Gravitas

[Hemingway Jones]

Gravitas is an elusive quality, admirable in people of a certain bearing, inherent in others, and unobtainable by most. It can be defined as a seriousness of bearing, authoritative in demeanor.

Orson Welles was born with it, Anthony Hopkins and Sean Connery achieved it, yet Tom Cruise for all of his work and fame, will probably never approach it.

Kenneth Branagh seemed to have it and then lose it, and I, for one, hope he discovers it again. Dame Judi Dench has achieved it and wears it as comfortably as an old sweater.

Who do you think has Gravitas? Who do you think has achieved it, lost it, come close?

We restricting this to actors. For an excellent and more general discussion on Gravitas, please see this thread.

Who had the ultimate expression of Gravitas in film?

 

[Feraud]

I think Edward Norton and Colin Farrell could have the hallmarks of gravitas but am unsure if the latter's current choice of film roles reflect it.
Guy Pearce seems to have it. His performances in Memento, Ravenous, L.A. Confidential seem to display this quality.
Johnny Depp has it in interviews but not necessarily on film.

 

[Vladimir Berkov]

Perhaps Kevin Spacey?

 

[RadioHead]

And the contestants are...

I believe

Walter Pidgeon had it.

I think one of his (and my) compatriots, Donald Sutherland

achieved it.

Henry Fonda, maybe?

"RadioHead"

 

[Feraud]

Morgan Freeman!
From con (Shawshank Redemption), cowboy (Unforgiven), Sgt. Major (Glory), to God (Bruce Almighty), Morgan Freeman is a consistently great actor that commands respect and oozes gravitas whenever he is on screen.

 

[scotrace]

James Cagney.

 

[Air Boss]

Have it -

MG James Doolittle
Yul Bryner
Audrey Hepburn
Henry Fonda
Tony Bennet

 

[Feraud]

With regards to classic actors. Fonda and Cagney who were mentioned have it.
Let us not forget Gregory Peck and Gary Cooper.

 

[Hemingway Jones]

Often, it seems, what an actor does that reaches the newspapers ruins their aura of Gravitas. Russel Crowe's seemingly strong silent persona in films like "L.A. Confidential," well on its way to a state of Gravitas; once that telephone was thrown, it became common boorishness.

Is it just me, or does Newman seem to have it, but Redford doesn't?

Al Pacino has it, but DeNiro no longer does?

 

[MrBern]

Leonard Nimoy
And Tim's Earless Evil Monkey.

Brando
GeorgeCScott

 

["Doc" Devereux]

Leonard Nimoy
And Tim's Earless Evil Monkey.

A double-act sure to set the world on fire!

 

[Feraud]

Often, it seems, what an actor does that reaches the newspapers ruins their aura of Gravitas. Russel Crowe's seemingly strong silent persona in films like "L.A. Confidential," well on its way to a state of Gravitas; once that telephone was thrown, it became common boorishness.

Good point about an actor's off screen antics and how it affects their professional perception of gravitas. I tried to base my choices on a balance of both. It can be a tough call.

I enjoy Crowe's films and would probably add his name to the list. I hope the telephone chucking incident is less of his boorishness than an isolated, unfortunate incident.

James Mason gives off a definite sense of gravitas. As I recall watching Lolita, the guy maintains a serious and authoritative presence throughout the film.

 

[Matt Deckard]

It all goes back to this thread.

It's all about it!

May want to combine the two.

http://www.thefedoralounge.com/showthread.php?t=8840

 

[Mr. Rover]

Are we confusing personal lives with what is essentially stage/screen presence? What the heck does Russel Crowe having a temper tantrum have to do with his ability to draw your eye to him on screen?

 

[Hemingway Jones]

It all goes back to this thread.

It's all about it!

May want to combine the two.

http://www.thefedoralounge.com/showthread.php?t=8840

Matt, I knew there was a similar thread, but in this case I am restricting it to actors only, and more specifically, the actors themselves and not their roles, necessarily. An actor may play at authority and not have it. See what I mean?

I love your "It" thread and I am happy to see it revived, but this is a slightly narrower focus.

Though, I feel I have done you an injustice by not referencing your thread, which I am about to remedy.

 

[Hemingway Jones]

Are we confusing personal lives with what is essentially stage/screen presence? What the heck does Russel Crowe having a temper tantrem have to do with his ability to draw your eye to him on screen?

Ghost, my friend, I don't think we're confusing anything. I think the "It" quality is separate from Gravitas. Gravitas is about having a commanding presence. The "It" quality is about have a star quality. Tom Cruise has "it" unmistakeably; he leaps out of the screen. He is a star, but he hasn't an ounce of Gravitas. James Earl Jones has Gravitas.

See what I mean?

If one acts like a buffoon, one loses one's conmmanding presence. Branagh lost his by making bad inaccessible films. Crowe may ahve lost his by tossing a phone.

 

[Mr. Rover]

Ghost, my friend, I don't think we're confusing anything. I think the "It" quality is separate from Gravitas. Gravitas is about having a commanding presence. The "It" quality is about have a star quality. Tom Cruise has "it" unmistakeably; he leaps out of the screen. He is a star, but he hasn't an ounce of Gravitas. James Earl Jones has Gravitas.

See what I mean?

If one acts like a buffoon, one loses one's conmmanding presence. Branagh lost his by making bad inaccessible films. Crowe may ahve lost his by tossing a phone.

Ahh- well that's what I get for not looking up the word in the first place. I merely assumed gravitas was referring to the amount of gravity someone has, as in his or her ability to pull one's gaze. The dictionary has enlightened me. My mistake!

 

[Caledonia]

If I could err slightly to the sycophantic for a moment, there are a few avatars linked to this thread that definitely suggest gravitas.

After that, yes Russell Crow is developing it - Gladiator (don't yeeccch - it's there), Cinderella Man, A Beautiful Mind, The Insider, and a bit less but still present Master and Commander.

Brando, Olivier, Oliver Reed, Richard Harris, Judi Dench, Joan Plowright, Maggie Smith, Bob Hoskins, et al.

 

[Tony in Tarzana]

With some of us it's just plain ol' gravity. lol

 

[MrBern]

Funny, a couple years ago on some comedy radio show, there was a recurring sound byte announcing: GRAVITAS.
Turned out it was Keifer Sutherland being interviewed by James Lipton on InsidetheActor'sStudio. I believe interviewer asked what is his favorite word.