Versatile actress? I don't think so!

There are many occasions where an actress or actor is mistaken for being a versatile type of performer. As we discussed in class, Julia Roberts heads that debated list. Although Roberts is at the top of the Ulmer Scale, which is partly due to her ability "to open a film based solely on her name above the title without the support of a male co-star", she is not a versatile actor in my book (Wikipedis.com). I am not taking anything away from the fact that she is a convincing actress, but I am not convinced that Roberts is as versatile as Charlize Theron, Keira Knightley, Tom Hanks, Sean Penn, or Leonardo Dicaprio. If you take a look at many of Roberts’s films, you’ll see that there is not much depth to the characters that she plays. There is of course the role of Erin Brockovich (Directed by Steven Soderbergh), which Roberts plays a real life character, but I wonder if this role was given to her by Soderbergh because she was the best suited to play the real-life Brockovich due to Roberts own real-life personality. Or did Roberts really have to go through a deep acting metamorphosis to achieve this role? Basically, I believe that the Brockovich role was better suited for Roberts than Roberts having to be the one to "suit up" for that particular role. The most versatile acting that Roberts has done to date in my book is the character that she played in Hook (Directed by Steven Spielberg). Since Roberts is not typically scene as someone who would play Tinkerbell, I believe this that this role is more diverse in character from that she would normally play. Alas, the part of Tinkerbell in Hook was a very small role compared to what she has played in the last 15 years. Julia Roberts has accomplished many film successes in Hollywood for herself, which has help other actresses achieve more equality in a male dominated career, as a movie star. But, Roberts has in no way shape or form demonstrated her acting ability to be anything other than a character actress.

Most versatile role for Roberts:

Character roles for Roberts: