?
Since ‘The Man with the Golden Gun’, with Nick Nack being a tiny henchman, I don’t think we’ve seen a quirky little baddie like that in a 007 film since.
The 70’s and 80’s were the age of the quirky sitcom; ‘Diff’rent Strokes’ was a classic culture clash comedy in which a widowed Manhattan millionaire adopts two orphaned black brothers from the ghettos of Harlem. Definitely Gary Coleman’s finest hour along with his ‘Scouts Honor’ film. Since those however, the small but loveable Gary has pretty much disappeared into obscurity.
The only safe film role for a dwarf at the present time is that of Mini-Me in the Austin Powers series or in a quirky role on TV programme such as ‘Jackass’. When are we going to see them be a romantic lead in a movie? Or even as the next 007?
In this great age of big budgets and amazing special effects, we often forget about the little people who helped make Hollywood what it is today.
Along with many ‘old skool’ special effects gurus and pioneers who helped lay the foundations of movie effects and have been superseded by young CG designers, the shin kickers and ankle biters of Hollywood have also been forgotten.
Will there be a renaissance of dwarves in Hollywood and not CG phoneys? Only time will tell.
I’m literally talking about the little guys, those actors who are somewhat ‘vertically challenged’.
In recent years there seems to have been a sharp drop in the amount of dwarves on the big screen and I know why....
In a similar idea to my ‘Death of the Action Hero’ post in which I thought that CG was killing of the beefy screen heroes because CG could be used to make any actor super human no matter how weedy they really are. Well, the same thing is happening to our mini screen icons.
With the exception of perhaps Danny DeVito and Gary Coleman, there aren’t too many famous ‘little guys’ that have made it big, and nowadays with technological wizardry in film special effects getting better all the time, the dole queues in Hollywood are now frequented by an army of dwarves more than ever. It’s not a great time to be a diminutive actor.
Many of these pocket-sized people are small time extras that earn their crust through the hard life of being an elf or dwarf in the supporting roles in fantasy films. Lord of the Rings showed us that although the main character was a dwarf or elf or whatever, CG could be used to make a normal sized and more screen friendly actor really small and fit into the part. In the old days smaller actors would have got the parts in LotR.
The fantasy film ‘Willow’ for example has some pig ugly dwarves in the main roles; if that film were made today CG would be used to make better-looking actors smaller so they could fit the role.
Apparently, in Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones, some or most of R2-D2 is now CG, I don’t know that for a fact, but if true then it’s another example of dwarves losing acting jobs. Though I suppose Kenny Baker (R2-D2) doesn’t really need more money nowadays as he’s probably already loaded from the Star Wars royalties and all those appearances at Star Wars conventions where nerds offer him £££ for his autograph.
The Ewoks and Jawas were big roles for smaller actors, but now the Star Wars series has gone on to use Jar Jar Binks as the cute character that will sell many a soft toy.
In Episode 1, the role of Watto would probably have gone to a dwarf had the film been made about 10 years ago.
Some of the best-loved midgets on screen were seen in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. The Oompa Loompas were pretty much portrayed as slave labourers, working their tiny orange butts off milking & sugaring, driving the Wonkatania boat, cleaning golden eggs, producing a never ending line of ‘Ever-Lasting Gob Stoppers’ and singing lots of mocking songs about the weak side of human nature. But we loved ‘em.
I wonder if they made a new Willy Wonka film (there were rumours about Marilyn Manson being Willy Wonka, but hopefully they were false rumours) would the Oompa Loompas be real midgets or would CG be used like it was in LotR to make normal and more recognised actors smaller?
Since ‘The Man with the Golden Gun’, with Nick Nack being a tiny henchman, I don’t think we’ve seen a quirky little baddie like that in a 007 film since.
The 70’s and 80’s were the age of the quirky sitcom; ‘Diff’rent Strokes’ was a classic culture clash comedy in which a widowed Manhattan millionaire adopts two orphaned black brothers from the ghettos of Harlem. Definitely Gary Coleman’s finest hour along with his ‘Scouts Honor’ film. Since those however, the small but loveable Gary has pretty much disappeared into obscurity.
The only safe film role for a dwarf at the present time is that of Mini-Me in the Austin Powers series or in a quirky role on TV programme such as ‘Jackass’. When are we going to see them be a romantic lead in a movie? Or even as the next 007?
