Homage is a tricky act. Play it too close to the real thing, and you're not really adding anything to the story. But, you also risk going the other way, being too cutesy with it, and suddenly your artistic take is little more than pastiche. It's a delicate balance, and it takes care and effort to walk the tight rope the right way. That's why it's only rarely done well. For every Ali or Walk The Line, it feels like there are one million failed biopics like Hysteria: The Def Leppard Story. 

It takes a great actor to stand in the shoes of The Great One, but Brad Garrett did just that when he starred in the 2002 TV film Gleason. Sitcom stardom echoed into itself as Robert from Everybody Loves Raymond became Ralph Kramden from The Honeymooners. It seemed like a natural fit. After all, Garrett— more than any other actor in Hollywood— looked the part.

"I've always had a kind of louder-than-life bravado and kind of over-the-top delivery," Garrett told Bridget Byrne of the Associated Press in 2002. "I also got cast in the 'Poor Soul' type of roles. Robert (of Raymond fame) is really the 'Poor Soul'— the down-and-out loser that Kramden was."

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Sure, he might've had the presence to effectively reproduce some of Gleason's stage work, but Garrett and the crew of Gleason weren't looking to simply photocopy their subject. 

"I felt a huge responsibility, because Gleason's one of these characters who was loved in the industry and outside."

While Garrett had no problem faithfully evoking Gleason's spirit, he also wanted to make sure his performance didn't come across as a simple impression of Gleason on TV. He ensured the film included The Great One's later years, insisting on "that weathered look, the bourbon rasp, the cigarette still going— a guy who had the fire but knew that it was over."