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David Janssen didn't need to play a leading man to be happy as an actor
"I believe any part is worth playing if it makes a contribution," said the actor.
For an actor, waiting for the next big role to come around is a tedious task, at best. Every performer hopes that their next character will be the one to catapult them into superstardom, to television's stratosphere. It's fantastical thinking, but it does nothing to improve an actor in the present day. Waiting for the perfect part to fall into your lap doesn't teach you a thing about performing; if anything, it makes an actor stagnant, unable to change when things don't go their way.
David Janssen was an incredibly adaptable actor, and it was that very trait that led to his success in television. Although he had starred in series like Harry O and The Fugitive, Janssen understood that there were no small parts, only small actors.
"I haven't worried much about where my next job was coming from," said Janssen, according to an article in The San Francisco Examiner. "I've always felt qualified to play any part in a script. I can understand the anxiety of actors who think that not getting top billing is the end of their careers but, like the English, I believe any part is worth playing if it makes a contribution. Billing isn't important."
Janssen knew that it wouldn't serve him well to get caught up in the mechanics of a film or series. Instead, the actor focused on making sure that he was performing to the best of his abilities, no matter what role he was playing.
"Some leading men think it's a step down if they don't get the girl at the end of the picture," said Janssen. "That's never made the slightest difference to me. I just try to be an asset rather than a liability in a picture."
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4 Comments
Harry O experts consider the first half of season one to be it's best episodes.
They hail the first eight as the best written, comparable to the very best of Rockford.
Well maybe, MeTV as of last Sunday has run the first 9 (but not the 2 pilot films)
and I agree the writing so far has been excellent.
These are the San Diego set episodes. - Harry an ex-detective on the SDPD - the
series then shifted to LA.
The acting display by Ed Begley senior at the end, when he makes his defense
summation on behalf of Kimble, is great! The writers had written him perhaps the best
scene in the series. Ed Begley jr. said he recited the scene for years when he auditioned
for parts, it's lyrical. There is absolutely nothing remotely on this level in the pedestrian
"Barnaby Jones", please MeTV give it a rest.
If not The Fugitive every night instead of Barnaby, how about "Naked City" which was chock
full of guest actors who later became Hollywood bigshots.
