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He was fairly ok in "A Midsummer's Night's Dream," but no way was he as good as the rest of the cast. And he felt very out of place in "Mona Lisa Smile."
I think directors look at his resume more than they do his actually acting ability. He does have some very impressive movies there.
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Let's just say his TV appearances are more impressive than his movie ones. He's been typecast by Hollywood as another English nasty, and that's all he gets to play in the movies; Mark Strong has the same problem right now as well. Even when he has a sympathetic role - like the inspector in Hannibal Rising - the movie mostly sucks.
But I'm a fan of John Carter, and he did fine as one of the heavies.
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"I'm not smart so much as I am not dumb." - Harlan Ellison