In this great age of big budgets and amazing special effects, we often forget about the little people who helped make Hollywood what it is today.
Along with many ‘old skool’ special effects gurus and pioneers who helped lay the foundations of movie effects and have been superseded by young CG designers, the shin kickers and ankle biters of Hollywood have also been forgotten.
Will there be a renaissance of dwarves in Hollywood and not CG phoneys? Only time will tell.
We hired midgets for one of our gigs, and he was a Jawa, an Ewok and one of the Time Bandits.
He was cool, but got drunk and started to menace people.
Drunk midgets are unnerving in the extreme.
He was cool, but got drunk and started to menace people.
Drunk midgets are unnerving in the extreme.
I loved them because they were right!
We can learn to be better people if we listen to the Oompa Loompas songs about greed and watching too much tv etc.
We can learn to be better people if we listen to the Oompa Loompas songs about greed and watching too much tv etc.
Totoro wrote:
>singing lots of mocking songs about the weak side of human nature. But we loved ‘em.
No I didn't. Damn them, and their moralising through song, that's the worst way.
Nice post by the way.
>singing lots of mocking songs about the weak side of human nature. But we loved ‘em.
No I didn't. Damn them, and their moralising through song, that's the worst way.
Nice post by the way.
I’m not talking about small time actors, directors or production studios.
I’m literally talking about the little guys, those actors who are somewhat ‘vertically challenged’.
In recent years there seems to have been a sharp drop in the amount of dwarves on the big screen and I know why....
In a similar idea to my ‘Death of the Action Hero’ post in which I thought that CG was killing of the beefy screen heroes because CG could be used to make any actor super human no matter how weedy they really are. Well, the same thing is happening to our mini screen icons.
With the exception of perhaps Danny DeVito and Gary Coleman, there aren’t too many famous ‘little guys’ that have made it big, and nowadays with technological wizardry in film special effects getting better all the time, the dole queues in Hollywood are now frequented by an army of dwarves more than ever. It’s not a great time to be a diminutive actor.
Many of these pocket-sized people are small time extras that earn their crust through the hard life of being an elf or dwarf in the supporting roles in fantasy films. Lord of the Rings showed us that although the main character was a dwarf or elf or whatever, CG could be used to make a normal sized and more screen friendly actor really small and fit into the part. In the old days smaller actors would have got the parts in LotR.
The fantasy film ‘Willow’ for example has some pig ugly dwarves in the main roles; if that film were made today CG would be used to make better-looking actors smaller so they could fit the role.
Apparently, in Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones, some or most of R2-D2 is now CG, I don’t know that for a fact, but if true then it’s another example of dwarves losing acting jobs. Though I suppose Kenny Baker (R2-D2) doesn’t really need more money nowadays as he’s probably already loaded from the Star Wars royalties and all those appearances at Star Wars conventions where nerds offer him £££ for his autograph.
The Ewoks and Jawas were big roles for smaller actors, but now the Star Wars series has gone on to use Jar Jar Binks as the cute character that will sell many a soft toy.
In Episode 1, the role of Watto would probably have gone to a dwarf had the film been made about 10 years ago.
Some of the best-loved midgets on screen were seen in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. The Oompa Loompas were pretty much portrayed as slave labourers, working their tiny orange butts off milking & sugaring, driving the Wonkatania boat, cleaning golden eggs, producing a never ending line of ‘Ever-Lasting Gob Stoppers’ and singing lots of mocking songs about the weak side of human nature. But we loved ‘em.
I wonder if they made a new Willy Wonka film (there were rumours about Marilyn Manson being Willy Wonka, but hopefully they were false rumours) would the Oompa Loompas be real midgets or would CG be used like it was in LotR to make normal and more recognised actors smaller?
Since ‘The Man with the Golden Gun’, with Nick Nack being a tiny henchman, I don’t think we’ve seen a quirky little baddie like that in a 007 film since.
The 70’s and 80’s were the age of the quirky sitcom; ‘Diff’rent Strokes’ was a classic culture clash comedy in which a widowed Manhattan millionaire adopts two orphaned black brothers from the ghettos of Harlem. Definitely Gary Coleman’s finest hour along with his ‘Scouts Honor’ film. Since those however, the small but loveable Gary has pretty much disappeared into obscurity.
