I am with miss_porcupine here, which I realize may not be the world's most popular opinion. JF may just put a lot of himself into all of his characters. That works really well for me, because I apparently really like him, because I love every character I've ever seen him play. I've watched several of his other shows/guest spots, and I always find myself thinking "Okay, Sheppard as an ad exec; Sheppard as a geeky grad student; Sheppard as an abusive asshole." I think maybe this is because Sheppard is just the perfect part for JF to play, allowing him to be charming, smart, goofy, and a little scary. I also think it's the best part he's ever been given, which helps.
I love the way JF plays Sheppard; I think it is subtle and can be very nuanced. I also think it's possible to be a good actor and not have an enormous range. DH (who I also love desperately and also find to be a very good actor) is a *character* actor, IMHO (see: very wide range and scenery-chewing propensities). He will always be more successful when he's not playing the lead, or when he's playing some kind of very wacky lead. I'm no expert (seriously), but in my mind, there are lead actors and character actors. Some truly great actors can do both; most fall into one camp or another. JF = lead. DH = character. And that's perfect, because they're both really good at what they do.
Also, I think the key to both JF and DH's portrayals of their characters on SGA is their interactions with each other. I rarely like them as much separately as I do together.
Basically, I think a lot of the opinions that people hold about DH and JF's acting aren't mutually exclusive. I think JF has a limited range, but is great within that range and portrays a strong, interesting, and against-type lead. I think DH chews scenery like it's going out of style, but that's his job as the character actor on the show, and as a character actor in general.
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I love the way JF plays Sheppard; I think it is subtle and can be very nuanced. I also think it's possible to be a good actor and not have an enormous range. DH (who I also love desperately and also find to be a very good actor) is a *character* actor, IMHO (see: very wide range and scenery-chewing propensities). He will always be more successful when he's not playing the lead, or when he's playing some kind of very wacky lead. I'm no expert (seriously), but in my mind, there are lead actors and character actors. Some truly great actors can do both; most fall into one camp or another. JF = lead. DH = character. And that's perfect, because they're both really good at what they do.
Also, I think the key to both JF and DH's portrayals of their characters on SGA is their interactions with each other. I rarely like them as much separately as I do together.
Basically, I think a lot of the opinions that people hold about DH and JF's acting aren't mutually exclusive. I think JF has a limited range, but is great within that range and portrays a strong, interesting, and against-type lead. I think DH chews scenery like it's going out of style, but that's his job as the character actor on the show, and as a character actor in general.