At the age of 83, character actor Ned Beatty passed away on Sunday. He was cast as supporting characters, such as best friends and background characters, due to his lack of star power and appearance as an everyday guy;
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Nine Ned Beatty Movies and Shows to Stream
He also represented government employees and bureaucrats. He starred in 165 movies and TV episodes until retiring peacefully in 2013, and he was always on time.
Some of these ventures were excellent, while others were not, but Beatty always shone. Here are a few of his standout performances, along with the locations where you may watch them.
1972 ‘Deliverance’
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Beatty made his acting debut in John Boorman’s adaptation of James Dickey’s novel of the same name. Beatty plays one of the four Atlanta businessmen on the camping trip as someone who is entirely out of place among his outdoor-loving friends, to excellent effect.
A bunch of outsiders who deliberately harass and abuse tourists to their town rape him at gunpoint, adding to his humiliation. One of the most upsetting scenes of its era is this one. Beatty rose to the occasion, rendering the character’s extreme suffering and sorrow with gruesome reality in this challenging role.
Robert Altman’s critically acclaimed mosaic of America soon before the Bicentennial portrayed a rich and diverse terrain with a star-studded 24 cast members, including some country music icons. Beatty retreats rather than engage in combat.
Beatty doesn’t fear underplaying, speaking quietly and using his (limited) authority only when required, as he has done in many of his best performances. He portrays a power broker named Del Reese who is a lawyer for a Nashville star and an organiser for a fringe presidential candidate. Every second counts to him. In a brief scene with his wife and kids, we learn all we need to know about how much he has prioritised his career over his family.
1976 “All the President’s Men” movie review
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In order to dramatise how Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein broke the story of the Watergate burglary and subsequent cover-up, director Alan J. Pakula and screenwriter William Goldman had to juggle a bewildering number of names, faces, and relationships.
For several of these roles, Beatty was a wise choice because of his ability to make an impression in even the briefest of appearances.
Martin Dardis, a state attorney’s office investigator in Florida, works with Bernstein to connect a Watergate thief to the Committee to Re-Elect the President. In this instance, Beatty portrays Bernstein as an annoyance and an intruder rather than a fellow truth-seeker or a whistleblower.
Beatty had a reputation for being a teddy bear with a friendly demeanour for years, but some of his most intriguing performances have turned things around. A prime example of his style of work is Elaine May’s crime drama/character study, in which Peter Falk and John Cassavetes are both excellent.
It’s difficult to claim that Beatty is not up to the challenge of portraying a hitman who is hot on Cassavetes’ heels.
However, Beatty gives the character a subtly authoritative and frightened aspect, dramatically raising the stakes of the hunt (to the film’s great benefit).
We’ll be talking about hope in a transformed city with theatre reporter Michael Paulson and performer Lin-Manuel Miranda. The theatre industry’s closure for a whole year has been documented in the “Offstage” series. Now, we’re assessing how well it has healed.
1976 ‘Network’
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1976 also saw the debut of “The Big Bus,” a biting media satire by Sidney Lumet and Paddy Chayefsky, along with “All the President’s Men,” “Mikey and Nicky,” “Silver Streak,” and “Gator.”
Beatty received his lone Oscar nomination for this performance. Only one scene features Arthur Jensen, the CEO of the media business that owns the central television network of the story. It sounds less and less like satire with each passing year.
1980 ‘Hopscotch’
You may see the movie online on the Criterion Channel. You may rent or buy movies and TV shows on Amazon and Apple.
Although Beatty didn’t portray many villains, he didn’t hold back when he was given the chance.
He employs deft vulgarity and wormy authoritarianism, and worst of all, he makes Miles Kendig, played by Walter Matthau, his enemy. For the remainder of the film, Kendig use his spy skills to degrade Myerson’s former boss.
As a result, it is really enjoyable to see Myerson receive his due in Beatty’s Myerson. To Beatty’s credit, none of his residual goodwill interferes with the film or our desire to support Kendig, the protagonist, in any way.
1989-94 ‘Roseanne’
Amazon Prime Video and Peacock both provide streaming options.
Like many of his contemporaries, Beatty transitioned to television in his latter years, appearing for two seasons in “Homicide: Life on the Street” and earning an Emmy nomination for his performance in the television film
“Last Train Home.” His most well-known television performance was as Ed Conner, the father of John Goodman’s Dan Conner on the programme “Roseanne,” in which he had a few recurrent parts.
This casting was almost like a handing of the baton because Goodman would go on to establish a style of passionate (but underappreciated) character acting in the years to come.
1993 ‘Rudy’
There are videos available on Amazon Prime Video.
In the hands of a less accomplished actor, Daniel Ruettiger (Beatty), who plays Rudy Ruettiger’s (Sean Astin) father, can be perceived as obstructionist or even nasty.
That doesn’t mean Beatty doesn’t have the right intentions, though; he just doesn’t want to see his son suffer any damage (emotionally or physically).
No one, however, applauds Rudy’s adored father with more fervour when he succeeds in a modest win. The final emotional punch of “Rudy” was helped along by Beatty, earning it the title of “ultimate sports weepie.”
2010 “Toy Story 3”
You can watch movies and TV series on Disney+.
One of Beatty’s final roles, even if it was a voice-only performance in a Pixar sequel, was one of his most difficult roles to master.
As Lotso, the adorable teddy bear that welcomes the Sunnyside Daycare toys with open arms, Warren Beatty initially exudes warmth and friendliness, but it soon becomes clear that this is just a front for the bitter, merciless vindictiveness that lies at the character’s core.
Last Words
It serves as a reminder of Beatty’s talent for giving each character complexity and nuance, even late in his career and inside a family enterprise. Thanks for readingh our article Nine Ned Beatty Movies and Shows to Stream.