The only safe film role for a dwarf at the present time is that of Mini-Me in the Austin Powers series or in a quirky role on TV programme such as ‘Jackass’. When are we going to see them be a romantic lead in a movie? Or even as the next 007?
In this great age of big budgets and amazing special effects, we often forget about the little people who helped make Hollywood what it is today.
Along with many ‘old skool’ special effects gurus and pioneers who helped lay the foundations of movie effects and have been superseded by young CG designers, the shin kickers and ankle biters of Hollywood have also been forgotten.
Will there be a renaissance of dwarves in Hollywood and not CG phoneys? Only time will tell.
I’m literally talking about the little guys, those actors who are somewhat ‘vertically challenged’.
In recent years there seems to have been a sharp drop in the amount of dwarves on the big screen and I know why....
In a similar idea to my ‘Death of the Action Hero’ post in which I thought that CG was killing of the beefy screen heroes because CG could be used to make any actor super human no matter how weedy they really are. Well, the same thing is happening to our mini screen icons.
With the exception of perhaps Danny DeVito and Gary Coleman, there aren’t too many famous ‘little guys’ that have made it big, and nowadays with technological wizardry in film special effects getting better all the time, the dole queues in Hollywood are now frequented by an army of dwarves more than ever. It’s not a great time to be a diminutive actor.
Many of these pocket-sized people are small time extras that earn their crust through the hard life of being an elf or dwarf in the supporting roles in fantasy films. Lord of the Rings showed us that although the main character was a dwarf or elf or whatever, CG could be used to make a normal sized and more screen friendly actor really small and fit into the part. In the old days smaller actors would have got the parts in LotR.
The fantasy film ‘Willow’ for example has some pig ugly dwarves in the main roles; if that film were made today CG would be used to make better-looking actors smaller so they could fit the role.
Apparently, in Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones, some or most of R2-D2 is now CG, I don’t know that for a fact, but if true then it’s another example of dwarves losing acting jobs. Though I suppose Kenny Baker (R2-D2) doesn’t really need more money nowadays as he’s probably already loaded from the Star Wars royalties and all those appearances at Star Wars conventions where nerds offer him £££ for his autograph.
The Ewoks and Jawas were big roles for smaller actors, but now the Star Wars series has gone on to use Jar Jar Binks as the cute character that will sell many a soft toy.
In Episode 1, the role of Watto would probably have gone to a dwarf had the film been made about 10 years ago.
Some of the best-loved midgets on screen were seen in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. The Oompa Loompas were pretty much portrayed as slave labourers, working their tiny orange butts off milking & sugaring, driving the Wonkatania boat, cleaning golden eggs, producing a never ending line of ‘Ever-Lasting Gob Stoppers’ and singing lots of mocking songs about the weak side of human nature. But we loved ‘em.
I wonder if they made a new Willy Wonka film (there were rumours about Marilyn Manson being Willy Wonka, but hopefully they were false rumours) would the Oompa Loompas be real midgets or would CG be used like it was in LotR to make normal and more recognised actors smaller?
Since ‘The Man with the Golden Gun’, with Nick Nack being a tiny henchman, I don’t think we’ve seen a quirky little baddie like that in a 007 film since.
The 70’s and 80’s were the age of the quirky sitcom; ‘Diff’rent Strokes’ was a classic culture clash comedy in which a widowed Manhattan millionaire adopts two orphaned black brothers from the ghettos of Harlem. Definitely Gary Coleman’s finest hour along with his ‘Scouts Honor’ film. Since those however, the small but loveable Gary has pretty much disappeared into obscurity.
The only safe film role for a dwarf at the present time is that of Mini-Me in the Austin Powers series or in a quirky role on TV programme such as ‘Jackass’. When are we going to see them be a romantic lead in a movie? Or even as the next 007?
In this great age of big budgets and amazing special effects, we often forget about the little people who helped make Hollywood what it is today.
Along with many ‘old skool’ special effects gurus and pioneers who helped lay the foundations of movie effects and have been superseded by young CG designers, the shin kickers and ankle biters of Hollywood have also been forgotten.
Will there be a renaissance of dwarves in Hollywood and not CG phoneys? Only time will tell.